Difficulty in writing Japanese semantic characters in a 9-year-old boy with Williams syndrome

A 9-year-old boy diagnosed as having Williams syndrome was evaluated using psychological test batteries in order to clarify his ability in language and visual cognition. The subject had difficulty in writing some of the Japanese semantic characters (called Kanji) which he could otherwise read and understand. Although he could write the small components of which the Kanji characters were composed, he could not locate these correctly. This phenomenon is considered to be very similar to the difficulty in copying a figure observed clinically. The Kaufmann Assessment Batteries for Children clearly revealed that the boy had difficulty with the sub-test of spatial memory compared to his average score for simultaneous processing. This result is considered to be closely related to the difficulty in copying figures or writing Kanji characters. On the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities, the present authors found that the subject's vocabulary was relatively good, although semantic and pragmatic problems remained. Clarifying the strong and weak points of the abilities of such patients will help to determine the most appropriate mode of education for them.