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Children with High-Functioning Autism: "Gifted" or Hyperlexic?

Parents who have discovered that their young child is "gifted" because he/she may be able to recite the alphabet at 18 months of age, or can read words by the age of 2, may want to reassess the situation. Hyperlexia often coexists with High-Functioning Autism and Aspergers. Hyperlexia is not seen as a separate diagnosis; however, with current fMRI research revealing that hyperlexia affects the brain in a way completely opposite to that of dyslexia, a separate diagnosis may be on the horizon.

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13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can be both; my son is hyperlexic, and gifted an asperger's.

Anonymous said...

Good way of looking at it!

Anonymous said...

Definitely both. My son is hyperlexic, Aspergers with an IQ somewhere over 160. The hyperlexia was really funny when he was little because his internal vocabulary was so much higher than his spoken vocabulary. Quite often we had to decode what he was saying, as he was pronouncing words phonetically due to only having read then instead of hearing them, e.g. ventriloquist, Egyptian.

Anonymous said...

Everyone told me my son was just gifted and very smart. He was spelling our last name, foltynski, by 2. I knew something was up when he wouldn't crawl and walked so late... he is improving so much now at 5. Signs of Aspergers is fading. Now we really only have the social and emotional issues.

Anonymous said...

My son is in the process of being diagnosed with Aspergers now. But, this article definitely applies to him. Does it matter if we call it Aspergers or hyperlexia? How do I know if he has both since the symptoms are very similar? Are the treatments different?

Anonymous said...

This is my son exactly! PDD-NOS, early reader, late (and odd) talker and still at age 15 pronounces words strangely because he reads way more than he hears/talks. He has a working memory IQ of 140 but very slow processing. Can you also cover the topic of selective mutism and how it might relate (or not) to autism/Aspergers sometime? My DS15 can speak well, but hardly ever does. He also listens quite selectively.

Anonymous said...

in general - I'd say I thought he was "Bright" - but @ Kristi ^ we are on the path to determining all 3 - A.S.~Hyperlexic~Gifted - & indeed he was/IS BRIGHT - in so very many ways - Aren't They All!

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful articles you post. Our 5-year old daughter was diagnosed with Aspergers last year, and we've found your website and posts to be really educational and useful. Keep up the great work!

Anonymous said...

My oldest child was assessed for ASD especially after my three boys were diagnosed with Asperger's. But they said no she was not ASD, although she is wayyyy more strict in terms of routine, comfort zone, being literal. She was diagnosed with severe anxiety, mixed receptive/expressive lang disorder, and auditory processing disorder. I finally realized the difference between her and my other three... internal drive. She is intrinsically motivated, whereas my boys... are motivated by sensory needs and rituals/preferred activities. It's been a fun, interesting ride with all these kiddos. I'd be bored without them ;)

Anonymous said...

We have a 2 ½ year old son with Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency and some other undiagnosed problems. When we did the routine screening at his Pedi’s office, the Pedi said he showed possible Autism and wanted us to see a behavioral specialist (PALS Development Center in Lubbock, TX). When we went to see her, my sister and I showed her a couple of videos of him “Blacking out” during one of his meltdowns and hurting himself. We explained to her his sensory and tactile issues and other things we had noticed. This was the summer of 2011 when he was just 1 ½. She said “I don’t think he has Autism because he makes eye contact occasionally and has good interaction with us. I think he is pretending and acting this way because he does not feel good and he knows if he does this he can be left alone.” With that we left and drove the 1hour 45 min back home. Now he still have the same behavior and he is not only hurting himself(he just punched himself in the lip 4/13/12) but he is becoming aggressive towards others. The babysitter and I say he gets an “I’m going to kill you look.” My mom says his eyes go glassy. Brian’s mom says he looks possessed. He is gluten and casin free because a biopsy revealed those enzymes are there but don’t work fully/properly. Becoming concerned I emailed the behaviorist and she emailed me back saying Chris needed to see a psychologist, in which a immediately made an appointment. Again the psychologist could not put a true diagnosis on him because he said he could not find anything about Alpha-1 and behavior problems so he didn’t know if it was related to that. I asked him if Chris could possibly have Asperger’s and he said that he could diagnose him with that because that diagnosis is being taken out of the medical books. He ended up diagnosing him with Adjustment Disorder- nonspecific and said he was developmentally and environmentally delayed. I don’t know what to do and no one (even the sitter) understands him and just want to spank him and punish him all day long. I know there are times he needs to be put in time out but my husband and I are getting frustrated.

Ettina said...

Most of the time autism isn't serious, either. People tend to think about low functioning autism, but the majority of autistic people are high functioning.

Melissa said...

Thank you for that comment. We are in the process of having our son evaluated for possible things, and your comment truly did put me at ease. He's still the bright, wonderful kid he's always been despite the quirks and frustrations that have led us to seek help. New "labels" feel serious, but you're right. The high functioning version actually isn't that serious when put in perspective. Again, thank you for the right words at the right time. ❤

Serenstar75 said...

What is it if you read very early and above level, but also are verbally precocious? Very deficient in math, social skills, motor skills beyond detailed artwork. Almost like the reading and art are splinter skills, but come with verbal.

My child has been rejected by his peers, ridiculed and bullied !!!

Social rejection has devastating effects in many areas of functioning. Because the ASD child tends to internalize how others treat him, rejection damages self-esteem and often causes anxiety and depression. As the child feels worse about himself and becomes more anxious and depressed – he performs worse, socially and intellectually.

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How to Prevent Meltdowns in Children on the Spectrum

Meltdowns are not a pretty sight. They are somewhat like overblown temper tantrums, but unlike tantrums, meltdowns can last anywhere from ten minutes to over an hour. When it starts, the Asperger's or HFA child is totally out-of-control. When it ends, both you and your child are totally exhausted. But... don’t breathe a sigh of relief yet. At the least provocation, for the remainder of that day -- and sometimes into the next - the meltdown can return in full force.

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Parenting Defiant Teens on the Spectrum

Although Aspergers [high-functioning autism] is at the milder end of the autism spectrum, the challenges parents face when disciplining a teenager on the spectrum are more difficult than they would be with an average teen. Complicated by defiant behavior, the teen is at risk for even greater difficulties on multiple levels – unless the parents’ disciplinary techniques are tailored to their child's special needs.

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Older Teens and Young Adult Children with ASD Still Living At Home

Your older teenager or young “adult child” isn’t sure what to do, and he is asking you for money every few days. How do you cut the purse strings and teach him to be independent? Parents of teens with ASD face many problems that other parents do not. Time is running out for teaching their adolescent how to become an independent adult. As one mother put it, "There's so little time, yet so much left to do."

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Parenting Children and Teens with High-Functioning Autism

Two traits often found in kids with High-Functioning Autism are “mind-blindness” (i.e., the inability to predict the beliefs and intentions of others) and “alexithymia” (i.e., the inability to identify and interpret emotional signals in others). These two traits reduce the youngster’s ability to empathize with peers. As a result, he or she may be perceived by adults and other children as selfish, insensitive and uncaring.

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to read the full article...

Highly Effective Research-Based Parenting Strategies for Children with Asperger's and HFA

Become an expert in helping your child cope with his or her “out-of-control” emotions, inability to make and keep friends, stress, anger, thinking errors, and resistance to change.

Click here for the full article...