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Hyperlexia
Hyperlexia is a syndrome observed in children who have
the following characteristics:
- A precocious ability to read words, far above what
would be expected at their chronological age or an intense fascination with
letters or numbers.
- Significant difficulty in understanding verbal
language
- Abnormal social skills, difficulty in socializing
and interacting appropriately with people
In addition, some children who are hyperlexic may
exhibit the following characteristics:
- Learn expressive language in a peculiar way, echo ro
memorize the sentence structure without understanding the meaning (echolalia),
reverse pronouns
- Rarely initiates conversations
- An intense need to keep routines, difficulty with
transitions, ritualistic behavior
- Auditory, olfactory and / or tactile sensitivity
- Self-stimulatory behavior
- specific, unusual fears
- Normal development until 18-24 months, then
regression
- strong auditory and visual memory
- Difficulty answering "Wh--" questions,
such as "what," "where," "who," and "why"
- Think in concrete and literal terms, difficulty with
abstract concepts
- Listen selectively, appear to be deaf
Why identify children with hyperlexia
across diagnostic categories?
- to understand the common way in which they process
language
- to understand the common way in which they learn
- to assess strengths in visual processing and reading
- to devise effective therapeutic and educational
programs
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Hyperlexia
