Re: Hyperlexia article

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Okay, Yahoo messed that up, so let's try it this way:

A Look at Hyperlexia, The Compulsion to Read

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/primetime/DailyNews/primetime_020411_hy

perlex

ia_feature.html

" We have these flashcards, " explained his mom Janine, and " he just out

of the blue pulled them out, and he started saying some of the words

… It

was amazing. "

Likewise, at 3 1/2 years old, r can read just about anything his

mother Alma puts in front of him. He taught himself the letters,

numbers and

shapes without any help. While lots of children are fascinated by

cars,

r focused on the lettering, pointing out car names and license

plate

details.

Most parents would have been proud of their child's incredible

intellectual gift. And at first, Jimmy's and r's parents were.

But they

soon discovered that their boys' astounding fluency for shapes and

numbers

was shadowed by problems.

Their dazzling ability to read is in fact a rare syndrome called

hyperlexia, which means excessive reading. The illness, which affects

mostly

boys, is so unusual no one is sure how many kids it affects. It is

accompanied by significant delays in language, and an inability to

interact

normally with others. Some who are affected with hyperlexia also

suffer from

autism.

A Physical Need

When r turned 2, his mother realized that his desire to read

voraciously was not a choice he made.

" It seemed like an obsession for him, " said Alma. " Basically he

ignored his environment and he would just look at signs and letters …

He was

not interested in associating with other people. "

For Jimmy, too, his reading ability had serious drawbacks. " He

wouldn't do anything that didn't have to do with letters and

numbers, " said

his mother.

Margie, another mother of a hyperlexic child named , remembers

when her pride turned to concern. One Thanksgiving, was so

absorbed in

a book that he refused to join the family.

" It wasn't just something that he wanted to do. He had to do it, " said

Margie. " It was like a physical need for , that he had to decode

things

in order to be calm and happy. "

, now 10, can read from a college textbook with ease — even if

it's turned upside-down. But he doesn't understand what he's reading.

Typical children, explains Phyllis Kupperman, director of the Center

for Speech and Language Disorders in Elmhurst, Ill., learn the

meaning of

language before they can read words. " Children with hyperlexia do it

the

opposite way. They learn to read the language first, and then later

on they

learn what those sounds and words mean. "

Using Words For Treatment

Kupperman has found that the reading skill in itself can be an

essential pathway into the minds of hyperlexic kids.

" It's all that they can do at that time, " she says, " and it's our job

then to use that reading skill to get them to do the things that

other kids

learn to do at two, and three and four. "

To help r learn how to communicate with another child, for

example, Kupperman writes out sentences for him to read and use. At

first,

r pays attention to the written words — and not to the other boy.

But

ultimately r grasps the give and take of the conversation, and

learns to

communicate directly without reading.

As hyperlexic children get older, other kids catch up to them in

reading, but the confusing emotional swirl intensifies. The social gap

between them and other children grows.

" For instance, if we go swimming at a public pool, very much

wants to play with the other kids, " says his mother Margie. But 's

inability to express himself leaves him feeling isolated. " All of a

sudden,

the kids move away from him, and he doesn't know what to do about

that. "

Far more fluent in writing than in speaking, uses the computer in

therapy to try to express himself. But for the time being, 's best

friends are the cookbooks he devours wherever he is. Margie remembers

going

to a parent support group, where parents said what their goals for

their

children were. When it was her turn to speak, she says, " I said, 'I

just

want to be able to talk to me. That's all.' "

* * *

Come Back Jack 2002: Award Winning Documentary

An update of the award-winning, nationally broadcast documentary 'Come

Back Jack', which is currently airing on PBS stations around the

United

States (through American Public Television), the Knowledge Network in

Canada, Discovery Europe, and Israeli Television will be broadcast on

more

than 100 PBS stations this spring and summer.

Narrated by Jack's father ( Parish), this hour-long sequel

chronicles the therapeutic journey (from 1999-2001) of young Jack

Parish,

who was diagnosed with Autism in 1996.

'Come Back Jack 2002' features interviews with three experienced

interventionists (Dr. Arnold , Eileen Eller- and Dr.

Callahan) at the Language and Cognitive Development Center in Boston,

where

Jack and has received treatment and guidance during the last several

years.

Also included in the program are interviews with Jack's siblings

(Graham,

and ), his mother, Diane, and Bobbi Thies, Jack's

instructor at

a therapeutic riding program in Cincinnati. The documentary also

explores

the sometimes-devastating effect of divorce on special children.

To benefit The Jack Parish Foundation, VHS copies of 'Come Back Jack

2002' are available for purchase. Check <www.comebackjack.com> for

more

information.

For broadcast dates and times in your area, please check your local

listings.