When Linda lived at home with Mum & Dad, she lived with them all day, every day. She was loved to pieces and given every opportunity they knew how. Since Mom & Dad died, I’ve cared for Linda and three major things have changed. 1) We now have a positive FISH test diagnosis that confirms […]
Over Eating – A Particular Problem For Williams Syndrome Adults?
Linda loves her food. The days when she was fussy, picky or otherwise difficult to feed – those symptoms of Williams Syndrome are long passed. Now she is on the See-Food diet – see food and eat it! I can’t quite understand why but Linda has always eaten quickly. I promise you, there’s no competition. […]
Is the iPad a Good Buy For a Special Needs Adult?
We bought Linda an iPad for Christmas. She is an adult with special needs, Williams Syndrome to be exact. She can read and write but has poor coordination. Her visuo-spatial awareness is very poor, again typical of Williams Syndrome symptoms. She had used a laptop but couldn’t quite get to grips with the mouse and […]
Thanks From a Williams Syndrome Adult
It had been a long hard day. We’d been out at a social event during the afternoon. We certainly made small talk with people we really didn’t know very well or even at all and Linda had been part of the party. That famous, typical Williams Syndrome symptom of cocktail party chatter was put to […]
Today Linda Read a Story!
We are blessed that Linda can read. We know many adults with Williams Syndrome don’t have this skill. Linda does and knows how to use it. She reads avidly: newspapers, books, catalogues, leaflets… but never novels or fiction of any sort. Over the years we have tried. Books of all descriptions for all ages, books […]
What a Busy Birthday Month!
As you might have noticed, it’s been a while since my last post. The delay was initially down to technical problems – my laptop experienced a power failure so when the battery finally ran down it was dead and not resuscitated ! All data safe thank goodness. By the time I was re-juiced, August had […]
How Can We Celebrate?
Since Monday things have calmed down. I don’t think for one moment that Linda has really learned the lesson. I expect that managing her food intake will probably get more difficult and I’ve no idea what will happen to her ability to tell lies with an innocent smile, but a line must be drawn. Now […]
Honestly Sister!
What a day! For Linda is was last day of term at her numeracy and literacy classes. She’s been attending these for a year now and certainly has improved. You can read her writing now, most of the time! More importantly, she actually took a maths exam some weeks ago and was eagerly awaiting the […]
Nothing Less Than Perfect
Williams Syndrome, that cocktail party personality, sweet and friendly. People rarely tell you about the compulsive and persistent aspects of that story! Linda is over 40 but in many ways delights in the same things as a 4yr old. For some time she’s been lusting after a bicycle… not possible due to her lack of […]
Listening to Music With Linda
Many of the symptoms of Williams Syndrome are well known to parents and carers: distractability, short attention span, ADHD-like symptoms. We also know of their musicality, tendancy to sing, shout or squeal with delight, to jiggle and dance and twitch with life… Well, in the words of the Porgy and Bess song, it ain’t neccesarily […]