When something such as hyperlexia is relatively unknown and unfamiliar to most people, it's not surprising to have a lot of questions about it.
I mean, there's barely any information out there on hyperlexia.
Granted, there's more now than there was many years ago and more and more people are starting to write and share about it, which is awesome.
I've noticed that a lot of the questions I receive focus on trying to understand how hyperlexia and autism are similar or different. One such question that I get asked a lot is: is hyperlexia a form of autism?
So that's what we'll be covering here.
Is Hyperlexia a Form of Autism?
In short, no.
The label of hyperlexia is most often paired with an autism diagnosis so it's easy to think it might just be another characteristic or a specific type of autism.
But that's not the case.
Hyperlexia is not a form of autism.
Instead, hyperlexia is its own group of characteristics and traits.
Having said that, some of the characteristics of hyperlexia often overlap with other diagnostic labels. For instance, you will notice quite a few overlapping traits between autism and hyperlexia such as echolalia, unusual social skills, and difficulties with language. But there are a few key differences that also separate the two. The precocious reading ability, for example, would be one such difference that is the hallmark of hyperlexia and not a specific autism trait.
It's also important to remember that hyperlexia is not a standalone diagnosis. So usually the only way to officially receive the "diagnosis" of hyperlexia on paper, is to get it "diagnosed" alongside something else. That something else is often autism, but can be a variety of other diagnoses such as a pervasive developmental disorder or an expressive language disorder.
So to sum things up, hyperlexia is its own separate condition or syndrome, just like autism is its own separate condition. That means you could be hyperlexic, but not autistic. Just like you could be autistic, but not hyperlexic.
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