Williams Syndrome Awareness Week

People with Williams Syndrome Have NO Racial Bias International Business Times Williams syndrome is an extremely rare neurodevelopmental disorder of 1 in 7500 to 1 in 20000 births. Dr. JCP Williams first identified the syndrome in 1961. It is caused by a deletion of about 26 genes from the long arm of chromosome 7.

People with Williams syndrome have a distinctive, "elfin" facial appearancev and a low nasal bridge combined with an unusually cheerful demeanor and ease with strangers. They make friends with strangers within minutes. Other characteristics, among others, include developmental delay, strong language skills and cardiovascular problems.

Research has found that an interesting fact that people with Williams syndrome (Ws) have no racial bias, because the neural pathway that imprints for racial bias is missing.

The fact is, while it is much more rare than Ds (about 1 in 10,000 babies born has Williams syndrome and 1 in 691 has Down syndrome), there are quite a few similarities. There are some physical markers (harder to detect in infants), developmental delays in speech and fine and gross motor, learning delays, heart conditions and other traits. Williams syndrome is the deletion of genetic material from chromosome 7. Down syndrome is the addition of an extra chromosome 21.

You can read more on parents blogs of children with Williams syndrome, such as Adventures With Baby J and Bean where you can learn so much more. Because there are so few markers present at birth to raise red flags, diagnosis often comes very late for children with Ws. Because the condition is relatively rare, there is so much less information and support out there for families with children with Ws.

I've just learned that the week 9th to the 15th May is Williams Syndrome Awareness Week, I hope many more people will seek to learn more, and to open their arms in support of these families.