Word reading and reading-related skills in adolescents with Williams syndrome

Background: Individuals with Williams syndrome have good spontaneous language despite low levels of intelligence. This study explores the relationship between intelligence, word decoding and reading-related skills in 20 individuals with Williams syndrome. Methods: In addition to the KBIT, the participants were administered standardized measures of reading, vocabulary, rapid naming, phonological skills and an experimental measure of rhyme judgement. Results: There was wide variability in the reading achievement among the individuals with WS. While some participants were unable to recognize letters of the alphabet, others scored within the normal range of tests of single word reading and decoding. Reading scores were correlated with intelligence as measured on KBIT matrices but not with the vocabulary measures. Reading also correlated with phonological awareness tasks yet, surprisingly, not with rapid naming. Conclusion: It is suggested that in individuals with retardation, intelligence rather than language and language-related skills predict achievements in word reading.