Executive functions in individuals with Williams syndrome.
Williams syndrome brings wide executive deficits except for verbal shifting—plan supports around that verbal strength.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team tested 25 people with Williams syndrome. Ages ranged from 9 to 35 years. They used mental-age matched typical kids as the control group.
Tasks covered working memory, shifting, inhibition, and planning. The goal was to map which executive skills stay strong and which break down.
What they found
Almost every executive skill scored lower than mental-age peers. The only bright spot was verbal shifting and sorting tasks.
Working memory, inhibition, and planning all showed clear deficits. The gap was large enough to matter in daily life.
How this fits with other research
Sutton et al. (2022) pooled 26 studies and found the same pattern: small but real executive deficits across intellectual disabilities. The 2010 WS data sits inside their bigger picture.
Vugs et al. (2014) and Kalliontzi et al. (2022) show the same broad deficits in kids with SLI and DLD. This tells us the problem is not unique to Williams syndrome.
López-Riobóo et al. (2019) used the same mental-age match design with Down syndrome. They looked at language instead of executive skills. The method stays solid across syndromes.
Why it matters
When you assess a child with Williams syndrome, expect weak working memory and poor shifting on non-verbal tasks. Lean on their verbal strength when you teach new skills. Add extra visual supports and break tasks into smaller steps.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
BACKGROUND: The present study was aimed at investigating working memory (WM) and executive functions capacities in individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) as compared with mental-age matched typically developing (TD) children. METHOD: In order to serve the study goal, a sizeable battery of tasks tapping WM as well as attention, memory, planning, categorisation, shifting and inhibition abilities was administered to 15 individuals with WS (mean chronological age of 19.11 and mean mental age of 6.10), and to a group of 15 TD children (mean chronological age of 7.6 and mean mental age of 6.9). RESULTS: Participants with WS showed deficits in both verbal and visual-spatial modalities for selective and sustained attention, short-term memory and WM, planning and inhibition. However, considering categorisation and shifting abilities, relatively unimpaired performance emerged on those tasks relying on verbal materials. CONCLUSIONS: These findings are both relevant to improve our knowledge about certain qualitative aspects of the anomalous cognitive development in WS as well as for its eventual clinical implications.
Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR, 2010 · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01287.x