Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate reading and methaphological skills in 12 individuals with Williams syndrome (WS) compared with 12 typically developing children matched for mental age. For this purpose, tests of reading and metaphonological abilities were administered. Our results document comparable word reading and segmentation abilities in the two groups. On the contrary the individuals with WS were impaired in a passage comprehension, in syllable deletion and in rhyme detection tasks and in nonword reading accuracy. Theoretical and e rehabilitative implications of these findings are discussed.