Examining reports of mental health in adults with Williams syndrome.

Oliver et al. (2012) talked directly to adults with Williams syndrome. They asked each adult how anxious they felt. They also asked caregivers to rate the same adult's anxiety. Then they gave everyone a quick Stroop test that flashed anxiety words like 'worry' or neutral words like 'table'.

The team wanted to know if adults with WS could report their own mental health reliably, or if caregivers alone should speak for them.

Adults with WS reported more anxiety than their caregivers noticed. The Stroop results backed this up: the adults noticed anxiety words faster, a sign they were on high alert for threat.

Bottom line: people with WS can tell you when they are anxious, and they often see it more clearly than caregivers do.

Uljarević et al. (2018) later showed that two things drive that anxiety: intolerance of uncertainty and sensory hypersensitivity. Their parent survey extends Chris et al. by pointing to clear treatment targets.

Ahlborn et al. (2008) saw the same anxiety pattern in young children. Kids with WS startled and covered their ears at mild sounds, hinting that the worry pathway starts early and stays across the lifespan.

Hwang et al. (2020) found a near-identical uncertainty-anxiety link in autistic adults. The pathway looks the same in two different diagnoses, so tackling intolerance of uncertainty may help both groups.

If you assess an adult with Williams syndrome, add a short anxiety self-report to your intake. Do not rely only on caregiver forms. Ask about everyday uncertainty and sensory triggers while you are at it. These quick questions can steer you toward coping-skills training, graded exposure, or sensory supports that earlier papers show ease WS anxiety.