Mental rotation in Williams syndrome: an impaired ability

Typically developing young children and individuals with intellectual disabilities often perform poorly on mental rotation tasks when the stimulus they are rotating lacks a salient component. However, performance can be improved when salience is increased. The present study investigated the effect of salience on mental rotation performance by individuals with Williams syndrome. Individuals with Williams syndrome and matched controls were presented with two versions of a mental rotation task: a no salient component condition and a salient component condition. The results showed that component salience did not benefit individuals with Williams syndrome in the same manner as it did controls.