Facilitating complex shape drawing in Williams syndrome and typical development.
Colour-coded guides on worksheets let kids with Williams syndrome draw complex shapes as well as their peers.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked kids to copy tricky shapes on paper.
Some kids had Williams syndrome. Others were same-age peers.
The worksheet had bright colour blocks and little guide marks.
What they found
The colour cues lifted drawing scores in the WS group.
After the help, their shapes looked as neat as the peers’ shapes.
How this fits with other research
Au-Yeung et al. (2015) ran almost the same task two years later.
They also saw colour help, but the lift was smaller when the shapes used slanted lines.
So the two papers agree colour works; the second one adds a warning—tilted lines still tax WS learners.
Ganz et al. (2004) used angled stimuli, not colours, to teach simple visual matches.
Their tilt trick worked for severe ID, showing prompts can take many forms.
Why it matters
If you teach handwriting or geometry, drop colour blocks and guide dots on the page.
It is a cheap, fast prompt that can close the accuracy gap for learners with WS.
Watch for slanted lines and add extra cues there.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) produce drawings that are disorganised, likely due to an inability to replicate numerous spatial relations between parts. This study attempted to circumvent these drawing deficits in WS when copying complex combinations of one, two and three shapes. Drawing decisions were reduced by introducing a number of facilitators, for example, by using distinct colours and including facilitatory cues on the response sheet. Overall, facilitation improved drawing in the WS group to a comparable level of accuracy as typically developing participants (matched for non-verbal ability). Drawing accuracy was greatest in both groups when planning demands (e.g. starting location, line lengths and changes in direction) were reduced by use of coloured figures and providing easily distinguished and clearly grouped facilitatory cues to form each shape. This study provides the first encouraging evidence to suggest that drawing of complex shapes in WS can be facilitated; individuals with WS might be receptive to remediation programmes for drawing and handwriting.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2013 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2013.04.004