10+ Diagnoses a Hyperlexic Child Might Have (Besides Autism)

Here are 10+ common diagnoses a hyperlexic child might have (besides autism). They might even receive these diagnoses instead of the label of hyperlexia itself.

Some of the most common questions that I get about the hyperlexia "diagnosis" are regarding it's relationship with autism. Questions such as:

Is hyperlexia a form of autism?

Is hyperlexia always diagnosed with autism?

Can you have hyperlexia and not be autistic?

How is hyperlexia different than autism?

While they're fair questions to ask, I'll be honest, I do question the intentions behind some of these questions as it often seems parents are reluctant or even in denial that their child might indeed be autistic. But that's a whole other beast to tackle for another post on another day.

Instead, let's focus on the question of whether or not hyperlexia is always identified or diagnosed with autism and take a look at some other diagnoses a hyperlexic child might have.

10+ diagnoses a hyperlexic child might have besides autism

10+ Other Diagnoses A Hyperlexic Child Might Have

Since hyperlexia isn't a standalone diagnosis, you can't receive it as an official "diagnosis" on its own. Instead, it will often be diagnosed (or some might argue misdiagnosed), identified alongside, or lumped in with another diagnosis. In some cases, a hyperlexic child might receive one of these diagnoses in place of the label of hyperlexia. Here are some of the possible diagnoses they might receive:

Autism (including Asperger's which is now just diagnosed as autism)

Specific language impairment or a language disorder such as mixed receptive-expressive language disorder or expressive language disorder

Nonverbal learning disability

Pervasive developmental disorder

Social communication disorder, such as semantic/pragmatic disorder

For most hyperlexic kids, their hyperlexia will be identified alongside an autism diagnosis. It's not surprising that this is the case as there's a strong link between the two. In fact, 84% of hyperlexics are either autistic or have several autistic features (source).

In addition to some of the diagnoses above, a hyperlexic child might have other co-occurring conditions such as:

ADHD

Sensory processing disorder or sensory integration dysfunction

Obsessive-compulsive disorder

Seizure disorder

Tourette's Syndrome

Dyspraxia

Anxiety

Now obviously this list isn't exhaustive. There are a lot of other possible diagnoses and conditions that a hyperlexic child might have. These are just some of the more common possibilities.

Regardless of what other conditions or diagnoses a hyperlexic individual has, it's still important to identify the hyperlexia piece.

Adkins et al. write that we need to still "identify children with hyperlexia if they have other diagnoses or conditions" because "these children learn primarily through reading, so the therapeutic and educational programs that we devise for them must take their reading skills into account." (source: Hyperlexia: Therapy that Works manual).

Let me stress that again.

Identifying their hyperlexia is just as important as identifying their autism or their OCD because it tells you so much about how they learn and how their brain works.

That means you might have to keep pushing until their hyperlexic learning style is recognized, especially when so many professionals or specialists are quick to disregard or dismiss your very valid concerns about the possibility of hyperlexia. And yes, this does happen.

So to answer the question "is hyperlexia always diagnosed with autism?", the answer is no. You can learn more about how to diagnose hyperlexia here.