Showing posts with label ABCs of Hyperlexia. Show all posts

March 20, 2025

Hyperlexia Research & Journal Articles

Hyperlexia research papers and scientific journal articles. For nerdy people like me who want to dig deeper into their knowledge about hyperlexia and get a better understanding of this incredibly unique learning profile.

I am a research junkie. In particular, I love to read through academic and scientific journals about topics that are of high interest to me, namely hyperlexia.

Just the other week someone in my hyperlexia support group (now defunct sorry) had a good chuckle about me reading an article about fMRI imaging and hyperlexia on a Saturday morning! See, totally nerdy!

So, if you are interested in learning about hyperlexia through scientific research and academic journals, then you're in the right spot. There are over 50 hyperlexia research articles and studies below to read through that all have open access or PDFs available to download. You know...in case you need a little light bedtime reading...

This post was last updated on July 11, 2025. New research papers were added, dead/broken links were removed, and the articles were arranged into new sections.

Hyperlexia Research

The academic articles and research below are included for informational purposes only. Inclusion of the links below are not necessarily reflective of my opinions. In fact, I haven't even read most of these yet! So, really, this list of articles is as much for me to read through as it is for you.

Please note that I've only included links to those articles that have open access or PDFs available. There are plenty of other research papers on hyperlexia that aren't included here, simply because they don't have open access or are hidden behind a paywall.

At the time of publishing this blog post, all links worked. The following links will redirect to you the full text version, PDF directly, and/or a place where you can download the PDF.

Research Articles Prior to 2000

Hyperlexia by Kupperman et al. (1998)

Semantic Memory Impairment Does Not Impact on Phonological and Orthographic Processing in a Case of Developmental Hyperlexia by Glosser et al. (1997)

Clues to the Cognitive Organization of Reading and Writing From Developmental Hyperlexia by Glosser et al. (1996)

Linking Reading with Meaning: A Case Study of a Hyperlexic Reader by Worthy & Invernizzi (1995)

Hyperlexia: Description, Prognosis and Implications for Family Counseling by Stuart (1993)

Brief Report: Implications of Hyperlexia in an Autistic Savant by Patti & Lupinetti (1993)

The Syndrome of Hyperlexia vs. High Functioning Autism and Asperger's Syndrome by Kupperman et al. (1992)

Hyperlexia and Dyslexia: A Family Study by Healy & Aram (1986)

Theoretical Implications of the Hyperlexia Syndrome: Two New Italian Cases by Cossu & Marshall (1986)

Inquiry Into the Incidence of Hyperlexia in a Statewide Population of Children with Pervasive Developmental Disorder by Burd et al. (1985)

Variability in IQ Scores and Prognosis of Children with Hyperlexia by Graziani et al. (1983)

A Study of Hyperlexia by Healy et al. (1982)

Hyperlexia as a Variant of Developmental Language Disorder by Richman & Kitchell (1981)

Case Histories in Hyperlexia by Silberberg & Silberberg (1968)

Obadiah, a Child with Numerical Obsession by Parker (1918) - likely one of the first documented cases of hypernumeracy

A Pseudo-Talent for Words: The Teacher's Report to Dr. Witmer by Parker (1917) - likely one of the first documented cases of hyperlexia

Hopefully, you're able to find some time to dig through this hyperlexia research. It's really quite fascinating to read through and learn about.

Continue reading "Hyperlexia Research & Journal Articles"

September 15, 2023

Understanding the Hyperlexia "Diagnosis"

What you need to know about the hyperlexia diagnosis, as well as information on how to get your child identified as hyperlexic.

One of the most frequent questions that I get asked about hyperlexia is regarding the diagnostic process. Who can diagnose hyperlexia? How can you get the hyperlexia diagnosis? And so on. Important questions, yes, but it isn't as straightforward or easy to answer these questions as one might think.

Because hyperlexia is currently not a standalone diagnosis.

That makes things tricky for parents like myself trying to get help for their child.

So I thought I would cover as much as I can about the "diagnostic" process regarding hyperlexia so you can better understand how to go about getting your child identified as hyperlexic.

Important Points About Identifying the Hyperlexic Child

Hyperlexia is not a diagnosis by itself and, as such, does not appear as an official diagnosis in psychiatric and psychological diagnostic manuals.

Instead, hyperlexia is a practical label.

That means, the label of hyperlexia gives parents, professionals, and educators a better understanding of how the child thinks and learns.

Having a label of hyperlexia also makes it easier to find, develop, and use strategies that will actually help your child, which is why it's important to identify hyperlexia.

Since it isn't a standalone diagnosis, the label of hyperlexia is usually identified alongside another diagnosis (see a list here). Hyperlexia is often identified alongside an autism diagnosis, in particular.

However, hyperlexia can also be identified alongside other diagnoses such as pervasive development disorder or expressive language disorders (see more on page 3 here as well).

Now, it's important to note that not every hyperlexic child will be autistic, just like not every autistic child will be hyperlexic.

However, it has been found that 84% of hyperlexic individuals are either autistic or have several autistic features (source). So there's a good chance that your child will be both hyperlexic and autistic.

What About the 3 Types of Hyperlexia?

Many parents ask how they can get a hyperlexia 3 diagnosis.

Although there have been three types of hyperlexia proposed, most hyperlexic children will just be identified as hyperlexic. Don't expect to receive a diagnosis of hyperlexia type I, II, or III.

There are a couple of reasons for this.

One, the research doesn't necessarily support these three types. They are, after all, just one proposed theory. A dated theory at that.

Two, most professionals don't even know about hyperlexia, let alone the three types of hyperlexia. Hard to "diagnose" something you don't know exists, right?

Finally, there is a lot of disagreement on how to best describe and define hyperlexia. As a result, not all experts agree on the three types and instead "argue that the term hyperlexia be reserved to describe only those individuals who (a) demonstrate a reading comprehension deficit in the absence of deficits in decoding skills and (b) have been diagnosed with ASD." (Robertson, 2019)

Kupperman (1998) also notes that "the diagnosis of hyperlexia does not apply to children who are precocious in reading but who do not exhibit a significant language disorder." (source)

For me, the type doesn't matter. Instead, knowing the term hyperlexia describes my child is all that matters. It gives me the information I need to best understand my kid and better support their needs.

I encourage you not to dwell too much on the type and instead focus on the fact that your child is hyperlexic regardless.

Who Can Identify Hyperlexia?

Your best bet for getting your child identified as hyperlexic is to find a professional who is knowledgeable about hyperlexia. But that's easier said than done, I know.

However, if you can't find someone knowledgeable about hyperlexia, look for someone who is knowledgeable about autism. They're more likely to have heard of and/or have experience with hyperlexia. After all, hyperlexia is quite common in autistic populations (anywhere from 5-10% of autistics are said to be hyperlexic).

Or better yet, look for someone familiar with gestalt language processing. They're the most likely to have heard of hyperlexia and, if not, they will at least be more familiar with how to support their language needs.

From talking with other parents of hyperlexic children over the years, most of their child have been identified as hyperlexic in one of four ways:

From a psychologist, usually during an autism evaluation

From a neurologist

From a speech therapist, often after the parent raises the possibility of hyperlexia

Self-diagnosed/identified and later confirmed by professionals (not always)

Since hyperlexia is not an official diagnosis, you will likely not receive a "diagnosis" on paper. However, many professionals will either introduce you to the label of hyperlexia or will confirm your suspicions.

🔎Is it Hyperlexia?

You've seen the signs: the letters, the early reading, the unique way they learn. Now to find out if hyperlexia is the name for what you've been seeing and finally make sense of it all.

TAKE THE FREE QUIZ

Personal Experiences with the Hyperlexia "Diagnosis"

We learned about our son's hyperlexia during his autism evaluation when the psychologist mentioned that hyperlexia and hypernumeracy describe his skills and abilities regarding superior decoding and math.

I am still so grateful to the psychologist for introducing us to hyperlexia and hypernumeracy because it certainly made everything so clear! We finally got the answer that we needed and were able to find appropriate strategies to help support my son.

Unfortunately, quite a few speech therapists that we have interacted with over the years haven't heard of hyperlexia or know so little about it. So I don't think we would have been able to get my son identified as hyperlexic in this manner, especially back in 2014. Other parents have had varied experiences with this avenue as well.

Thankfully, though, more and more speech therapists are learning about hyperlexia lately so this avenue will likely become the best option for getting a child identified as hyperlexic going forward.

Especially if you can find a speech therapist who is familiar with gestalt language processing as, like I mentioned earlier, they're more likely to have, at the very least, heard of hyperlexia.

I think that, had I been aware of hyperlexia when J was a toddler, I am positive that I would have self-identified him with it and then raised my suspicions with professionals to confirm the "diagnosis."

Many parents seem to find themselves in this position. They learn about hyperlexia, have a major aha moment, and push professionals to confirm their suspicions (with limited success though - see reasons why here).

Just a quick note to any adults who are discovering that they themselves might be hyperlexic or even to parents who can't find a professional knowledgeable about hyperlexia. Self-identification or diagnosis is totally valid, even without the professional confirmation. Besides, there are barriers that limit access to proper identification and diagnosis and sometimes self-identification is the only option.

Often, it can be really obvious that a child is hyperlexic. Especially when you read descriptions that perfectly match what you are seeing with your child or when you see pictures and videos of other kids with hyperlexia acting exactly like your child.

I know that when I finally googled hyperlexia and watched some videos, looked at photos, and read about hyperlexia that I had finally found what J had. It was 100% clear that he was hyperlexic!

More Information on the Hyperlexia Label and its "Diagnosis"

The best resource that I have come across is this hyperlexia pamphlet from the Canadian Hyperlexia Association, which, unfortunately, does not exist anymore. For further information on the assessment and evaluation process for hyperlexia, carefully review pages 3-5.

If you'd like to learn more about what kinds of assessments are involved in identifying hyperlexia, please read more about how to diagnose hyperlexia here.

Continue reading "Understanding the Hyperlexia "Diagnosis""

March 06, 2019

Understanding Hyperlexia: Videos from Hyperlexic Adults About Growing Up with Hyperlexia

What is hyperlexia exactly? Well, these hyperlexic adults explain what it's like to grow up with hyperlexia. Get a better understanding of the hyperlexia diagnosis with these videos.

I know it might seem like there's not a ton of information on hyperlexia out there in the interwebs, but trust me, there is a lot more now then there was even just a couple of years ago. You have to be prepared to do some digging every now and then in order to find some good information.

Or, you could save yourself the hassle and just read my blog - HA!

But seriously, I wish I could find more resources from the hyperlexic adults themselves. That is what's truly missing right now if you ask me. It's definitely not talked about enough.

I personally want to know more about their experiences and what hyperlexia means to them.

It's important to listen to these hyperlexic adults. They know what it's like to be hyperlexic.

So here are some videos from hyperlexic adults about what it's like to grow up with hyperlexia so you can truly get a better understanding of what being hyperlexic is like.

What is hyperlexia? Videos from hyperlexic adults that explain what it's like to grow up with hyperlexia

Hyperlexic Adults Describe their Hyperlexia & What it was Like to Grow Up with Hyperlexia

When it comes to truly understanding our neurodiverse children, it is important to learn from neurodiverse adults themselves.

Yes, I'm well aware that no two people with hyperlexia will be the same, but the insights you can gain from listening to a hyperlexic adult is huge. They can really give you an idea of how our hyperlexic children truly learn and understand the world around them.

So I encourage you to watch each of these videos to help you get a better understanding of what hyperlexia is and what it's like to grow up with hyperlexia. And I will add more videos to this list as I find them. So to you hyperlexic adults out there: please share your stories. We want to hear from you!

I hope you truly enjoy listening to these hyperlexic adult's experiences and find them helpful.

*Disclaimer: The following videos are included for informational purposes only. Their inclusion here doesn't necessarily mean I endorse them or their viewpoints. I am not responsible for any misinformation that may be presented within them. Okay? Cool. Enjoy!*

Continue reading "Understanding Hyperlexia: Videos from Hyperlexic Adults About Growing Up with Hyperlexia"

January 11, 2019

How to Advocate for Your Child When No One's Heard of the Diagnosis

Tips on how to advocate for your child when your child has an unfamiliar diagnosis because, after all, what is hyperlexia?

Advocating for a child's special needs is easily one of the most exhausting parts about being a parent. But, it is even more complicated when no one has heard of the diagnosis or, on the off chance that they have, know so little about it that I have to spend extra time educating them on the diagnosis itself before I can even begin to discuss what that diagnosis means for my child and his needs. Or they just don't want to consider the impact of this diagnosis if the child has other diagnoses.

So you can see why advocating for my child's needs is one of the most frustrating and exhausting parts about raising a child with hyperlexia.

A typical exchange goes something like this...

My child has hyperlexia.

- Oh, what's hyperlexia?

*sigh*

But I get it. I really do because up until late 2014, I had never heard of it either. However, the lack of awareness and thus, knowledge of hyperlexia makes it that much trickier to get my son's needs met at school or by a speech therapist or by any other professional that he comes in contact with.

So how do you advocate for your child when no one has heard of the diagnosis?

These tips that I'm going to share aren't just relevant to the diagnosis of hyperlexia (which I remind you, there is no official diagnosis for it). These tips can be used for other rare diagnoses that your child may have.

Tips for Advocating for Your Child When No One's Heard of the Diagnosis

1. Educate yourself.

Make sure that you stay up to date with all the latest research and information regarding the particular diagnosis. The more you know about the particular syndrome, condition, label, diagnosis, or whatever you want to call it, the better. Read up on the strategies that work. Connect with other parents to find out what is working or isn't working for their children (you can join my Hyperlexia + Autism Support Group here). Keep a journal of what does and does not work for your child.

READ MORE: HYPERLEXIA RESOURCES

2. Supply teachers and professionals with cheat sheets.

One of my favorite ways to educate the professionals involved in my child's life is to hand them the information that they need. You can even highlight the most important parts to make it easily digestible for busy teachers and professionals. Here are my favorites to give to J's teachers:

What is Hyperlexia? Pamphlet - Gives a fabulous overview of what hyperlexia is.
Strategies for Working with Hyperlexia Pamphlet - Offers lots of practical suggestions that parents and teachers can implement at home and/or in the classroom. Super handy!

3. Write a letter explaining your child's diagnosis and traits specific to him/her.

When J started grade one, the teacher encouraged all parents to write a short letter or email about their child, including their strengths and weaknesses. Pretty sure she was expecting a short paragraph with about 4-5 sentences. I practically sent her a novel! But, I think she appreciated it! So even if your teacher doesn't request this kind of letter upfront, I think it's a great habit to get into. It's a great way to introduce your child's complex needs and abilities to them. After all, they will be spending a lot of time with your child over the school year.

4. Educate those around you.

The only reason why it's difficult to advocate for a diagnosis no one's hear of is simply because, well, no one has heard of it. The only way for it to become a known diagnosis is to talk, share, and educate those around you. Explain hyperlexia (or whatever your relevant unknown diagnosis is) to those around you. You'd be surprised at how well word of mouth works!

For instance, my blog is obviously my platform for spreading awareness about hyperlexia and I have a friend who is a special education teacher at a school nearby. She passed my blog along to the parents of a little boy fitting the hyperlexic criteria. Then when our children were paired in a program some time later through Autism Services, the mom asked if I happened to be the mom behind this blog. She told me how wonderful it was to read about my son's hyperlexia because it was like reading about her very own son.

5. Don't let other diagnoses overshadow any others.

One thing that we have encountered is professionals practically ignoring J's hyperlexic label. They try to work with him based off of his autism label alone instead of considering what his hyperlexia might offer in terms of therapy. I believe that his hyperlexia diagnosis is just as important in the therapeutic process as his autism one, so to disregard that, is to disregard his overall being. Progress will never happen if you cannot tap into his strengths.

Other Ideas You'll Love

Hyperlexia & Hypernumeracy Resources

This is Hyperlexia {Our Story}

More Posts in The ABCs of Hyperlexia Series

Continue reading "How to Advocate for Your Child When No One's Heard of the Diagnosis"

Conversation Skills in Kids with Hyperlexia

Tips on how to help a child with hyperlexia improve their communication and conversation skills.

Carrying a conversation with my son with hyperlexia is often short and sweet or, for a long time, it was nearly non-existent. Filled with speech errors, pronoun reversals, and echolalia, the conversational skills of kids with hyperlexia can be a bit awkward at times.

So I'm going to give you the low-down on what their speech skills look like during conversation...

I'm also sharing 10+ tips for improving conversation skills in kids with hyperlexia.

Hyperlexia teaching strategies that will help improve conversation skills in hyperlexic kids

What Conversation in Hyperlexia Looks Like

One of the biggest red flags for me when J was younger was the lack of conversation.

When he was almost four and K was almost two, I could hold a better back and forth exchange with K than I could with J. And when I could get a little bit of a conversation going with J, it was echolalic in nature and usually ended quickly.

It was frustrating to know that my son who could read and spell practically anything could struggle with his oral language so much. I kept wondering why the huge disconnect? Once I learned about hyperlexia, though, then it all made sense.

Keep in mind though there seems to be a lot of variance in the conversation skills of kids with hyperlexia, much like how autism is a spectrum.

However, here are some typical features of a hyperlexic child's speech and communication skills:

Difficulty answering WH- questions
Lots of echolalia (i.e., echoes language from previous conversations, movies, games, books, etc. without modifying it appropriately)
Pronoun reversals
Problems with voice control like volume, tone, and intonation
Difficulty with idioms, metaphors, and other figures of speech
Trouble making inferences
Listen selectively

You can see why carrying on a conversation with a hyperlexic child would be difficult when there are all of these issues in their language skills.

Another Possible Unique Characteristic of Hyperlexic Conversational Skills?

Now, J is obviously the only hyperlexic child that I have personally known and/or spoken with, so I wanted to include a separate section dedicated specifically to his speech skills.

I'm not entirely sure whether this unique characteristic is specific to hyperlexia or if it is specific to him, but it is definitely worth pointing out in case it is a hyperlexic trait (and research just hasn't mentioned it yet).

One of the most recurring "issues" (I use the word issues loosely here) that we deal with is J's canned response of "I don't know." Whenever J is asked a WH- question, he automatically responds with, "I don't know."

Most people assume he genuinely does not know the answer, but that's incorrect most of the time. I have to frequently remind all the teachers, family friends, and professionals in our life that J struggles with WH- questions and as a result, requires extra time to process the question.

So when he answers immediately with "I don't know," it's not that he doesn't know the answer. It's just that he needs a few extra seconds to process and comprehend what he was asked. So if you wait a few seconds after he responds with his canned response, then he does answer almost always with an appropriate response. His canned response is his way of buying himself some time to process the question.

We are currently working on encouraging him to say phrases such as "let me think about that" or "give me a second to think" instead of his normal "I don't know" response to avoid the confusion during conversation with others.

But until then, please give him those few extra seconds that he needs.

Tips for Improving Conversation Skills in Kids with Hyperlexia

**Please keep in mind that I am not a speech therapist. These tips and ideas are ones that we have had personal success with and/or I have learned about through my research on hyperlexia.**

1. Give them time to respond.

First and foremost, give your kids a chance to respond! Remember that WH- questions are particularly challenging for hyperlexic kids, so they may need the extra time to process what you were asking.

2. Use cloze statements and open-ended statements instead of WH- questions.

You're more likely to get a conversation going with a hyperlexic child if you rephrase your WH- questions as a statement where they can easily fill in the blanks.

For example, instead of asking, "What did you do at school today?", I could say, "Tell me three things you did at school today." It's way more effective! You can use these free printables to practice basic questions and prompts:

3. Use speech scripts to model conversation skills.

Kids with hyperlexia have to be taught social and speech skills very specifically. So if you want them to be a good conversationalist, then you'll need to teach them exactly what to say when someone asks them a question. You can write your own speech scripts for practically any situation.

For instance, today we set up a lemonade stand with my boys. Before we set up, we reviewed common questions and answers that they may encounter and practiced them. We practiced things such as:

"How much does a glass of lemonade cost?" - "It costs $1."
"How are you going to spend the money that you make?" - "I'm going to buy Pokemon cards (or whatever they intend to do with the money).
"I would like one cup of lemonade and one rice krispie square. How much would that cost?" - "That would cost $2.50."
etc.

4. Practice knock-knock jokes.

This one may seem a bit unusual, but if you think about it, knock-knock jokes follow a predictable pattern and require two people interacting back and forth in order to make the joke work successfully. So even if the jokes are formulaic in nature, these kids learn to exchange words back and forth and even practice WH- questions, two skills important in having an actual conversation with another person.

5. Read books that use speech bubbles.

I've discussed this topic before, specifically as it pertains to comprehension, but books such as Elephant & Piggie books visually displays a conversation. Kids with hyperlexia can see how pronouns are modified between person to person and how to answer WH- questions appropriately, among many other things.

Read these types of books out loud together with each person taking the role of another person.

Alternatively, you could read play scripts together with older children as it would have the similar effect of teaching the back and forth nature of conversation.

6. Use an interesting tone while speaking or even sing the questions.

Kids with hyperlexia appear to listen selectively, so sometimes you need to get their attention first before you dive into conversation.

Plus, kids with hyperlexia tend to listen to the tone of your voice over the actual content of your speech.

You could try whispering in their ear, singing really loud or goofy, or even talking with a song-like, high-pitched voice. Sometimes even singing the question helps tremendously!

7. Write it out!

It's no secret that these kids can read and love to read, so use that to your benefit. While asking your questions verbally, write them on a white board or chalkboard or piece of paper. That way the kids can read and hear what you are asking.

8. Expand on what the child says.

Always reinforce what your child does say in response to your questions, even if it's echolalic in nature. So if I ask, "What do you want for lunch today?" and they respond with "Sandwich", I can expand on that by saying, "Sandwiches are my favorite things to eat for lunch. Let's find some bread. Where can we find some bread for our sandwiches?"

If they respond with an echolalic phrase, then you can say, "Oh I remember that that is from the [insert title of book or movie that it comes from here]. But when I ask about what you want for lunch, you can say, 'I want to eat _____ for lunch.'"

9. Teach body language and eye contact directly.

Body language, positioning, and eye contact are all important things involved in conversations with others. However, you have to teach this skills to hyperlexic kids in a concrete and direct ways.

For example, if you want your child to make eye contact with you while having a conversation, then use visual cues to make this happen. I sometimes like to hold up a set of fingers by my eyes and ask, "How many fingers am I holding up?" That always gets J's attention and makes him look at my face, even if it's for a couple of seconds. Alternatively, you could hold up written statements by your face for your child to read out loud during conversation practice.

Also, get down to their level so that they can see your eyes. It also shows that you are interested in listening to what they have to say.

10. Avoid using idioms or metaphors while speaking.

You can read more about how to teach idioms and metaphors to kids with autism or hyperlexia here, but I do want to touch on this topic briefly here as well.

Figures of speech are difficult for hyperlexic kids because of their literal thinking. So avoid saying cliches, idioms, or metaphors during conversation until you can teach them exactly what they mean.

One of our favorite ways to practice idioms and metaphors is with this simple book called It's Raining Cats and Dogs: An Autism Spectrum Guide to the Confusing World of Idioms, Metaphors and Everyday Expressions. It is a wonderful visual book!

11. Use social stories to teach the hidden rules of conversations

Finally, use social stories about conversations. Social stories are a wonderful tool for explaining and teaching all those weird hidden rules of conversation that you and I take for granted, but are tricky for our little hyperlexic learners. You can find out how to write a social story or check out these free social stories.

Continue reading "Conversation Skills in Kids with Hyperlexia"

January 10, 2019

The Intense Fascinations of Hyperlexia & How to Use Them to Help the Hyperlexic Child

Hyperlexic kids often have intense fascinations, usually with letters. Let's look at how to use these fascinations to help a child with hyperlexia.

As I continue to dive deeper into the ABCs of hyperlexia series, I am amazed and surprised by how many subtle characteristics of hyperlexia other parents can relate to, the characteristics that you likely won't find on a hyperlexia fact sheet. For instance, I recently mentioned how my son J gives a canned response of "I don't know" when answering a WH question in this conversation skills post and it turns out it might be kind of common with these kids. Many parents in my support group told me that their hyperlexic children do it too! How interesting!

I remember when I first blogged about my son's hyperlexia that a huge hyperlexia advocate, Dr. Treffert, reached out to me and told me how valuable it was to listen to parents of hyperlexic children because we are the experts. At the time, I hardly felt like an expert on anything, but I can see what he means. Us parents of hyperlexic children have a wealth of information to share about what day-to-day life with hyperlexia looks like. So in preparation for this post, I reached out to fellow hyperlexic parents to find out more about what their kids are fasincated by.

It's no secret that kids with hyperlexia have an intense fascination with letters, numbers, logos, maps, or visual patterns.

But what do those fascinations look like in daily life?

And what do those fascinations turn into?

And what other things do these kids become fascinated with?

The Intense Fascinations of Kids with Hyperlexia

I think for most parents of hyperlexic children the first thing they notice is the intense fascination with letters. These kids look for them everywhere, point them out everywhere, play with alphabet toys constantly, and turn practically every object possible into a letter.

Here are some examples of how this fascination with letters plays out in day-to-day life:

Looking at license plates and reading and/or tracing the letters and numbers on the plates
Watching all of the credits at the end of a movie
Enjoying movie credits more so than the actual movie itself
Playing with alphabet magnets constantly and arranging them into alphabetical order or writing words
Singing ABCs both forwards and backwards
Preferring to watch TV and movies with the closed captions or subtitles turned on
Reading signs around the neighborhood and/or tracing the letters on the signs if within reach
Making letters out of any material possible such as crayons, cars, rocks, sticks, etc.
Fonts - J loves to write in fun fonts, trace his fingers over fancy lettering, and even taught himself cursive handwriting in less than 20 minutes last summer.
Learning other languages (most often self-taught) - Russian is a popular language of choice among hyperlexics!

Numbers quickly became the next fascination for my son with hyperlexia, but he also has hypernumeracy so obviously his fascination is really intense. And trust me, it is some days, but definitely not as intense as it was when he was about three years old!

Here's how this intense fascination with numbers can look in these kids:

Calendar and important dates, such as holidays and birthdays - In fact, J usually reminds me of birthdays so I don't ever miss them!
Time and clocks, including learning to tell the time at an early age
Temperature and thermostats
Calculators - We never left the house for years without a calculator or two in our hands!
Page numbers and table of contents - J never asks about the title of book. He always wants to know how many chapters and how many pages the book has!
Speed signs
Nutrition labels - J loves looking at how many grams or calories food provides.
Scores and timers at sporting events
Large numbers like zillions, trillions, and all the way up to a googol
Counting to large numbers over and over
Counting backwards
Skip counting, forwards and backwards, at an early age
Money
Watching movies or TV with timers showing - J used to refer to movies that he wanted to watch by their total length in hours, minutes, and seconds versus saying the title of the movie.
Roman numerals
Dot-to-dots
Tally marks

Another fascination common in kids with hyperlexia is with maps and geography. These kids love to learn about countries, capitals, and more! I suspect my younger brother could be hyperlexic and in addition to him reading at a super early age, he knew some of the most ridiculous facts and information about every single country in the world when he was little. Here are some of the topics that kids with hyperlexia often get fascinated with:

States/provinces and capitals
World capitals
Studying and reading atlases

Kids with hyperlexia also love to doodle. Like all the time. I've shared some of our favorite doodling materials before, but J's favorites have always been drawing with chalk, drawing on his Magna-Doodle, and doodling non-stop on paper. And actually, letting these kids doodle is a wonderful strategy to implement at home and/or in the classroom.

The periodic table is also extremely appealing to kids with hyperlexia. Why wouldn't it be with all of those letters and numbers all over it?!

Another fascination of kids with hyperlexia is space and planets. J absolutely loved learning everything he could about planets and space from about age 5 to 6. He would create constellations and planets out of random objects. He particularly loved labeling how hot or cold each planet is with their temperatures.

I also polled other parents of hyperlexic children in my Facebook support group about their children's intense fascinations and here were a few other topics that came up:

Mazes
Checklists
Flashcards
Polygons and shapes in general
Building signs
Logos
Atoms
Human body parts
Encyclopedia type books
Traffic lights
Famous people like presidents or composers
Fruits and vegetables - Chelsey shared how her son possesses "an encyclopedic memory of each and every one from around the world. He still likes to carry fruit everywhere and will often sneak it in to bed so he can cuddle it throughout the night."
Warning signs and stickers - Sandra shared how her hyperlexic child loves "warning signs (wet floor!) and warning stickers, like the ones on the car's sun visor containing the air bag warning."

How to Use These Fascinations to Help Kids with Hyperlexia

Sometimes it seems these kids can get stuck on one topic for a long time and I know how tiresome it can be to hear about the same things over and over again. Trust me, there are days when I cringe a bit when I hear J say, "I have a math question for you!" because I hear it approximately eleven billion times per day.

Or how he lives and breathes all things traffic light related.

But here's the thing...I will never ever try to discourage his fascinations. They are the key to engaging and connecting with him.

I have already talked about how important obsessions in autism are for that reason.

So how does that translate into everyday life?

Well, here are a few things that I have done using J's fascinations:

To encourage him to eat his lunch at school, I use a lunch box with a chalkboard in it. He can feel free to doodle if he likes, but I use it as a checklist of his lunch. I always write the menu down for him in order of importance. He always eats the food in the order it is presented in the checklist. Then he checks off the item once he finishes eating it.
J goes through periods of time where he is absolutely terrified of bath time. We don't know what triggers it, but I have solved our bath time troubles (at least for now!) by handing him a translucent ruler and telling him to measure the bath water. Once it reaches the desired measurement, then I shut the water off. So we don't have bath time at our house we have 5 inch baths or 3 inch baths.
We used J's love of numbers and winning games to encourage him to try something new such as sitting in a new chair at mealtimes.
I ask my son hard math questions to connect with him and engage him with others when his body and mind become disorganized.
To encourage my son to tell me about his school days, I ask him to list three things he did during the day instead of asking him a WH question. He loves lists so much that he is always motivated by them!
Read books and come up with activities based around their fascinations. For instance, to tap into J's fascination with traffic lights, we do traffic light activities such as this suncatcher craft.
When J started kindergarten, he still struggled with getting dressed by himself. Not because he didn't know how, but because he would not be motivated to do it. So I fixed that issue by timing him. I challenge him to try to put his socks on in less than 15 seconds or his shirt on in less than 30 seconds. Works awesome! And works great for almost anything he resists wanting to try. A point system also works well! I like to give him random points for trying new things and new foods.

The bottom line is this...use their fascinations to encourage exploration of new topics or to work on new skills.

Use these fascinations and interests to develop social skills or speech or any other area that they may be struggling with.

Use their unique ability to their advantage.

And always embrace their quirkiness. Our kids are incredible!

Continue reading "The Intense Fascinations of Hyperlexia & How to Use Them to Help the Hyperlexic Child"

How to Explain Hyperlexia to Others

What is hyperlexia and how can you explain what hyperlexia is to others?

It's one thing to be able to advocate for your child with hyperlexia when no one has heard of the diagnosis, but I find it is even trickier to explain hyperlexia to other parents. And trust me, other parents do take notice of your child's hyperlexia.

But before I discuss how to explain hyperlexia to others, I want to tell you three recent stories.

Let me backtrack to the fall of 2015, when I was talking with J's teacher. She was telling me that J had been writing in another language during school. He's in French Immersion so for him to write in another language other than French or English would be worth noting. Well, that and he's in grade one. The teacher wasn't 100% sure what language he was writing in, but it appeared to be similar to Italian or Spanish. Regardless, I told her it wasn't unusual for him to write in other languages or sometimes even in his own invented languages. Meanwhile, a mom of one of J's classmates overheard the conversation and eventually shared it with her husband. Later that week, the husband approached me and asked me, "Can J speak or write in other languages?"

To which I responded that it was a bit more complicated than that. So I mentioned that J had hyperlexia and hypernumeracy, explaining that J had a precocious self-taught ability to read and started reading before he turned two. The husband than asked, "So he's gifted? He can help me predict lottery numbers or something?"

Then a few weeks or a month later, the grandmother of one of J's classmates asked me similar questions out of the blue. She said that she had "noticed J's superior reading ability" and asked, "Is J gifted?"

Again, I explained that he had hyperlexia and hypernumeracy by using the precocious self-taught ability to read definition, only to be cut short with stories from the grandmother about how her daughter was gifted too. The grandmother never let me finish adequately explaining hyperlexia, which frustrated me.

Finally, sometime during the early part of the school year, I had another conversation with a father of one of J's classmates. I mentioned that J started reading before age two and that he had hyperlexia. The father then went on about how he knew lots of kids who were really early readers, including himself. But here's the thing:

Hyperlexia is more than just early reading.

These conversations left me a bit frustrated because obviously, I wasn't explaining hyperlexia adequately enough to them. So how am I to explain hyperlexia in a way that will help others understand what hyperlexia truly is?

And judging by discussions in some of the hyperlexia support groups, other parents encounter similar issues.

How to Explain the Hyperlexia "Diagnosis" to Others

I've learned from my mistakes from previous conversations and now I know to try to explain hyperlexia in a particular way. Whenever I discuss my children, it is always in as positive a manner as possible. Sure, J has challenges and quirks and K is stubborn as they come, but my kids are also witty, kind, and fun to be with. So I keep that in mind while explaining hyperlexia. I always highlight J's superior ability to decode the written word and his self-taught ability to read at an early age because it is the cornerstone to understanding what hyperlexia is.

But I also like to touch on these key points that separate hyperlexia from giftedness and/or early reading:

Language delays
Difficulties with comprehension and WH questions
Awkward social skills
Intense fascination with letters, numbers, logos, or maps

So if I were to sum up my explanation in one sentence, I would usually say something along these lines: hyperlexia is a precocious self-taught ability to read at an early age that's accompanied by difficulties in speech and comprehension.

Obviously, I also like to mention J's hypernumeracy when explaining hyperlexia saying that he is extremely good at math and give an example of what he's currently working on in terms of math. Most people find this part extremely fascinating! Who wouldn't?!

So when people ask, "Is he gifted?"

I respond with, "Well, it's kind of complicated...." and then launch into a discussion about hyperlexia. I get a bit passionate about it if you get me going!

But overall, yes, I do think he is gifted when it comes to math and decoding written words. He has a remarkable ability that frankly blows my mind most days.

And my response to those people who say something along the lines of "Oh, I was an early reader! I didn't know it was called hyperlexia!" is usually this: "Well, hyperlexia is more than just reading at an early age as these kids struggle with comprehension, expressive speech, and social skills. Early readers don't necessarily have these speech and language difficulties. Also, hyperlexia is usually diagnosed alongside autism."

I hope my explanations are adequate, I really do, but at the same time, I must admit that I find it odd that people ask questions like, "Is your child gifted?" But I will have to save that topic for another post...

Continue reading "How to Explain Hyperlexia to Others"

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