WHAT IS HYPERLEXIA
?
|
Hyperlexia
Hyperlexia has many characteristics similar to autism and
some consider it to be an autism spectrum disorder.
Because of its close association with autism,
hyperlexia is often misdiagnosed.
The main characteristics of hyperlexia are an above normal
ability to read coupled with a below normal ability to
understand spoken language. Many of the social
difficulties seen in hyperlexic individuals are similar to
those found in autism. Often, hyperlexic children
will learn to speak only by rote memory and heavy
repetition. They may also have difficulty learning
the rules of language from examples or from trial and
error.
Some people assert that hyperlexia is autism, whereas
others assert hyperlexia is a completely different
condition.
Hyperlexia Symptoms
The severity, frequency, and
grouping of the following symptoms will determine an
actual diagnosis
• A precocious ability to read words far
above what would be expected at a child's age
• Child may appear gifted in some areas and extremely
deficient in others
• Significant difficulty in understanding
verbal language
• Difficulty in socializing and interacting
appropriately with people
• Abnormal and awkward social skills
• Specific or unusual fears
• Fixation with letters or numbers
• Echolalia (Repetition or echoing of a word or phrase
just spoken by another person)
• Memorization of sentence structures without
understanding the meaning
• An intense need to keep routines, difficulty with
transitions, ritualistic behavior
Additional Symptoms:
• Normal development until 18-24 months, then regression
• Listens selectively / appears to be deaf
• Strong auditory and visual memory
• Self-stimulatory behavior (hand flapping,
rocking, jumping up and down)
• Think in concrete and literal terms, difficulty with
abstract concepts
• Auditory, olfactory and / or tactile sensitivity
• Difficulty answering "Wh--" questions, such
as "what," "where," "who,"
and "why"
|
|
