Abstract
The purpose of the study was to characterize repetitive phenomena in Williams syndrome (WS). The parents of 60 subjects with WS completed the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) or Children’s Y-BOCS, the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale, the Stereotyped Behavior Scale, and the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale–Parent Version. Nineteen males and 41 females participated in the study. Six subjects (10%) had obsessions only, six (10%) had compulsions only, and eleven (18%) had at least one obsession and at least one compulsion. None of the subjects had tics. Fifty subjects (83.3%) endorsed at least one stereotypy. Increased anxiety was associated with increased severity of obsessions, but not severity of compulsions or stereotypies.
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The authors thank the individuals with Williams syndrome and their families for their participation.
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This work was funded, in part, by the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation.
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Huston, J.C., Thom, R.P., Ravichandran, C.T. et al. Repetitive Thoughts and Repetitive Behaviors in Williams Syndrome. J Autism Dev Disord 52, 852–862 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-04979-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-04979-w