Law and Order and Williams Syndrome

I  somewhat recently became addicted to Law and Order (especially but not limited to SVU), but I am still catching up on never-seen re-runs. So I was exited to see the description of the 2007  Law and Order: SVU episode "Savant," in which a girl with Willams Syndrome is the only witness to her mother's beating. My cousin has Williams Syndrome, so I was curious to see how accurately the not-so-common disorder was represented and hoping that it wouldn't be overly sensationalized, as Law and Order is wont to do sometimes.

As expected, the episode was a pretty good mix of the reality-based and the sensationalized. Key to the plot is the witness (Katie Nicholson) identifying the assailant via voice thanks to her perfect pitch. This is an exaggeration, but people with Williams Syndrome tend to have musical gifts coexisting with mental retardation. In fact, my cousin attended a school, Berkshire Music Academy,  uniquely designed for students with Williams Sydrome.

Also spot-on was Katie's extremely social and friendly nature; while in some ways people with Williams Syndrome have trouble with the nuances of appropriate social behavior, they are usually extremely empathetic and able to read people's emotions. A scene in the first five minutes of the episode, where Katie attempts to give Detective Stabler a hug because he "seems upset," made me chuckle and think of my cousin.

Other details in the episode make it clear the the writers did their homework on Williams Syndrome: Katie has heart problems; she tells the detective that some people think she is an elf (because of their unique facial features, people with Williams Syndrome are often described as elf-like).

There were some awkward moments in the episode, like when Katie mimics an orgasm when recollecting to the court an encounter she overheard between her mother and her mother's lover. And  because I felt extremely protective of Katie, I wish the detectives and later the judge had been more patient and understanding of her Williams-typical behaviors like over-affection. But this is probably accurate to the way a lot of people react to the disorder. Overall, it was a positive and not altogether unrealistic portrayal, and I'm grateful for this type of media attention being given to this rare disorder. Hopefully more people who don't have someone in their life with Williams Syndrome know at least a little about it thanks to Law and Order.