Living with Williams Syndrome, the 'opposite of autism' (2014)
26 comments
·August 16, 2025shazbotter
mcdeltat
From what I've read there's been a history of people not fitting the strict "Asperger's boy" type traits being excluded from autism diagnoses, so we end up with a narrow, wrong stereotype. Plenty of autistic people who outwardly appear antisocial and plenty who appear quite social. Also worth remembering that autism occurence significantly overlaps with other conditions like ADHD, which may mold the presentation of the traits.
porknubbins
Having worked with some brilliant people with autism, I argue that deficits in cognitive empathy/ inability understand intuitively what other people are thiking in real time is the hallmark of autism.
Moreso than anything about emotions, body language, social skills etc this is the most common trait. It pops up in odd places no matter how much you mask or learn the visible skills.
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exasperaited
It has just dawned on me that I know someone with Williams Syndrome, and I think this idea of an "opposite" is actually quite valuable.
The title does put 'the opposite of autism' in quotes, to make it clear it's someone's phrasing, not a matter of fact, but the body of the article quotes someone from a foundation for the disease saying:
> "There is a classic autistic profile to which Williams Syndrome is the polar opposite. People can gauge the mood of a crowd and adopt without understanding the nuances of the situation."
That, it seems to me, could be a defensible point. That is not something you'd ever say an autistic person would be good at; it's antithetical.
But more to the point, not everything is an attack on autistic people. These are people trying to make a case that people should care about and be aware of the welfare needs associated with a poorly-understood disorder (which is maybe a hundred times rarer than autism). It would be fair I think to allow them the room to explain that.
antonvs
“Autism” is basically a term that means “not like us” for an unintelligent and unreflective set of people.
ekianjo
the term "autistic" pretty much lost all meaning since its an umbrella term for a bunch of very different traits.
sethaurus
It didn't lose all meaning, it just became more difficult to stereotype. The diagnostic criteria for ASD are about its impact on the individual, not how it superficially presents to other people.
The DSM-V combined together a bunch of old disorders with largely overlapping symptoms and no consistent differentiation at the diagnostic level.
mcdeltat
Empathy, hypersensitivity, anxiety, difficulty understanding social nuance, nonstandard eye contact - it actually sounds quite similar to autism, rather than the opposite. (Not the stereotypical autistic traits that most people misunderstand but the actual traits.) The overlap is interesting. I wonder if in the future some related mechanisms/explanations will be discovered.
exasperaited
The specific "opposite" they talk about is clarified further in the article and is interesting:
> Lizzie Hurst, chief executive at the Williams Syndrome Foundation, says: "People [with the disorder] conduct themselves in a way that makes them extremely vulnerable.
> "They don't have the cognitive ability to match their linguistic age.
> "There is a classic autistic profile to which Williams Syndrome is the polar opposite. People can gauge the mood of a crowd and adopt without understanding the nuances of the situation."
The last bit of that is the difference, right? You wouldn't say an autistic person could easily gauge the mood of a crowd and adopt. These are people who are -- compared to neurotypical people! -- social butterflies, linguistically talented, friendly, open, happy-go-lucky, but gullible. This is not the picture of classic autism for sure. It does feel somewhat opposite.
But then I guess one of the interesting things about opposites is that they are within the same plane or category, right? The opposite of a knife is another item of cutlery, not a haddock.
It seems like this syndrome is a genetic deletion, which is not my understanding of autism, but it presumably could have some similar neurological impacts.
mjklin
One theory for how wolves became domesticated is that certain of them had a condition like Williams that made them friendly to humans, who became the ancestors of modern dogs. It was mentioned on the Ologies podcast that covered canines I believe.
empressplay
Despite having almost all of the prerequisite conditions (heart murmur, lazy eye, left-dominant, hernia, poor motor skills etc.) this was ruled out for me when I was a child due to exhibiting a high-IQ (~130), and I was repeatedly diagnosed with autism, despite being outgoing and high-EQ (and horribly naive!).
When I got older I began to develop connective tissue disorders and spasticity, which were incapacitating until I found treatment. I was diagnosed with EDS but that may also have been not-quite-correct, since apparently these issues are also common in WS.
Also, it apparently _is_ possible for people with WS to also have higher-than-average IQs. God, life is so frustrating sometimes!
cjbgkagh
All your items on your list for WS is on my list for hEDS, add in the IQ and I’d say likely 2 TNXB SNPs, do a high quality WGS to be sure. Given the hEDS I highly doubt you have WS as well, just hEDS presents in a variety of depending on other co-occurring SNPs and you got a particular combo.
hEDS is far more common than currently thought because the medical diagnostics are not very sensitive, it’s a spectrum and what doctors tend to think of hEDS is the severe form of it.
catchcatchcatch
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dang
Related. Others?
Williams Syndrome: The people who are too friendly - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44011380 - May 2025 (2 comments)
Williams Syndrome - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24536693 - Sept 2020 (2 comments)
Williams syndrome - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22082839 - Jan 2020 (7 comments)
Williams Syndrome: What World’s Most Sociable People Reveal About Friendliness - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20093646 - June 2019 (5 comments)
Living with Williams Syndrome, the 'opposite of autism' - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7583121 - April 2014 (65 comments)
iainctduncan
Williams Syndrome is discussed in the (fantastic!) book by Oliver Sacks, "Musicophelia". It is often associated with hypermusicality, and the chapter on it is super interesting.
type0
I spoke with one person with WS recently, very musically minded. I haven't recognized what the syndrome was at the time, but I remembered that it was some textbook case of genetic disorder. As adults I think they're aware to be gullible and might take "too much precautions" when it comes to crime in a city so they might bother the police a bit too much.
austin-cheney
Not the same, but another genetic disorder that also impacts intelligence and social reasoning is Fragile X. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fragile_X_syndrome
RobRivera
The opposite of something with a large spectrum...
I just can't sorry
learningmore
Published in 2014.
firefax
>Published in 2014.
Yes, that is in the article.
Anything you wish to add?
Developments since then the article lacks?
southwindcg
It's common practice here to point out the date of older articles so the year can be added to the post title.
type0
it's not a blog article about outdated technical topics, so who cares
ryandv
Are you a patient of this condition or something? Would you mind sharing your story?
aaron695
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> People with WS are empathetic, social, friendly and endearing but they tend to have a low IQ, making tasks such as counting money difficult.
> They can feel anxious over stimuli such as the buzzing of a bee, or the texture of food.
Plenty of autistic folks are empathetic, social, and friendly. And many experience stimuli that cause anxiety.
The whole "it's the opposite of autism" doesn't actually help anyone understand and, IMO, reinforces the incorrect idea that autistic people are asocial, emotionless automata.