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!
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.
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.
Armchair geneticist: So in the group of genes that are deleted in particular LIMK1 stands out. After it is deleted there is only 1 copy behind. The other copy could be less effective as sometimes seen, but Estrogen in particular inactivates LIMK1. So in those with genetics for high estrogen signaling (that they are also known for) are more likely to inactivate the one remaining copy of LIMK1. And then you get the highly verbal, social, poor math & visual-spatial information, outcome. This combo would be more likely to be found in families of HPA Axis issues so anxiety, insomnia, etc I would speculate come along for the ride, more than directly influence that brain development branch. It is always more complicated, but for the curious.
Edit: lol no need to actually poke around just see wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_syndrome#Cause
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)
People get upset when I share this anecdote but I think it's enlightening. I talked to a guy whose sister has Williams Syndrome. About her personality, he said "She's like a Golden Retriever who can text." I got the sense that he was referring to her cheerfulness, kindness, and inspiring openness. I also got the sense that he felt very protective of her, as if she were a young woman with a beautiful soul who is nevertheless extremely vulnerable.
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.
Back when I was in high school I read a book ("the speed of dark" by Elizabeth Moon) which is written from the perspective of an autistic person who works for a pharmaceutical company (I won't add spoilers). It was full of nuggets of wisdom that made me appreciate how many autistic people just think differently, and how the deficit perspective is wrong and conterproductive.
This article is old and stupid. They find traits of Autism in Williams Syndrome. Why do ten year old science articles make it to the top of HN?
Symptoms of autism in Williams syndrome: a transdiagnostic approach
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-68089-0
Autism and Williams syndrome: truly mirror conditions in the socio-cognitive domain? https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9351567/
People with autism and Asperger‘s have empathy. Just updating people cause this article is from 2014 and they didn’t know that back then.
And I don’t think being endearing to people is representative of empathy.
This is the opposite of autism like dogs are the opposite of cats.
> People with WS are empathetic, social, friendly and endearing but they tend to have a low IQ, making tasks such as counting money difficult.
FWIW, this describes me (ASD, diagnosed) on XTC.
I wonder how this relates to Sensory Processing Sensitivity? I know some folks with this who experience some of the same attributes but are otherwise very high IQ.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensory_processing_sensitivi...
This doesn't sound much like an opposite to me.
There are different levels of ADHD, and many are judged as stupid in school simply because they're bored and overstimulated at the same time.
The rest of the traits described are pretty common in ADHD from my experience.
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
Autism is a common comorbidity of Williams syndrome.
I was late diagnosed with autism at 35 due to sleeping difficulties. I don't have a lot of social difficulties. I currently have some at work but before this job I didn't have issues. I have 0 dating difficulties, mostly because I tackled that issue in my early teens studied everything I could find and at one point I just got it. I'm not sensitive to light or smells. I am slightly sensitive to sound such as sirens from an ambulance. My special interest revolves around learning anything and everything (basically the Hacker News ethos about being curious), which is also atypical as it isn't a restrictive interest.
The comments here need to be a bit careful with what autism is as it can present itself very differently in people. In part this is because the medical establishment doesn't know a lot yet about what it is. Only quite recently did they find that there's 4 subtypes [1].
It's funny. My wife, non-autistic, tells me I'm one of the most emotionally intelligent men she knows. She keeps saying that. In part, I trained it through meditation (1000 hours in), in part it's just really about paying attention. She hasn't been the only one. I've also met one person at times saying I lack empathy and come across as robotic at times. But I can tell you, in general, I empathize and feel things. I have noticed that I can't always communicate well that I understand what other people mean. When I was younger they went on to explain it to me and it was always really annoying since I understood but people thought I didn't.
I often go against the grain with things because I think things are foolish. If I'd have done otherwise, I'd have definitely been trapped into the toxic masculine culture and drink a lot more alcohol. So often times what I do may not look empathetic or sympathetic but that's because many people don't care that they are toxic themselves and then just put the emotional burden to me.
Related to empathy: ever since I got the autism diagnosis, to the people I've told, I've seen an uptick in them saying I'm not empathetic at times by one person. So sharing your diagnosis does give some people a prejudice over you that shouldn't really be there.
[1] https://www.princeton.edu/news/2025/07/09/major-autism-study...
pretty wild title, very ignorant as well
I think I get that syndrome when I am around a woman who I find very attractive.
Published in 2014.
Are you a patient of this condition or something? Would you mind sharing your story?
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The opposite of something with a large spectrum...
I just can't sorry
> 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.