Williams Syndrome: Behind the smiling, cheerful face

Picture from: Williams Syndrome

I am always interested in learning something new, so I read quite a lot. 'Learning by reading (interesting things!)', that is my motto.

This time I am reading a novel about an 8 year old red haired child who has remarkable hearing and strong language skills, looks like an elfin and is very friendly to EVERYONE. 

She smiles a lot, even seeks physical contact with strangers (hugging, etc). Wow, an over-friendly, cheerful child, I thought. I have never met anyone like that before, or maybe I have been ignorant? True, I had bumped into some nice looking people carrying a sign 'A Hug is Free!' but I don't think they fitted into the descriptions above, at least not a single one of them looked like an elfin, otherwise I would probably  have been running into their arms and giving them hugs for free.

Unfortunately those characteristics are several signs of a rare neurodevelopmental disorder called Williams Syndrome. What a pity. Can it be true?

So I did some research on this Syndrome and came across to some websites.

One of the sites is this link, which I found very informative to pass on.

If you know more about Williams Syndrome, please share your insights.

Have a good learning day!