Autism Spectrum Disorder in Williams Syndrome
Athough there is a relatively low prevalence of autism in people with Williams syndrome the two conditions share a number of similarities, these include a high prevalence of anxiety and sensory impairments.
There are also some distinct differences in social and communication characteristcs. For example, individuals with Williams syndrome tend to have lanuage that is both fluent and engaging, whereas individuals with autism are typically more impaired in verbal and non-verbal communication. This may be because individuals with Williams syndrome are highly socially motivated and better at socially interacting, whereas individuals with autism have less social motivation and show deficits in joint social attention.