And, while moving a mouse on a computer seems simple for children with Williams Syndrome, when they try to replicate block patterns on a computer screen they fail.
"This is very interesting, as it suggests that certain spatial skills (e.g. coordinating a mouse and a computer image) are intact, but that other skills (e.g. copying a pattern) are profoundly impaired," Laudau says.
"The children are very persistent and can tell you what they've done is not right, but they don't know exactly what's wrong," she added.
Another interesting contrast can be found by examining how the children search space for hidden objects. Although they are impaired when asked to copy patterns, they do not seem to become disoriented in space. When asked to find a coin hidden under one of several cups on a table, the children do so quite easily--even if they have moved from one place to another between the hiding event and the finding event.
The two activities "suggest real differences in the kinds of intellectual abilities that are compromised and the kinds that are spared," Landau says. "Obviously, not every spatial capacity shows a deficit.
"This is not just retardation, this is something unusual," Landau asserts. Landau and her research team have used some of the March of Dimes funding to purchase a special eye-tracker that records the children's eye movements as they perform spatial tasks. The tiny camera is hidden in a cap that the children wear, and this allows them to freely move their head, body and eyes. The purchase of this special piece of equipment also was supported by matching funds from UD.
The children in the study will wear the cap when trying to replicate the block patterns on the computer. Tracking their eye movements may yield some clue as to what is happening in their brains as they try and fail the simple exercises.
By understanding the nature of the spatial deficits, the researchers hope to
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Contact: Beth Thomas
beth.thomas@mvs.udel.edu
302-831-8749
University of Delaware
3-Jul-1998