Reading Already?
What do these things have in common?
A child is grocery shopping with his mom and reading all the food labels. The kicker: he’s only two years old.
A mom is frantically trying to catch her son, who is also two years old. He is flapping his hands and running around a parking lot trying to read all the license plates.
Your little guy is around the same age as the two kids above. He can see a movie once and recite the dialogue word for word.
Okay, I know you’re anxious to know what the answer is, so I’ll tell you: they’re all examples of hyperlexia.
Defined As
Hyperlexia is the precocious ability for some kids to read at a very young age. Maybe you’ve seen your fair share of kids start to read at a young age and are voracious readers. Most children start reading around the age four or five, and can become amazing readers. However, children with hyperlexia read at a level far in advance for someone their age.
There’s another defining trait of hyperlexia. Though a child is able to read at advanced levels, he has little to no understanding of what he’s reading.
More Than One Kind
According to Dr. Darold Treffert, retired psychiatrist and an authority on autism and hyperlexia, there are three types of hyperlexia:
Type I: Neurotypical children who read at a very high reading level. For example, a child who is entering preschool but can easily read a newspaper.
Type II: This population are obsessed with both letters and numbers. They need to rearrange letters and numbers and prefer alphabet blocks to other toys. Another trait these children share is to obsessively read street signs, food labels, any and all letters and numbers around. All children with type 2 hyperlexia are children with autism. They have a hard time with eye contact and social skills. They need help developing their speech and language skills.
One More Type
Type III: Like children in type 1 and type 2, children with hyperlexia in type 3 are precocious readers. They also have little to no understanding of what they are reading. They struggle with communication skills and exhibit signs of autism. According to Dr. Treffert, those behaviors eventually fade and disappear over time. In that way they are unlike children who are truly on the spectrum. And even though they display signs of autism at a certain point, they never struggle with social skills. They have no problems with eye contact. They crave affection, and are very comfortable with others, especially adults.
Takeaway
No matter what type of hyperlexia a child may be experiencing, the focus remains the same: to improve communication skills, and give meaning to words and sounds. The sooner hyperlexia can be diagnosed and treated, the faster and more effectively it can be managed.