SILVER LININGS OF TROUBLESOME TRAITS:
Some Reflections from a Music Camp for those with Williams
Syndrome
I was absolutely stunned when I came here.
I met Gloria [Lenhoff] and her father two years ago in
California. But meeting one or two people didn't prepare me
for what I've found here.
Author/Neurologist
Dr. Oliver Sacks
Belvoir Terrace,
August, 1995
What did Sacks find at Belvoir Terrace and
why should it interest you as parents and teachers of the
disabled? Sacks as a professional was amazed by what
parents of Williams syndrome (WS) children have observed
for years, that, despite their disabilities, they have
unusual musical abilities. I, as a parent, also learned
something new - that some behavioral features of our
mentally disabled children which we find so unsettling may
be the same features that give them those special traits
making them so unique and dear to us. In this particular
instance, I refer to hyperacusis, an extreme sensitivity to
sound which often makes loud sounds painful to hear and
also a trait of autistic individuals, and
over-friendliness, also a trait of those with Down
syndrome.
My conclusions came from an opportunity to
observe large groups of WS individuals over extended
periods came at the Belvoir Terrace Music and Arts Camp in
Lenox. Massachusetts, USA. For the past thirty years,
Belvoir Terrace has hosted for eight weeks every summer two
hundred talented young women, ages nine to sixteen, in an
exceptional camping program in the fine arts. In the summer
of 1994, a week-long program especially tailored for forty
individuals with WS, was created by Belvoir Director Ms.
Nancy Goldberg. This program was selected for the WS
campers because of the mounting anecdotal evidence of
parents and teachers that individuals with WS, despite
their cognitive deficits, have remarkable abilities in
music, surpassing that of the general population. By living
at the camp to assist this unique program during its first
two years, I was able to observe the WS campers from 8:30
AM to 9:30 PM every day for a week each year.
From these observations I concluded that many WS
children show unusual musical abilities in part because of
several aspects of the syndrome usually viewed as negative,
specifically hyperacusis, an extreme sensitivity to sound,
and over-friendliness.
New research on Music and WS: But before
discussing those silver linings, it is worth noting some
recent work and comments about the musicality of those with
WS. In the October 13, 1995 issue of Science, there is a
letter by Dr. Ursula Bellugi, a pioneer in WS research, and
her colleagues. It is titled "Asymmetrical Abilities" and
describes how the brains of a number of individuals with WS
show the same enlargement of the area of the brain dealing
with perfect pitch as exists in professional musicians who
have perfect pitch. This is the first scientific evidence
supporting the observations that parents and teachers have
made over the years, that many of our WS children possess
unusual musical abilities.
My esteemed colleague, Dr. Bellugi uses the
phrase "Asymmetrical abilities" in the same context that I
introduced the descriptor "mentally asymmetric" (Ability
Network - Spring 1995, pp. 15-16.) to replace other
descriptors such as mentally retarded, disabled,
challenged, etc. Asymmetry refers to the peaks and valleys
in one's abilities, and sometimes the peaks in mentally
asymmetric individuals may exceed similar peaks in the
general population. This certainly holds true among those
with WS who have exceptional pitch, rhythm, and long-term
retention of melodies and lyrics. Such asymmetries no doubt
exist in other syndromes; we just have to find and
cultivate them.
Observations of Dr. Oliver Sacks: In addition to
what some may consider biased remarks by those parents and
teachers, we can now add the observations of Dr. Oliver
Sacks, the author/neurologist who wrote Awakenings and
other books dealing with remarkable functions of the human
brain. Observing the WS campers this summer while he was
making a documentary of WS, Dr. Sacks said:
I was absolutely stunned when I came here. I met
Gloria [Lenhoff] and her father two years ago in
California. But meeting one or two people didn't prepare me
for what I've found here.
Their sense of musicality and friendliness is so
strong .... Their talents are so extraordinary ....Their
musical ability is infallible, their sense of pitch and
rhythm. They have musical intelligence found in less than
five percent of the general population, that you'll find in
ninety percent of those here.
At a performance Tuesday, as the sounds of music
started, everyone responded precisely [in] tune, words,
feeling, harmony. It was like suddenly seeing a musical
species.
Silver lining of hyperacusis - excellent pitch
and accent: How do we account for their uncanny pitch,
accent, and rhythm? I believe it may be a "silver lining"
of hyperacusis, the aspect of WS which often torments WS
children as they try to sleep, only to be kept awake by the
slightest of sounds. Could it be that because 95% of WS
children show hyperacusis they are able with their acute
hearing to recognize whether or not a note is on or off
key, of whether a word is said with the correct accent? I
think so. This belief was further enforced for me when a WS
mother told me that her son was one of the 5 % not
exhibiting hyperacusis, and she added, "He shows no special
musical talent at all."
Silver lining of over-friendliness - Absence of
stage fright: WS individuals are extremely friendly, often
striking up conversations, with strangers, often to the
chagrin and concern of their parents, almost anywhere and
at any time. Thus, an ingrained routine of WS parents is to
warn their WS children repeatedly not to speak with
strangers for fear that they will be harmed by some
unscrupulous individuals. And yet, no matter how many times
the WS children are warned, and regardless of their age,
they continue to be friendly, even in the most unlikely of
places, such as in elevators where strangers rarely speak
with each other.
What is the upside of their over-friendliness?
They do not show stage fright while performing. I have yet
to see a shy WS child or to see one refuse to take the
microphone or refuse to get up in front of an audience to
speak or perform. They are true "hams," natural performers.
In contrast, when you ask adults from the general
population what they fear most in social situations, it is
frequently public speaking. Aspiring professional musicians
tell us they often get so tense when appearing on stage
that their muscles do not function properly, causing them
to perform well below their abilities. Not true with WS
performers. They do not appear even to understand the
concept of stage fright.
My general conclusions and advice to parents?
Keep looking for the silver linings. It is important to be
aware of our mentally asymmetric children's innate problems
in order to help them deal with them. On the other hand, by
accepting their "different" behaviors, we may find that
some of their so-called liabilities may actually help make
them the unique individuals that they are and that we love
so much.
Dr. Lenhoff, Professor of Biological and Social
Sciences Emeritus, University of California, Irvine, has
served on the Board of the
Williams
Syndrome Association, is Executive Vice President of
the Williams
Syndrome Foundation, and is Co-organizer of the WS
Music and Arts Camp at Belvoir Terrace.
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