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Strategies for teachers and family members

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Educators face unique challenges teaching children with Williams syndrome. The information presented here is a good starting point for understanding how to address these unique issues

Williams Syndrome Information for Teachers

by: Karen Levine, Ph.D.
Psychologist, Co-Director Williams Syndrome Program
The Children's Hospital, Boston, MA

Introduction

This information was developed to assist teachers who have a child with Williams syndrome in their class at school. The most important sources of information about any child are, of course, the child himself, and the child's family. Parents, brothers and sisters, and environmental factors strongly influence the development and personality of all children. Other genetic influences also affect the child. For a child with Williams syndrome, the syndrome is only one factor in who he or she 'is'.

Children with Williams syndrome are predisposed to certain difficulties, with a great deal of variety across each of the characteristics associated with the syndrome. For example, some of the children have few or no associated medical problems. The degree of learning difficulty also varies greatly, as does the presence and degree of attention difficulty. The patterns of behavior and learning discussed in this pamphlet reflect potential areas of difficulty, rather than characteristics of all children with Williams syndrome. The particular child in your class may have few or all of the tendencies discussed below.

Familiarity with common trends or propensities and beneficial strategies can be very helpful, especially in terms of understanding and working with children who have confusing behaviors and learning patterns.

Cognitively, there is a great deal of variety among the individuals. Some children display average or above average ranges of intelligence with a learning disability. Many children are in the borderline or mild range of intellectual disability, and some are in the moderate range of intellectual disability. Most importantly, most children show quite significant scatter in the level of their abilities across domains.

Children with Williams syndrome are usually quite social and nonverbally communicative from infancy. They will use facial expression, eye contact, and eventually gestures to communicate. They begin talking later than is normally expected. There is a great deal of variety in the course of early language development, but usually, by 18 months of age, children with Williams syndrome begin talking by using single words, and often phrases as well. They may show a strength in learning songs, revealing a good auditory memory as well as musical sense. Many children with Williams syndrome begin talking in sentences at approximately 3 years, and by 4 or 5 years, language becomes, and continues to be, a source of relative strength.

For a more thorough description of Williams syndrome, see the What is Williams syndrome article.

What characteristic personality and behavior patterns are associated with Williams syndrome?

Certain personality characteristics are especially common in children with Williams syndrome. These characteristics include: an outgoing social nature, an exuberant enthusiasm, a sense of the dramatic, overfriendliness, a short attention span, extra sensitivity to sounds (hyperacusis), and anxiety - especially about upcoming events.

Children with Williams syndrome are often particularly appealing. Many of the associated characteristics are rather desirable (bright eyes, very broad engaging smile, enthusiastic manner, socially engaging and conversational, strong sensitivity to the emotions of others, cute upturned nose, excellent memory for people met infrequently or long ago, very expressive of own emotions - especially happy excitement). It is important to keep in mind that these are indeed "real" characteristics of the child, and not just 'syndromal'. That is, it is important to capitalize on, and enjoy the very real charismatic appeal of many children with Williams syndrome, and not dismiss these behaviors as simply, "Williams-isms."

Some behavioral characteristics associated with Williams syndrome can pose challenges in classrooms. There are effective strategies for minimizing the difficulties and helping the child cope. These characteristics and strategies are outlined below.

Short attention span and distractibility

Attention difficulties often lead to associated difficulties such as impulsivity which can result in the child not following directions well, getting out of their seat, etc.

flexibility in requirements for time spent working

frequent 'breaks' in work time

a "high success," high motivation curriculum

minimal distractions; auditory as well as visual

rewards for attending behaviors and, when possible, redirection around 'off task' behaviors or ignoring same

allowing some degree of choice for the child in terms of activity

small groups

consultation with a behaviorist familiar with positive behavior management approaches

difficulty modulating emotions

extreme excitement when happy

tearfulness in response to apparently mild distress

terror in response to apparently mildly frightening events

Decide when this is a problem. For example, expressing enthusiastic excitement, albeit impulsively or without raising a hand, may be beneficial to the motivation of the class as a whole, whereas frequent tears and a high degree of anxiety is problematic for the child with Williams syndrome as well as the other children.

Help the child to develop increasingly effective internal controls to modulate emotions while adapting the environment to minimize situations of extreme anxiety and frustration.

Anticipate beginning buildup of frustration. Help the child to remove himself from the frustrating situation and find a different activity before the frustration escalates

Minimize unexpected changes in schedule, plans, etc.

Use stories and role play/pretend play to act out various anxiety provoking situations with the child

Heightened sensitivity to sounds (hyperacusis)
This characteristic in combination with a tendency toward anxiety sometimes causes behavior problems around noise related activities such as fire drills, vacuum cleaners, ceiling fans, heating or plumbing systems, and school bells.

Some children may become distracted, overly excited or fearful at these events.

provide warning just before predictable noises when possible (fire drills, hourly bells etc.)

allow the child to view and possibly initiate the source of bothersome noises (e.g. turn the fan on and off, see where the fire alarm is turned on)

make tape recordings of the sounds and encourage the child to experiment with the recording (playing it louder/softer etc.)

Perseverating on certain "favorite" conversational topics
Some children with Williams syndrome have "favorite" topics that they want to talk about more often than is socially appropriate. Sometimes these favorite topics have to do with things that make them anxious such as fire trucks, trains or lawnmowers. Other children may show overwhelming fascination with, or interest in bones or other topics related to the body. Some fascination with things that are scary is quite normal in people generally (hence our interest in horror movies or 'thrillers') although this tendency can be particularly acute in children with Williams syndrome. Sometimes favorite topics are simply areas the child is confident discussing, and the child may be relying on that topic to ensure that he/she will be a competent participant in the conversation.

include social skills teaching as part of the IEP. Use role play, stories, discussion and small group experiences to teach alternative appropriate topics, and expand the child's repertoire

When the favorite topic involves repetitious asking of the same question (e.g. which day are we having a fire drill) first respond sufficiently to make sure the child has understood the requested information. (you can check this by asking the child the same question) Then ignore the subsequent repetitions, while offering other topics and activities. Avoid a discussion of whether or not the topic will continue to be discussed as this prolongs the perseveration

Provide some time for discussion of the child's favorite topic

Capitalize on the favorite interest as a curriculum topic. The child will approach curriculum based on favorite topics with a high level of motivation

Anxiety around unexpected changes in routine/schedule

Provide a predictable schedule and routine with specific warnings (e.g. a specific song a few minutes before cleanup time) marking daily transitions

Minimize unexpected changes

For preschool aged children: use of picture schedules for daily routines, and wall calendars with big squares on which special events can be sketched are helpful.

For older children: use digital watches and date books

Evaluation of other issues which might be making a child susceptible to feeling anxiety or a loss of control around changes

Capitalize on the child's orientation to a predictable schedule to work in less desirable but necessary activities at predictable times

Rocking, nail biting or skin picking
Usually these behaviors are fairly mild and may not pose a problem. It is important to realize that many of these behaviors may simply be outside the child's capacity to consistently control. Therefore, you should not dwell on them or continually remind the child not to do the behavior.

Ignoring the behaviors when possible while trying to lower environmental stress is usually sufficient to reduce them

If the behavior bothers the child or other children, sometimes occasional reminders in conjunction with behavioral techniques can be helpful (e.g. a sticker for each hour without nail biting)

Difficulty building friendships.
In spite of a tendency to have a very sociable nature, children with Williams syndrome often have difficulty building friendships. This is probably due to difficulties around sustaining attention, and impulsivity, as well as developmental and learning difficulties. Many of the children are, however, able to develop true friendships and this should be a goal included as part of the children's educational development. This may require extensive initial help from teachers.

Include social skills development as a "Goal" in the child's IEP

Work as a team with the child's parents regarding promoting a friendship with another likely friend. Encourage mutual visiting at homes

Facilitate social interaction during teaching activities (e.g. have the child with Williams syndrome and a likely friend pair up in working on a project or reading a story together)

Consider a variety of relationships for friendship building, including older or younger children and children with or without special needs

Are there characteristic learning patterns in children with Williams syndrome?

Most children with Williams syndrome have some learning difficulties. However, there is a wide range in the degree of these difficulties. Some of the children function in the "Above Average" or "Average" range, many in the "Borderline" range, and others in the "Mild" range of intellectual challenges. Some of the children show moderate challenges, and a few function in the severe range. Children with Williams syndrome tend to show substantial scatter in the level of their abilities across domains, and the range of scatter is greater than in most children. The children tend to have relatively predictable areas of strength and weakness, although there are exceptions. For example, it would not be uncommon for a 6 year old child with Williams syndrome to have a vocabulary and general fund of information at close to age level, with reading and math skills at a 3 year level. Therefore, establishing IQ level and determining optimal classroom placement are often challenging processes.

Can regular IQ testing be done on children with Williams syndrome?

Regular IQ testing can be very helpful to get information about areas of learning strength and weakness in children with Williams syndrome. However, use of the right tests and administration as well as correct interpretation is very important.

What are common areas of learning strength for children with Williams syndrome?

The following list of strengths indicates areas of strength relative to the child's own abilities, not necessarily relative to the abilities of their peers.

Expressive vocabulary

The excellent vocabulary of many children with Williams syndrome is a characteristic that is usually quite apparent to others. This area is often the highest for a child in terms of "test-age". It is common for children with Williams syndrome to use somewhat unusual words and phrases. This is probably due to a combination of excellent auditory memory skills and some difficulty with language processing, resulting in language being encoded in 'chunks'. It is important not to expect all areas of a child's functioning to be at the level of their vocabulary.

Long term memory for information

Once children with Williams syndrome have learned information they tend to be relatively good at retaining it. This applies to academic material as well as events, names etc. While it may be more difficult to initially teach new material, it is worth the effort since what is learned is generally retained. The exception to this is spatially loaded material such as letters, left and right (while children are still learning them), and finding their way around, which can remain difficult concepts for some time.

Hyperacusis/Sensitive Hearing

Ability to get information from pictures such as photos, illustrations, and videos

These mediums should be used extensively as teaching aids to accompany verbal teaching. Children with Williams syndrome are often particularly motivated to work with picture oriented material. "Whole language" approaches to reading can often be used to augment the more traditional phonics approach.

Ability to learn through actual "hands-on" experience

A hands-on component to learning experiences can often help children with Williams syndrome sustain attention.

Musical ability

Extraordinary musical ability seems more common in children with Williams syndrome than in other children. A love of, and some sense of, music is quite common in these children. Utilizing songs and musical instruments can be ideal for social experiences, leisure time, etc., and can be incorporated into math and language curriculum.

Short and long term auditory memory

This is a useful area of strength to capitalize on in teaching reading. For example, preschool children can often memorize songs and story books, and begin to follow along with the text, long before they are actually able to read.

Interest in and heightened awareness of the emotions of others

Children with Williams syndrome are often highly sensitive to the emotions of others. For example, they may notice subtle changes in the mood of an adult, or cry tears of empathy when another child is reprimanded etc.

Ability to initiate social interaction/conversation

A strong motivation to interact socially can be utilized in teaching. For example, children can be paired to work on projects together, or to work as peer tutors.

The sensitive hearing found in many children with Williams syndrome can be capitalized on to develop reading skills. Phonetic approaches to reading are often very successful since the child is able to readily hear letter sounds (especially beginning and ending) and use them to develop word finding skills.

What are common areas of learning difficulty for children with Williams syndrome?

Some tasks and learning modes can be particularly difficult for children with Williams syndrome. Following is a list of common areas of difficulty and strategies for improving them.

1a. Area of Difficulty

Tasks requiring fine motor or visual-motor integration skills including:

Paper and pencil tasks, especially writing and drawing

Learning to tie shoes

Counting objects pictured on a page

1b. Teaching Strategies

Computer use

Computer use should be included in the IEP, and involve teaching the use of the computer as well as using it as a tool for other materials (reading and math). This skill can eventually replace much of the paper and pencil work. It is important that the computer be used as a tool, and not simply as a reward.

Minimize paper and pencil demands

Minimize tracing

If name writing is difficult, allow either a name stamp or writing just the first letter.

Use real object counters to teach math, rather than objects pictured on a page

Encourage parents to adapt clothing to maximize independence. For example:

Velcro instead of tie shoes

Velcro instead of buttons for pants if needed

2a. Area of Difficulty

Tasks requiring spatial analysis including:

Learning to distinguish letters. Especially those with reversals (e.g. "b" from "d")

Learning left and right

Learning to tell time with a circular clock

Orienting on a busy page such as a workbook page

2b. Teaching Strategies

Simplify the amount of material presented on a worksheet (one or two problems or words per page)

This can be done easily by copying regular pages, while covering parts of the page with a sheet of paper.

Use auditory memory skills and ability to learn from pictures in teaching reading

Use picture cards with word labels for games such as lotto to encourage beginning sight words.

Teach high motivation sight words before child may know all the letters

Encourage the child to memorize picture captions and stories following the text

A whole language approach is often successful but must be used flexibly, with stories often dictated instead of written by the child if the child has significant grapho-motor difficulty.

3a. Area of Difficulty

For some children, this is most apparent in 'stress' situations such as when they are asked a question which has only one right answer, while for many it is a problem in their spontaneous speech as well. Many children develop the strategy of 'circumlocution,' or talking around the word. This strategy, while effective when combined with a short attention span, can result in language at times seeming not to make sense. The child may begin telling about one thing, have trouble thinking of a needed word, come up with a somewhat related phrase, and move on to talking about something more related to the substitute phrase than the initial topic.

3b. Teaching Strategies

Teaching Strategies

Work closely with the speech therapist regardinghelpful strategies to use/teach

Phonemic cueing (providing the child with the first sound of a sought after word). This can be distracting for some children who may then just look to you and wait for the rest of the word.

Encourage the child to gesturally cue himself (e.g. "What did you do with it - how did you use it?")

Encourage the child to use visualization to cue himself (e.g. "What did it look like?")

4a. Area of Difficulty

Learning some math skills including coins/money/time concepts, and manipulating columns of numbers (such as double digit math problems)

4b. Teaching Strategies

Adapt materials

Digital clocks and watches

Calculator use

Teach time concepts by personalizing

Use wall calendars for daily, weekly and monthly schedules with events sketched or written in

Encourage the elementary school aged child to have a date book

Be flexible in curriculum, avoiding a rigid 'prerequisite' curriculum design

Some children may never learn coin values but should move on to the next curriculum phase which they may be able to more readily understand

Should children with Williams syndrome be in regular classes?

There is a great deal of variation in terms of classroom situations for children with Williams syndrome. The best situation for a particular child depends as much on the needs of the child as it does on the supports the school system is able to provide in regular and specialized settings. Some children will do well in regular classroom settings, while obtaining any needed therapies outside of the classroom. Curriculum adaptation and supports are strongly recommended (e.g. consultation with a behaviorist around managing attention issues or with a psychologist around friendship development; extra use of a computer for written assignments, and allowance for some breaks in work periods etc.).

Some children are in regular classrooms with an aide. Whether the aide is utilized by a group of children or "1 on 1", it is often very effective for the aide to spread herself across several children rather than be with the child with Williams syndrome at all times.

Children with more significant learning or behavioral issues, and/or who are in school systems with large classes and few supports often benefit from a more specialized classroom placement. This may be a classroom for children with learning disabilities, or one for children with cognitive challenges, depending on the educational needs of the child. It is generally not recommend that the child with Williams syndrome be placed in 'behavioral' classrooms as their behavioral issues and needs around behavioral support are very different from those children typically placed in such classrooms.

For all children, some integrated experiences are beneficial for social - emotional development. Mainstreaming will often be more successful during somewhat more structured activities such as music, hands-on science activities or story times. Often the model of initiating mainstreaming through 'reverse mainstreaming" in which a child with interest and motivation comes to join the child with Williams syndrome in the special class for a series of visits/activities facilitated by the teacher works very well. Once the students get comfortable together, the 'buddy' can 'host' the child with Williams syndrome as he joins his friend in the regular classes.

Should children with Williams syndrome receive any special therapies?

While thorough individual interdisciplinary evaluations must be done to determine the needs of a particular child, almost all children with Williams syndrome will benefit substantially from individual speech, occupational and physical therapy. Many children also benefit from music therapy to help overcome delays.

What should other children be told about the child with Williams syndrome?

This varies depending on the child, family preferences and the other children. We suggest you discuss with the family what, if any, aspects of Williams syndrome the child is aware of or has discussed with the family. The teacher should ask what terms have been used so that he or she can use the same ones in any future discussion. We recommend that families have open discussions about Williams syndrome as this can be a helpful term for the child to use to explain to himself or to others why he has certain difficulties. However, some families feel it is most helpful not to use this term with the child. Whether and how a family discusses this with the child is an individual and very personal choice. There is no right way that works for all families.

Observe what, if anything, the other children notice as differences. Simple and matter-of-fact explanations in response to specific issues make the most sense to young children.

Preschool and school age children with Williams syndrome can be helped and encouraged to supply their own explanations. One school aged, highly verbal child took great pride in giving a presentation to his class each year "about my syndrome".

How can I learn more about children with Williams syndrome?

In addition to the information you can find here on the website, the Williams Syndrome Association publishes National and Regional newsletters and maintains an extensive library on Williams syndrome. Contact the National office for more information.

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Educators face unique challenges teaching children with Williams syndrome. The information presented here is a good starting point for understanding how to address these unique issuesWilliams Syndrome Information for Teachersby: Karen Levine, Ph.D. Psychologist, Co-Director Williams Syndrome Program The Children's Hospital, Boston, MA

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Help your child's teacher out

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Educators face unique challenges teaching children with Williams syndrome, but with knowledge of the learning styles of students with WS, your students can experience success in the classroom. For a one page fact sheet on the educational profile for sudents with Williams syndrome, click here.
Connecting the ws cognitive profile to educational strategies
With school age children we see:
Strengths
Sociable nature, expressive vocabulary, long term memory for information, short term and long term auditory memory, hyperacusis (both positives and negatives - helps with phonics, hurts when child becomes excessively worried about noises).
Areas of Concern
Attending difficulties (often distractible & impulsive but not necessarily hyperactive), visual-spatial & visual-motor integration difficulties, visual memory deficits, difficulty with abstract concepts and abstract reasoning, perseveration on "favorite" topics.

Children with Williams syndrome have more difficulty processing nonverbal information than verbal information. When administered the WISC-III (or the earlier edition WISC-R) they score significantly lower on the nonverbal (performance) subtests than the verbal subtests.

The scatter of scores across all of the WISC subtests is quite varied, which tends to negate the predictive value of any sort of an average IQ score. Hence the WSA does not recommend the use of the WISC as an indicator of IQ. It does, however, show the discrepancy between nonverbal ability and verbal ability in the WS cognitive profile.

There is a generic field of study known as nonverbal learning disorders. Within that arena, educators and clinical psychologists see many different subtypes, which present overlapping characteristics. There is general agreement that in order to have a nonverbal learning disorder, there should be a significant discrepancy between verbal and performance subtests on the WISC.

Children with WS share several key characteristics with children who have been diagnosed as having a nonverbal learning disorder. They both exhibit spatial relationship difficulties resulting, in the classroom, in handwriting problems. They share difficulty with math, which also has spatial roots, as well as being associated with the abstract reasoning deficit. They do best at reading in general, which is linked to their verbal strengths. They do better at the lower level reading sub-skills such as word identification and phonics than they do at comprehension, which requires more abstract reasoning and, in general, the ability to go from parts to a whole. Comprehension also requires the reader to be able to understand implicit semantic relationships among words and be able to make inferences.

An area of difference appears to be in personalities. WS children, as we well know, are very sociable and outgoing. Children with nonverbal learning disorders tend to be shy and withdrawn, although they too are reported to be very verbal and friendly as very young children. Both, however, have some difficulty making and sustaining friendships. The common factor seems to be that both have difficulty reading nonverbal cues, and therefore are often inappropriate in their social interactions.

Nonverbal function, in a cognitive sense, involves visual processing and the harder to describe idea of perception. The affected individual does not form visual images easily and does not revisualize well (i.e. from memory). He or she also perceives the world differently than someone whose perceptual ability is seen to be intact. In a way, perception is the more spatial aspect of cognition, e.g. going from parts to whole, understanding cause and effect, etc. So a child with a deficit in this area would tend to focus on the details (and even perseverate on them) but fail to grasp the complete picture.

Direct instruction can be helpful. As the name implies, it involves directly teaching each aspect of a skill. It also engages the student orally, to ensure that they become an active part of the process. Direct instruction programs are very sequential in nature, progressing in a building block way until the target skills are acquired and mastered.

The most common element of all of the remedial interventions described in the literature on nonverbal learning disorders is the use of verbal mediation and verbal self-direction, both for analyzing information and for organizing to perform a task. This means the child must be taught, through direct instruction, how to talk himself/herself through various steps, to successful completion of the process or task.

This concept can be used to improve verbal reasoning, vocabulary development, reading comprehension, and social skills. Because writing involves cognitively difficult processes requiring idea development, organization, and the ability to go from parts to a whole, it lends itself well to a verbal mediation approach. Handwriting can also be taught this way to young children.

Following are some specific strategies which have been recommended for teaching children with nonverbal learning disorders. Because individuals with Williams syndrome exhibit characteristic overlap, these approaches can be considered in the IEP planning process:

Ensure that decoding skills have been mastered first (the student must be able to read words accurately before he/she can understand meaning). Typically a phonics based reading curriculum is most effective.

Teach reading comprehension skills directly, e.g. making inferences, deductions, understanding cause and effect, etc.

Develop self-questioning techniques to monitor comprehension.

Teach students that they must interact with the text.

Encourage verbalization of strategies to enable students to internalize comprehension strategies (who, what, why, where, when, etc.).

Teach the organization and structure of paragraphs.

Teach signal words indicating transitions.

Make concrete associations for unknown words whenever possible.

Be "child centered", i.e. use words they encounter in their own reading, define words they want to know, work from known associations and understandings.

Encourage students to verbalize and paraphrase their understandings.

Work toward a depth in understanding - don't let them slide by with surface understandings.

Connect words into meaningful semantic categories.

Teach multiple meanings.

Build semantic maps or webs.

Highlight morphological rules and patterns, directly teach prefixes, roots, suffixes.

Provide brief daily practice to improve handwriting rate and legibility.

Teach student to use verbal self-directions to guide those practices.

Address posture, position of hand and paper, grasp of pencil, directions for forming individual letters.

Teach keyboarding and word processing skills to the student at a young age.

Focus on only one aspect of writing at a time (e.g. pre-writing, writing, editing).

Hold expectations for rate and volume of written products based on the student's demonstrated abilities.

Teach transitional words.

Teach organizational patterns for writing paragraphs, then for longer works such as essays.

Provide a purpose and structure for writing

By following these principals, we are utilizing the student's verbal strengths to remediate difficulty they have processing nonverbal information. Ultimately, the goal is to have the student internalize the process and become totally self-directed in his/her evaluation and self-correction if so required.

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Educators face unique challenges teaching children with Williams syndrome, but with knowledge of the learning styles of students with WS, your students can experience success in the classroom.

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Advocate!

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Williams Syndrome Awareness Video - by HypnoVID.com

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Who else wants to ENGAGE their customers with appealing White Board Animation Videos and increase their sales and revenues? Go for HypnoVID: http://hypnovid.com We provide Awesome Hand Drawn White Board Fact explainer for all business to business needs. For this video, the client created the script and HypnoVID created the professional voiceover and the awesome whiteboard video.

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People with Williams Syndrome & their extraordinary gifts

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People with Williams Syndrome & their extraordinary gifts

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Learn about everyone's special talents!

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Williams Syndrome (WS) affects an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people in the United States. Families of affected individuals encounter major struggles. Many babies have life-threatening cardiovascular problems. Children with WS need costly and ongoing medical care and early interventions (such as speech, physical and occupational therapy) that may not be covered by insurance or state funding. As they grow, they struggle with things like spatial relations, numbers and abstract reasoning, which can make daily tasks a challenge. The majority of adults with WS need supportive housing to live to their fullest potential, and few are able to work a "full-time" job or earn a large enough salary to be self-sustaining.

But unlike many disorders that can make connecting with your child difficult, individuals with WS tend to be social, friendly and endearing. Parents often say the joy and perspective a child with WS brings into their lives had been unimaginable, and their special personalities and perseverance help make dreams come true. Many adults with WS contribute to their communities as volunteers or work at senior homes and libraries or as store greeters or veterinary aides - no matter what they are doing, they seem to make a special impact.

Amy Koch, age 46 was featured in KLRU-TV's "Women and Girls Lead" series in Austin, TX, a multi-year, public media initiative to "focus, educate and connect citizens worldwide in support of the issues facing women and girls." Amy is a graduate of Project SEARCH, a best practice for hiring individuals with developmental disabilities created at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and Medical Center. Amy's lessons for all of us, "be proud of who you are" and "don't let people stop you from trying," are lessons that she lives each day in her job as a floor supply specialist at Seton Medical Center.

Leah Ward (WS) and North Carolina Central University head basketball coach LeVelle Moton, have a special friendship. Moton explains, "Ward isn't shy with her enthusiasm for the Eagles." And the coach has even called on Leah to deliver the pregame speech before game: "Do your best out there. Have fun and I know the game will be good!" Leah's enthusiasm is working; the Eagles are 19 - 8 this season!

Ben (Big Red) Monkaba, age 27 had a lifelong dream to become a Shrine Clown. Ben has undergone multiple cardiovascular and spine surgeries, and he knows how important genuine smiles and a few laughs can be to a child in the hospital. Ben's dream came true recently when he was able to spend a full day clowning with the Melha Shrine Clowns in Springfield, MA. Following the event, Shriner Craig (Doc) Kazin posted the following on his Facebook page: "I am humbled to report that I had one of the most overwhelmingly positive clowning experiences of my life this past weekend, clowning with Ben Monkaba who has Williams syndrome. He was stupendous! It's really all about helping fellow human beings on this earth. Ben Monkaba is an inspiration to me. His outlook, determination and dedication to making others happy makes me almost walk on air."

For more information on Williams syndrome, please go to williams-syndrome.org. Founded in 1982 by, and for, families of individuals with Williams syndrome. The WSA is the most comprehensive resource for people and families living with Williams syndrome as well as doctors, researchers and educators. The WSA provides resources, support and the latest medical information to help families and caregivers of individuals with Williams syndrome throughout his/her life.
Mike McFall is the Communications Manager for the Williams Syndrome Association. Mike joined the WSA team in January 2010, bringing with him almost a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector. Besides his work, he also volunteers with his church and several community organizations, including AIDS Walk Detroit and Forgotten Harvest.

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People with Williams Syndrome and Their Extraordinary Gifts

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Williams Syndrome (WS) affects an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people in the United States. Families of affected individuals encounter major struggles. Many babies have life-threatening cardiovascular problems. Children with WS need costly and ongoing medical care and early interventions (such as speech, physical and occupational therapy) that may not be covered by insurance or state funding.

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Everyone has a special talent

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National Association for Child Development

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Part 1: Children with Williams Syndrome may be the friendliest you'll ever meet.

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Brief explaination of Williams Syndrome

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What is Williams syndrome? Everyone has questions following a diagnosis of Williams syndrome for their loved one. We are here to help. The WSA community consists of thousands of families who have traveled the journey that you are now beginning.

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Try these things within your community

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Join us at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront hotel, July 11-14, 2018

Click the links below for details on fees and programming. Note: The hotel link is Marriott's page and the dates they have listed are for the time period our special rate is available (offering before and after extentions).

Note: Early Bird registration has been extended until April 15.

Click the icon to go to the official page, where you will see an Agenda of sessions and be able to register. Feel free to call the WSA office if you have registration questions. Convention officially begins with the key note speaker at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday (though day programs for individuals and children with WS start that morning), followed by afternoon sessions and runs though Saturday at noon (as will children's programs). We will have an opening night welcome party Wednesday, the street party in Baltimore's Little Italy Thursday night and a dance/ice cream social Friday night.

The 2018 convention begins on Wednesday, July 11 and continues through July 14 at noon. The keynote speaker will start things off at 1:30 Wednesday. Programs for children and individuals with WS will start at 8 a.m. Wednesday and run until noon on Sat. We know that some families will be arriving throughout the day on Wednesday, so in that case, programs for your children will begin Thursday morning. Programs for all age groups but infant/toddler day care will be off site, so if you're starting Wed., you'll need to be there in the morning in order to not miss the programs and transportation--we will not have afternoon transportation for those programs.
The 2018 schedule includes:

About the National Convention

Held Biennially in July, the National Convention brings together the foremost experts on Williams syndrome and related characteristics to discuss the latest research findings, medical treatments and educational strategies. More than fifty educational sessions provide families with the latest resources and information, while children are entertained and cared for in specialized age-appropriate programs.

Keynote speaker, Mike Porath - Founder of The Mighty.com

Throughout each day there will also be an IEP "Drop in" Clinic where you can schedule a private appointment with an experienced advocate to review your child's current IEP. Sign up for a free 45 minute one-on-one session with advocacy experts to review your child's IEP and get general suggestions for making current goals stronger, more appropriate goals to add, requesting services, etc. Sessions are available throughout the day, every day! If you are planning to attend the Convention, please pre-register your scheduled advocate session at http://www.wsa2018-advocates.com/

"Roundtable" small group discussions throughout each day - you pick the topic you'd like to discuss and invite others to join you at your table or join someone else at theirs for informal discussions and information exchanges

Private Block Party in Little Italy - Live Music, Great Food, Crafts for the kids - all within 3 blocks of the hotel.

Pricing overview below. For those registering three or more children in one family, call the office to do this and we will assist.

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Join us July 11-14, 2018 for the National Convention in Baltimore, MD. Held Biennially, the National Convention and International Professional Conference bring together the foremost experts on Williams syndrome and related characteristics to discuss the latest research findings, medical treatments and educational strategies.

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Therapy treatment options for your child with William Syndrome

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Nearly every individual with Williams syndrome will benefit from therapeutic intervention to help overcome developmental delays, joint problems, fine motor issues and other characteristics common to Williams syndrome. Your physician can help you determine the need for therapy or provide a referral to have your child evaluated by a therapeutic service provider. It is important to start therapies as soon as possible to gain the most benefit.

Most school-aged children can receive therapy services as part of their IEP. Services provided by a school district will be paid for by the district. However, districts will only provide therapy to overcome weaknesses that are a "road block" to a child's successful education. For some delays, private services are the only answer.

Physical therapy

Children with Williams syndrome can have balance problems and weak muscle tone. Physical therapy will address gross motor skill development in children with Williams syndrome.

Physical therapy should be provided by a licensed Physical Therapist. You can obtain more information about Physical therapy by visiting the website of the American Physical Therapy Association

Occupational therapy

Children with Williams syndrome often have visual-spatial deficits and difficulty with fine muscle control, such as picking up small objects. Occupational therapy primarily addresses fine motor skill development in children with Williams syndrome, but is also your source for help with feeding issues and sensitivity to textures.

Occupational therapy should be provided by a licensed Occupational Therapist. You can obtain more information about Occupational therapy by visiting the website of the American Occupational Therapy Association

Speech therapy

Onset of speech is often delayed in children with Williams syndrome and articulation can be affected by muscle tone issues. Once speech has been acquired children often experience difficulties with processing information. A speech therapist can address all speech/language related issues.

Speech therapy should be provided by a licensed Speech Therapist. You can obtain more information about Speech therapy in your state by visiting the website of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association

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Nearly every individual with Williams syndrome will benefit from therapeutic intervention to help overcome developmental delays, joint problems, fine motor issues and other characteristics common to Williams syndrome. Your physician can help you determine the need for therapy or provide a referral to have your child evaluated by a therapeutic service provider.

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Road map of milestones

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Learning that your child has a syndrome can be overwhelming. Accepting the news emotionally, dealing with immediate medical concerns, and preparing for ongoing development issues can make every day go by in a blur for days, weeks or even months. Rest assured that you are not alone in the process.

When you are ready, you will want to get oriented to what the next steps should be. The following information will help you create a "roadmap" to your child's future.

What to do first

Next steps

Age appropriate information
As children develop from infants to toddlers to school age to adults they will encounter a number of issues unique to their age group. The issues and guidelines listed in this section are primarily medical, social and cognitive. General development varies widely among individuals with Williams. There is no definitive guide for developmental milestones, but these averages should help.

Creating IEPs
An IEP is your child's roadmap through the public school system, as defined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The IEP process can be a frustrating experience for many parents. Find out the basics here.

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Learning that your child has a syndrome can be overwhelming. Accepting the news emotionally, dealing with immediate medical concerns, and preparing for ongoing development issues can make every day go by in a blur for days, weeks or even months. Rest assured that you are not alone in the process.