Attribution of negative intention in Williams syndrome.

The team showed 24 short social cartoons to three groups: kids and adults with Williams syndrome, typically developing kids matched for age, and younger kids matched for mental age.

Each cartoon showed one character bumping another. The bump could be on purpose, an accident, or unclear. After each clip the experimenter asked, “Did the bumper mean to hurt?”

The Williams group blamed negative intent far less than their same-age peers. Their answers looked like the younger mental-age group instead.

In other words, their “social brain” reads neutral acts as friendly, not risky. This fits their real-life trait of walking up to strangers and hugging them.

Ewing et al. (2015) ran a similar lab task with autistic children. Those kids ignored trustworthy faces; the WS kids ignored harmful intent. Same method, opposite blind spot.

Kocher et al. (2015) asked parents and teachers to list daily problems. They flagged attention, anxiety, and social slips—exactly the behaviors you would expect if a child never suspects meanness.

Ahlborn et al. (2008) found that 90 % of toddlers with WS startle at mild sounds, hinting at high anxiety. Kali’s result seems to clash: how can they be both anxious and socially fearless? The answer is that their fear is sensory, not social—they don’t read social danger cues.

Don’t assume WS clients will “pick up” stranger-danger from natural exposure. Write explicit rules: “If you don’t know the person, stand at arm’s length and ask your adult first.” Rehearse with photos and video models. Pair the rule with a sensory break plan so anxiety doesn’t spike when you block the hug. One clear script beats ten subtle hints.