Hyperlexia

[lindy-lou]

Hi,its me again,hope everyones well!!

 

Do any of you have hyperlexic kids?if you do what made you think it could be that?

[Stephanie]

I have no doubts that my son is hyperlexic ... I read a book called "Babies that Read" and it removed any doubt.

 

Getting a formal diagnosis is very difficult, and as yet he doesn't have one.

 

I think Asa is hyperlexic because:-

 

He knew the alphabet forwards at 16 months and backwards at 20 months. He wrote words at 21 months and sentences at 24 months (copying some written signs from memory),he could write words before he could draw anything else. He was always fascinated by letters, logo's etc, anything to do with letters - watching Countdown was always a favourite. He never learned to read phonetically. He is now nearly 6 and reads at about age 11, and has fantastic spelling, grammar and punctuation. He now reads phonetically. He does understand the text but not the more complex abstract concepts and uses the right dictation when reading (this has come on in the last year). He won't watch TV unless there are subtitles with it.

 

When he was at nursery he just used to read the stuff on the walls rather than do what everyone else was doing. He was totally absorbed by text. This has eased off now though but he still likes to read a lot (picture dictionaries, thesaurus type books .. he is currently reading a Spanish picture dictionary??)

 

The school do not necessarily accommodate his hyperlexia and I am trying to convince them they need to.

[chriss]

My son has Aspergers syndrome but I think he is somewhat hyperlexic too. He could read about 10 words at the age of 2 when he had a vocabulary of only about 30 words. Words he saw often such as mummy, stop, go and police (which were on his cars). He also could recognise trademarks at a very early age. Things such as McDonalds, Argos And Nike. He was also ridiculously good at jigsaws. These skills seemed to disappear for a while and in his first year at school he wasn't particularly good at reading and writing.Then he had a very troubled time when he started year 1 and was placed in a far larger class and we had some awful behaviour at home, whilst he streaked ahead academically.

 

He got level 3 in all his SATs last year and is a prolific reader and has an amazing vocabulary. He is a very visual learner and learns a lot from just having posters on his walls.

 

Unfortunately, his handwriting is atrocious and he hates having to write anything down. He has hypermobility in his joints and writing is very tiring for him.

 

I think there is a very thin line between hyperlexia and other neurological conditions so that is why it is difficult to get a diagnosis. My son does well at school academically but gets no practical support so it is very, very stressful for him. The Ed Psych says he is doing so well he must be ok- but that is far from the truth.

 

Have you seen the advert where a little girl spells out paleontology? I would have kittens if I had another child and they did that!

[florrie]

I have hyperlexia and I'm 43, the reason i know is that I read fluently at 2 reading age of 15 by the time i went to school. The defininition of hyperlexia is high ability with words but very poor comprehension, ie mine is of a 5 year old, I can't process a passage of material and answer simple questions on it(abstract concept) despite reading 2000 research texts a year. these difficulties can lead to asd symptoms such as echolalia, obsessive compulsive behaviours, including obsession with sameness,specific intense fears, remarkable rote memory and impaired social and communication difficulties.

 

Psychiatist professor darold treffert is an expert in this area check

 

www.wisconsinmedicalsociety.org/savant/hyperlexia (I don't know how to place the link so you can just click it on)

 

for masses of detailed information, on 3 types of hyperlexia. if it is treated correctly the prognosis is apparently good for this group of people.

 

Lindamood bell also do programmes to improve comprehension which research has shown reduces or eliminates asd symtpoms. I was tested there and had the most extreme profile they had ever tested. Donna Williams also says on page 61 in the The Jumbled Jigsaw, that by improving receptive language most of the autism goes with it

 

I make loads of spelling mistakes and punctuation mistakes now however when attempting to communicate what I wish (but am aware of doing so)as my brain is racing so fast

Edited January 10, 2007 by florrie

[Ohforaquietlife]

My nine year old son is hyperlexic. He has a diagnosis of ASD and he certainly fits the triad of impairments but he is undoubtably also hyperlexic.

 

He taught himself to read and write long before he starting school. He still has an intense fascination with words and would spend all day reviewing the credits of movies if we'd let him! He has very delayed expressive and receptive language - his vocab understanding is at about the level of a 4 year old but he has age appropriate reading and non-verbal reasoning skills. His spelling is above average for his age. However, because of his language delay, he only understands short simple language, be it verbal or in written form. He perfectly fits the American Hyperlexic Association's description of hyperlexia.

 

Finding out that he is hyperlexic has been very important as we now know that for him to comprehend instructions etc, he needs them written down. They are now doing that at school and it is really helping him to learn. It makes language visual for him so he is much better able to understand what is being asked of him and respond.

[Stephanie]

Yes my sons bedroom walls are covered in information posters and A4 sheets of paper I have written up for him explaining social rules and everyday tasks. He responds very well to written instructions. Even at 3 he was reading all the instruction booklets on how to use his little laptop computer etc.

 

We are struggling to get him to 'want' to improve his handwriting, it is ok but he holds a pen with difficulty and will only write things down when he wants to .... and usually he writes made up names or silly things.

I have noticed he does express himself and his thoughts on his computer, once he wrote "naughty Billy for not letting me play with your ball at school" etc. He types so quickly and accurately its mind blowing. He knows things about that computer at 5 years old that I don't know and I would say I was very PC literate.

 

He is in Year 1. The school are helping by putting him on more complicated books and a higher level than the other kids and he is getting the spellings for years 5&6 which he finds easy. Other than that, they are treating him the same as every other kid (apart from he has 2 hours SEN time per day). Until I get a diagnosis of hyperlexia, they say they will carry on as they are. I have asked them to give him more visuals and written text to learn from but they haven't really.

 

During his 2 hour SEN time they do guided reading (pictures not text) to see if he can relate to the story and he is doing ok with that (not great, but ok) he can tell you what the story was about but not in any great detail.

 

I guess the difficulties with having a great long term and rote memory but a very bad short term memory must really impact on the whole hyperlexia thing.

[curra]

I think that my son is also hyperlexic. He spoke in sentences at the age of 2 and learned the alphabet backwards when he was 3, he was reading books when he was 5. He still reads a lot and talks a lot about what he reads and memorises. He has an amazing memory for facts and dates. When he's browsing at the PC he goes so fast through the pages that my eyes hurt and I can't follow, but he can read that way. Until now (he goes to an ASD unit) he couln't use his talents at school, as much as he wished and should have because of his narrow interests and also because he repeats and repeats what he likes to talk about. Secondary school teachers at the mainstream school where he used to go were more concerned about ticking boxes in worksheets than helping him to learn from his own interests, so his marks went down in spite of his knowledge. I'd suggest all who have hyperlexic ASD children to insist that the teachers differentiate the activities and are flexible when they assess their children.

 

 

Curra XX

[Canopus]

When he was at nursery he just used to read the stuff on the walls rather than do what everyone else was doing.

 

I'm sure I was hyperlexic. I used to read complete sentences from magazines when I was at nursery much to the annoyance of the teachers. Most kids couldn't even read flashcards.

 

I was reading a Haynes manual when I was 4 and found it fascinating. It had chapters on the engine, gearbox, suspension, electrics, and fuel system. I could read entire sections although I didn't quite correctly pronounce some of the longer technical words. I took the book to school but my teacher wasn't impressed when I wanted to read it instead of story books with short simple sentences written in half inch high letters. The teacher was even less amused when all I wanted to talk about during circle time was how carburettors worked and the optimum fuel air ratio. My end of term report stated that I choose unsuitable reading material in lessons.

[Stephanie]

Haynes Manuals are tough going - for adults!

 

Do you still have a fascination for the written word now?