Everywhere I read about hyperlexia it includes autistic traits as part of the symptoms, I don't think what you said is therefore correct, e.g.
http://www.nldline.com/hyperlexia.htm
Quote:
Many children love to read, and some even learn to read at a remarkably early age. However, in an unusual syndrome called hyperlexia, the ability to read at a very young age can be the key indicator of a problem. Children with hyperlexia have an extraordinary ability to read at a very young age. They also have an extreme fascination with symbols, letters, and numbers. Unfortunately this fascination with words is just a small portion of what may be a lifetime of struggles.
These children also have to overcome language delays and social problems. Although little is known about the actual cause of the learning disorder, fortunately there is a lot that can be done to help improve the performance socially and academically for the child with hyperlexia. A great network of physicians, therapists, and teachers is necessary for the child. Unfortunately, the optometrist is an often overlooked and underutilized link in the assessment and therapy of learning related disorders such as hyperlexia.
Hyperlexia has also been defined as "advanced word-recognition skills in individuals who otherwise have pronounced cognitive, social, and linguistic handicaps" (Nation, 1999). Often, a child with hyperlexia can be a very visual learner and has difficulty interacting socially. However they can also have a great deal of perceptual problems. Signs of hyperlexia usually do not begin to emerge until after 18 to 24 months of age (
www.hyperlexia.org). A child has been developing normally until this point, but then begins to regress. It is almost as though the child misses the developmental step of learning the meaning of language and thus, he learns to read words first, then later he learns what those words mean. Many children with hyperlexia tend to emerge as self-taught readers at an age below the norm. Also, they have a physical need for reading, a sort of obsession. This is quite similar to the variety of fixations that many other children with disorders experience. Usually the fixation does not define the disorder, but in this case it is a significant indicator that distinguishes the child from having other developmental disorders. If the child does not have books, he will try to decode signs or symbols. If he is given even less, he may form the shapes and symbols with his own fingers. But, he is not learning language this way, nor is he learning any subject that he may be reading. He just has a need to read.
Also, here is a university study:
http://www.yale.edu/eglab/pdf/ELGReprint.pdfQuote:
There are, however, some aspects of the definition of hyperlexia on which there is little or no consensus. First, is hyperlexia a phenomenon that is characteristic only of specific clinical populations (e.g., children with developmental delays), or can it also be observed in the general population? Is hyperlexia a distinct syndrome comorbid with a number of different disorders or is it a part of the spectrum of some other clinical condition(s)? Second, with regard to what should this word identification superiority be defined (comprehension, vocabulary, general intelligence, any combination of the three, or all three)? Third, is there a specific neuropsychological profile associated with hyperlexia? Fourth, is hyperlexia characterized by a particular developmental profile? Fifth, is there a particular biological signature of hyperlexia? Sixth, what psychological processes form the foundation for reading without meaning that constitutes the essence of hyperlexia? Finally, should hyperlexia be viewed as a disability (deficit) or a superability (talent)?
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DX AS & both daughters on the autistic spectrum
10 Mar 2013, 3:09 pm
