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Re: OT Hyperlexia

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In a nutshell, hyperlexia is reading without

comprehension. You can go to www.hyperlexia.org for

more information.

Max

--- catharineb2001 <cgbeier@...> wrote:

> Can anyone whose child has a diagnosis of hyperlexia

> explain to me

> what's wrong with that, please? Does the term mean

> anything more

> than reading sooner or better or more than expected

> for age?

>

> is starting to read now at 4-1/2, he can

> sound out simple

> words and sentences. He picks up this type of skill

> very fast, so

> we've just let it emerge on its own through his own

> interest. Any

> reason to encourage or discourage it?

>

> Thanks

>

>

>

>

>

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In a message dated 1/23/02 11:23:08 AM Central Standard Time,

cgbeier@... writes:

> is starting to read now at 4-1/2, he can sound out simple

> words and sentences. He picks up this type of skill very fast, so

> we've just let it emerge on its own through his own interest. Any

> reason to encourage or discourage it?

>

As I understand it, hyperlexic children learn to read by sight words often

without understanding the meaning. Sounding out words is often very

difficult for them and later comprehending what they read in paragraph form

is very difficult. They also tend to have auditory processing problems.

Reading early can be very helpful especially to a special-needs child. It

allows another avenue to teach. We've used tons of cue cards and written

teaching with my son. He was never diagnosed as hyperlexic but showed that

he could read at the same time he started talking around 4-1/2.

Gaylen

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Hyperlexia isn't a real condition. It just means the kid is smarter

than most teachers and they are scared he will learn too much. most

chldren used to learn to read at 4-5 in the " old days " before the

educational bureacuracy started discouraging parents from teaching

their kids how to read so that the schools could do it. Given the

plummeting level of literacy among high school graduates we can see

how well this approach has worked.

Are there any diagnoses for being strong, or fast, or smart? Reading

early is not a medical problem.

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> Can anyone whose child has a diagnosis of hyperlexia explain to me

> what's wrong with that, please?

He's smarter than the average health care professional and they find

that embarrassing.

> Does the term mean anything more

> than reading sooner or better or more than expected for age?

Yes. It actually means he started reading before the duly delegated

bureaucrats at the public schools taught him to do so. Lots of kids

do this. Most have the luck not to have a doctor think about it and

label them as pathological for being bright or having educated

parents.

> is starting to read now at 4-1/2, he can sound out simple

> words and sentences. He picks up this type of skill very fast, so

> we've just let it emerge on its own through his own interest. Any

> reason to encourage or discourage it?

Encourage it because it is essential for his later education. If he

can't read well (e. g. 99% of current high school graduates, including

the 20-30% who are illiterate) he can't learn new things on his own.

If he CAN read, the only limit on his accomplishment is how well he

can understand the material he chooses to study. He is no longer

dependent on a teacher to spoon feed him knowledge.

>

> Thanks

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> -----Original Message-----

> From: andrewhallcutler [mailto:AndyCutler@...]

>

> Hyperlexia isn't a real condition. It just means the kid is smarter

> than most teachers and they are scared he will learn too much. most

> chldren used to learn to read at 4-5 in the " old days " before the

> educational bureacuracy started discouraging parents from teaching

> their kids how to read so that the schools could do it. Given the

> plummeting level of literacy among high school graduates we can see

> how well this approach has worked.

>

> Are there any diagnoses for being strong, or fast, or smart? Reading

> early is not a medical problem.

>

Coming from a person that was reading at 4, and has a non-verbal autistic

child that has shown to her parents (only) that she has the ability to

distinguish the written language...

GO ANDY!!!

Tana

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My sister started reading when she was 3, and read so fast that she

read through " Uncle Tom's cabin " in one day. She never had anything

resembling autism or any disorder, and she is already Ph.D.

Margaret

>

>

> > -----Original Message-----

> > From: andrewhallcutler [mailto:AndyCutler@a...]

> >

> > Hyperlexia isn't a real condition. It just means the kid is

smarter

> > than most teachers and they are scared he will learn too much.

most

> > chldren used to learn to read at 4-5 in the " old days " before the

> > educational bureacuracy started discouraging parents from teaching

> > their kids how to read so that the schools could do it. Given the

> > plummeting level of literacy among high school graduates we can

see

> > how well this approach has worked.

> >

> > Are there any diagnoses for being strong, or fast, or smart?

Reading

> > early is not a medical problem.

> >

>

> Coming from a person that was reading at 4, and has a non-verbal

autistic

> child that has shown to her parents (only) that she has the ability

to

> distinguish the written language...

>

> GO ANDY!!!

>

> Tana

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Hi,

I agree. My kid taught himself to read at three. He got to about second or

third grade level in about two weeks. He was non verbal (for another year

and 1/2) but during this process, he would tackle me to the ground to get my

attention so that I would tell him the name of some written word. After

about a week he had assembled the rules of phonics and no longer needed me.

I was busy tending my bruises. My thought is that the drive for language is

strong and he had massive auditory processing problems. Add in a focussed,

obsessive nature. When he finally did speak, he pronounced many words

phonetically which doesn't work well in English. His special ed preschool

teacher was mystified. He moved into an inclusion program in kindergarten.

That teacher showed up at an iep meeting proudly with numbers written from

one to 20. I didn't know what to say. At home he was starting algebra. One

of the highlights of his life was when I pointed out that he had ten toes in

addition to the ten fingers he was madly learning math with. His universe

doubled. I regret not having pursued sign language so there was an avenue

for language development of some sort when the drive was at its strongest.

He wasn't at the extreme end of hyperlexia - all decoding skills/no

comprehension, but once he had an interest(other than driving nails into the

walls) we were off and creatively building on them. I can't say that about

the school.

Tana Cothran wrote:

> > -----Original Message-----

> > From: andrewhallcutler [mailto:AndyCutler@...]

> >

> > Hyperlexia isn't a real condition. It just means the kid is smarter

> > than most teachers and they are scared he will learn too much. most

> > chldren used to learn to read at 4-5 in the " old days " before the

> > educational bureacuracy started discouraging parents from teaching

> > their kids how to read so that the schools could do it. Given the

> > plummeting level of literacy among high school graduates we can see

> > how well this approach has worked.

> >

> > Are there any diagnoses for being strong, or fast, or smart? Reading

> > early is not a medical problem.

> >

>

> Coming from a person that was reading at 4, and has a non-verbal autistic

> child that has shown to her parents (only) that she has the ability to

> distinguish the written language...

>

> GO ANDY!!!

>

> Tana

>

>

> =======================================================

>

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When my sister was just 3 she read so quickly that she read

through " Uncle Tom's cabin " by Beecher Stowe in 1 day. We could not

believe but she explained correctly all the details of the subject.

She never had any disorder. Now she has Ph.D.

I agree with Andy completely.

Margaret

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igorginzburg wrote:

> When my sister was just 3 she read so quickly that she read

> through " Uncle Tom's cabin " by Beecher Stowe in 1 day. We could not

> believe but she explained correctly all the details of the subject.

> She never had any disorder. Now she has Ph.D.

> I agree with Andy completely.

> Margaret

>

I wonder, if she would have misinterupted it, whether she'd have an MD now

instead.

<just trying to make Andy smile>

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I just have to comment on this! What a great example of using the things

these kids LOVE to help them grow! I agree that sometimes the schools don't

do this well, but parents can because we see them more of the time! My son

is in college today because we built on his incredible love of letters and

words and math. Eventually it expanded into wonderful children's books

which helped him with understanding the " normal " world and his differences,

as well as teaching him empathy etc. Now, he's enjoying Western

Civilization and algebra and Shakespeare. He's going back to the " tough "

things--eye-hand coordination stuff--that he completely skipped over when he

was young, but with a will now that he didn't have then. I'm not sorry that

we let him fly with what he loved and was easier for him, because it has

allowed him access into a much larger world.

Barb

Re: [ ] Re: OT Hyperlexia

>Hi,

>

>I agree. My kid taught himself to read at three. He got to about second

or

>third grade level in about two weeks. He was non verbal (for another year

>and 1/2) but during this process, he would tackle me to the ground to get

my

>attention so that I would tell him the name of some written word. After

>about a week he had assembled the rules of phonics and no longer needed me.

>I was busy tending my bruises. My thought is that the drive for language

is

>strong and he had massive auditory processing problems. Add in a focussed,

>obsessive nature. When he finally did speak, he pronounced many words

>phonetically which doesn't work well in English. His special ed preschool

>teacher was mystified. He moved into an inclusion program in kindergarten.

>That teacher showed up at an iep meeting proudly with numbers written from

>one to 20. I didn't know what to say. At home he was starting algebra.

One

>of the highlights of his life was when I pointed out that he had ten toes

in

>addition to the ten fingers he was madly learning math with. His universe

>doubled. I regret not having pursued sign language so there was an avenue

>for language development of some sort when the drive was at its strongest.

>He wasn't at the extreme end of hyperlexia - all decoding skills/no

>comprehension, but once he had an interest(other than driving nails into

the

>walls) we were off and creatively building on them. I can't say that about

>the school.

>

>

>

>Tana Cothran wrote:

>

>> > -----Original Message-----

>> > From: andrewhallcutler [mailto:AndyCutler@...]

>> >

>> > Hyperlexia isn't a real condition. It just means the kid is smarter

>> > than most teachers and they are scared he will learn too much. most

>> > chldren used to learn to read at 4-5 in the " old days " before the

>> > educational bureacuracy started discouraging parents from teaching

>> > their kids how to read so that the schools could do it. Given the

>> > plummeting level of literacy among high school graduates we can see

>> > how well this approach has worked.

>> >

>> > Are there any diagnoses for being strong, or fast, or smart? Reading

>> > early is not a medical problem.

>> >

>>

>> Coming from a person that was reading at 4, and has a non-verbal autistic

>> child that has shown to her parents (only) that she has the ability to

>> distinguish the written language...

>>

>> GO ANDY!!!

>>

>> Tana

>>

>>

>> =======================================================

>>

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Hee hee, 's story about the teacher being so proud of written numbers

brought back a funny (maddening at the time) memory for me. In the early

days of my son's therapy, I always went round and round with the

professionals about using hand-over-hand. I had found that if I gave him

plenty of time (sometimes at much at 20minutes) and made my request clear

enough, he would usually comply. One day, his behavior therapist who went to

school with him excitedly called me to tell me that he had pointed to five

letters of the alphabet on request with her using hand-over-hand (I never

could understand how that was him doing it!?). She was a bit deflated when I

told her that he had been pointing to letters by request for about a month

for me without my assistance. Low expectations yield low results.

Gaylen

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In a message dated 1/25/02 10:10:41 PM Central Standard Time,

greenvil@... writes:

> My ASD daughter began spontaneously teaching herself to read at age 4

> > and a half and was called " hyperlexic " .

> > My younger NT daughter began spontaneously teaching herself to read at

> > age 3 and a half and we were told she was smart.

> > Hmmmm. Smells like a bias against kids with autism to me. They can't be

> > smart so any evidence of smart must be diagnosed as something or other.

> > Marisol

>

>

I love this! So true! That and my pet peeve of " splinter skills " if a child

with autism shows they know something the professional thinks they shouldn't

be able to do they call it a " splinter skill " and look down upon it like

there's no way the kid will ever get any use out of it and it is perhaps even

a hindrence to their growth. And, while I'm on the subject of pet peeves, I

really hate it when docs and professionals brush things off as tics or

behaviors when they could be tied to physical problems. We saw eight doctors

trying to deterimine why my son kept poking at his eyebrow and were told by

every one of them that it was a tic -- no way he could have a headache. I

knew there was something going on with it that was not a tic but couldn't

figure it out. Then, when we had new countertops installed in my kitchen,

the glue got to me so bad I had a horrible headache for days and my right eye

felt like it was going to explode. The only way I could relieve the pressure

was applying pressure to that very spot on the eyebrow my little brilliant

child had figured out.

Gaylen

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> My ASD daughter began spontaneously teaching herself to read at age 4

> and a half and was called " hyperlexic " .

> My younger NT daughter began spontaneously teaching herself to read at

> age 3 and a half and we were told she was smart.

> Hmmmm. Smells like a bias against kids with autism to me. They can't be

> smart so any evidence of smart must be diagnosed as something or other.

> Marisol

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Max,

Many kids with hyperlexia do have age appropriate reading

comprehension, but they don't have the expressive language to

prove comprehension. When my son was 4, his reading comprehension and

decoding both tested at the 3rd grade level. His expressive language

was still behind, but he read a lot and soaked up the information like

a sponge. All of that reading was also good for his grammar, sentence

construction, and vocabulary when he did start talking more.

>

> In a nutshell, hyperlexia is reading without

> comprehension. You can go to www.hyperlexia.org for

> more information.

>

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Hi,

Ben, of my 3.11 year twin boys started reading just after he turned

3. The Walt Disney logo came up at the beginning of Toy Story 2 and

he said it out loud with out anyone having said it out to him. Now

he runs around reading magazines, catalogues, newspapers, naming cars

and he has more interest in the books his Dad reads than in picture

books.

We also got the same response from his assessment team, they said it

was just a " funny little splinter skill " . I also think my other son

Cal,is maybe the same way only he is completely non-verbal. He likes

to look at magazines and things but if he's enjoying a video he likes

to look inside the VCR to see the title on the spine.

My boys also seem to comprehend more than their doctors and teachers

believe. When Ben was about 2.5 years old he saw a road safety

commerical, these ads are pretty explicit and frightening to some

adults let alone a small child. Anyway ever since he can't watch any

scenes of reckless driving on TV. We finally learnt what the problem

was when he was watching 'Elmo in Grouchland', when Elmo crashed the

mining cart he started screaming " He Die " . Cal's the same about

planes ever since September 11.

Thanks for listening

Marie

- In @y..., Nomoremetals@a... wrote:

> In a message dated 1/25/02 10:10:41 PM Central Standard Time,

> greenvil@b... writes:

>

>

> > My ASD daughter began spontaneously teaching herself to read at

age 4

> > > and a half and was called " hyperlexic " .

> > > My younger NT daughter began spontaneously teaching herself to

read at

> > > age 3 and a half and we were told she was smart.

> > > Hmmmm. Smells like a bias against kids with autism to me. They

can't be

> > > smart so any evidence of smart must be diagnosed as something

or other.

> > > Marisol

> >

> >

>

> I love this! So true! That and my pet peeve of " splinter skills "

if a child

> with autism shows they know something the professional thinks they

shouldn't

> be able to do they call it a " splinter skill " and look down upon it

like

> there's no way the kid will ever get any use out of it and it is

perhaps even

> a hindrence to their growth. And, while I'm on the subject of pet

peeves, I

> really hate it when docs and professionals brush things off as tics

or

> behaviors when they could be tied to physical problems. We saw

eight doctors

> trying to deterimine why my son kept poking at his eyebrow and were

told by

> every one of them that it was a tic -- no way he could have a

headache. I

> knew there was something going on with it that was not a tic but

couldn't

> figure it out. Then, when we had new countertops installed in my

kitchen,

> the glue got to me so bad I had a horrible headache for days and my

right eye

> felt like it was going to explode. The only way I could relieve

the pressure

> was applying pressure to that very spot on the eyebrow my little

brilliant

> child had figured out.

> Gaylen

>

>

>

>

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The same was true for my first child. (a neur. typical child). At age 4,he

even did algebra at the dinner table - finding the missing number - and I

didn't realized it was something different until my next child was born. His

scores on achievement tests throughout grammer school were unusual, because

the lines would go off the chart to the far right. He played with lazers at

Cal Tec with a school friend from Isreal (whose father was a prof there)

and went on to be a psychologist (finding math and engineering boring). He

told me he has ADHD in reverse - it seems he became hyper in his 20's.

Aly ;-)

[ ] Re: OT Hyperlexia

When my sister was just 3 she read so quickly that she read

through " Uncle Tom's cabin " by Beecher Stowe in 1 day. We could not

believe but she explained correctly all the details of the subject.

She never had any disorder. Now she has Ph.D.

I agree with Andy completely.

Margaret

=======================================================

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In a message dated 1/25/02 11:49:36 PM Eastern Standard Time,

Nomoremetals@... writes:

> I love this! So true! That and my pet peeve of " splinter skills " if a

> child

> with autism shows they know something the professional thinks they

> shouldn't

> be able to do they call it a " splinter skill " and look down upon it like

> there's no way the kid will ever get any use out of it and it is perhaps

> even

> a hindrence to their growth.

When anyone professional or otherwise uses the words " splinter skill " with

me; I just grin and reply that it is one less skill I have to teach!

whose son is successfully included in a tyipical second grade class room.

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> In a message dated 1/25/02 11:49:36 PM Eastern Standard Time,

> Nomoremetals@a... writes:

>

>

> > I love this! So true! That and my pet peeve of " splinter skills "

if a

> > child

> > with autism shows they know something the professional thinks they

> > shouldn't

> > be able to do they call it a " splinter skill " and look down upon

it like

> > there's no way the kid will ever get any use out of it and it is

perhaps

> > even

> > a hindrence to their growth.

>

> When anyone professional or otherwise uses the words " splinter

skill " with

> me; I just grin and reply that it is one less skill I have to teach!

Maybe they call it a splinter skill because they are afraid it is

going to stick in their professional reputation and hurt them? Next

time someone hears " hyperlexia, " please ask the doc if THEY were

reading by 4 and a half and let us know exactly how they respond ;-)

Andy

>

>

> whose son is successfully included in a tyipical second grade class

room.

>

>

> [Non-text portions of this message have been

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> > In a nutshell, hyperlexia is reading without

> > comprehension. You can go to www.hyperlexia.org for

> > more information.

All MD's must suffer from it then. They all claim to have read

textbooks like on's Textbook of Internal Medicine, Goodman and

Gilman's Pharmacologic Basis of Therapeutics, etc. yet none of them

pay any attention to administering drugs like ALA and DMSA so as to

maintain a reasonably steady blood concentration. Both these books

have chapters on pharmacokinetics and do make this point crystal

clear.

I presume that the definition means that the children aren't

interested in what the educational and medical authorities think is

important about the material they read, the children are reading it

for their own interests. Just like I " define " all MD's as

functionally illiterate based on their eyes glazing over when you try

to discuss pharmacokinetics with them even though they all had to read

chapters in several books about it in med school.

According to me, literacy is when your kid can read the words and when

asked tell you what words he read. ILLiteracy is when he reads the

words and when asked tells you something ELSE, like the paraphrasing

the 'experts' think he should be doing to describe only what THEY

think is importan

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In a message dated 1/27/02 11:37:22 AM Central Standard Time,

cgbeier@... writes:

> sometimes he will gaze at them randomly, recite the alphabet, trace letter

> shapes in the air with his finger, or volunteer initial-consonant

> information ( " P!

> Pig! Q! Queen! " ). To me that's a flat-out self-stimulatory behavior,

> eligible for redirection the same as any other stim.

>

To me, it's a raw expression of interest (something that really caught his

brain's attention, obsessive though it may be), eligible for building on the

same as any other interest. But that's just the way I look at it ;).

Gaylen

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Thanks very much for everyone's posts on this subject.

I should clarify a little bit here. I did look at www.hyperlexia.org

and their definition, especially if you include the second " may also

exhibit " list, looks a whole lot like a child with regressive autism

who can read. I hope there are not parents whose kid hits all or

most of those criteria and who think that reading is their main

concern.

I guess my summary of the subject is that genuine reading, with the

ability to understand most of the meaning, and figure out or ask

about the new words, has got to be a good thing almost always. (Our

therapy supervisor warned me early on to cut all the captions off

the " emotions " flashcards and tape them on the back of the card,

because would soon read the caption more easily than the

facial expression -- that type of concern seems like MY bad more

than his.)

Mere decoding, combining the phonetic symbols without regard for

what they mean, is a lot less useful, but still beats spinning the

wheels of your toy dumptruck as a way to pass the time, especially

when you're young enough that the decoding is not displacing what

should be genuine reading time.

Then there's even a less-desirable category of stimming on letters

(and numbers) which I have also seen do. Some nitwit

decorated the clinic room at his therapy agency with those wall

stick-ons of all the letters and numbers, and sometimes he will gaze

at them randomly, recite the alphabet, trace letter shapes in the

air with his finger, or volunteer initial-consonant information ( " P!

Pig! Q! Queen! " ). To me that's a flat-out self-stimulatory behavior,

eligible for redirection the same as any other stim.

That make sense?

Thanks

--- In @y..., " andrewhallcutler " <AndyCutler@a...>

wrote:

> > > In a nutshell, hyperlexia is reading without

> > > comprehension. You can go to www.hyperlexia.org for

> > > more information.

>

> All MD's must suffer from it then. They all claim to have read

> textbooks like on's Textbook of Internal Medicine, Goodman

and

> Gilman's Pharmacologic Basis of Therapeutics, etc. yet none of

them

> pay any attention to administering drugs like ALA and DMSA so as

to

> maintain a reasonably steady blood concentration. Both these

books

> have chapters on pharmacokinetics and do make this point crystal

> clear.

>

> I presume that the definition means that the children aren't

> interested in what the educational and medical authorities think

is

> important about the material they read, the children are reading

it

> for their own interests. Just like I " define " all MD's as

> functionally illiterate based on their eyes glazing over when you

try

> to discuss pharmacokinetics with them even though they all had to

read

> chapters in several books about it in med school.

>

> According to me, literacy is when your kid can read the words and

when

> asked tell you what words he read. ILLiteracy is when he reads

the

> words and when asked tells you something ELSE, like the

paraphrasing

> the 'experts' think he should be doing to describe only what THEY

> think is importan

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Or simply repeats backs word for word w/out getting the meaning or whether it

makes any sense. (i.e. echolalia)

S

On Sun, 27 January 2002, " andrewhallcutler " wrote:

>

> <html><body>

>

>

> <tt>

> & gt; & gt; In a nutshell, hyperlexia is reading without<BR>

> & gt; & gt; comprehension. & nbsp; You can go to www.hyperlexia.org for<BR>

> & gt; & gt; more information.<BR>

> <BR>

> All MD's must suffer from it then. & nbsp; They all claim to have read <BR>

> textbooks like on's Textbook of Internal Medicine, Goodman and <BR>

> Gilman's Pharmacologic Basis of Therapeutics, etc. yet none of them <BR>

> pay any attention to administering drugs like ALA and DMSA so as to <BR>

> maintain a reasonably steady blood concentration. & nbsp; Both these books <BR>

> have chapters on pharmacokinetics and do make this point crystal <BR>

> clear.<BR>

> <BR>

> I presume that the definition means that the children aren't <BR>

> interested in what the educational and medical authorities think is <BR>

> important about the material they read, the children are reading it <BR>

> for their own interests. & nbsp; Just like I & quot;define & quot; all MD's as <BR>

> functionally illiterate based on their eyes glazing over when you try <BR>

> to discuss pharmacokinetics with them even though they all had to read <BR>

> chapters in several books about it in med school.<BR>

> <BR>

> According to me, literacy is when your kid can read the words and when <BR>

> asked tell you what words he read. & nbsp; ILLiteracy is when he reads the <BR>

> words and when asked tells you something ELSE, like the paraphrasing <BR>

> the 'experts' think he should be doing to describe only what THEY <BR>

> think is importan<BR>

> <BR>

> </tt>

>

> <br>

>

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In a message dated 1/27/02 12:37:26 PM Eastern Standard Time,

cgbeier@... writes:

> Then there's even a less-desirable category of stimming on letters

> (and numbers) which I have also seen do. Some nitwit

> decorated the clinic room at his therapy agency with those wall

> stick-ons of all the letters and numbers, and sometimes he will gaze

> at them randomly, recite the alphabet, trace letter shapes in the

> air with his finger, or volunteer initial-consonant information ( " P!

> Pig! Q! Queen! " ). To me that's a flat-out self-stimulatory behavior,

> eligible for redirection the same as any other stim.

>

> That make sense?

>

> Thanks

>

>

>

>

Hi , I understand your point completely. My son at a very young age (2)

used to stimm on letters that way. However, to say my son totally does not

comprehend what is read is to do him is an injustice. He does comprehend.

However, concepts like interpreting sequences to a story to predict an

outcome are difficult for him. But, if he read a story and you asked him;

why was sad? He would be able to tell you that without any problem.

Very atypical of his dx (HFA), which is one of the primary reasons among

others that I know his autism is an environmental issue.

Now, he also comprehends where he could follow written multiple step

directions better than spoken ones. We have worked on this because I believe

he needs to function in our world and not his. Not everyone will write out

directions for the rest of his life. So we worked intensively on

auditory/language processing issues. Having said all of that. My opinion of

hyperlexia is this: many children with Asperger's Syndrome or High

Functioning Autism have the ability to decode words at an early age.

However, this ability should be nurtured along with auditory processing and

language processing skills. Also, a vocabulary building program (i.e., where

a child has to name at least two words that mean the same, synonyms to every

word they are able to read (or target word in a story) is a fine place to

start).

Just my .02 cents.

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> -----Original Message-----

> From: BOBVALSEAN@... [mailto:BOBVALSEAN@...]

> Not everyone will

> write out

> directions for the rest of his life. So we worked intensively on

> auditory/language processing issues. Having said all of that.

> My opinion of

> hyperlexia is this: many children with Asperger's Syndrome or High

> Functioning Autism have the ability to decode words at an early age.

> However, this ability should be nurtured along with auditory

> processing and

> language processing skills.

>

Have you tried sign language? It seems to me a child with this ability might

benefit. I tried signing with my daughter, but if she knows that a person

uses voice she won't watch the signs, yet I have seen her watching intently

people signing that she either knows to be deaf or people that she doesn't

know at all. So it didn't work with her other than making her realize there

are other languages and that not everybody communicates in the same way.

Such as the last week or so she keeps changing the language selection on her

DVDs to French.

Tana

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> Or simply repeats backs word for word w/out getting the meaning or

whether it makes any sense. (i.e. echolalia)

> S

The few hyperlexic children I have talked to were perfectly able to

explain what THEY thought the stuff they read was about as long as I

shut up and let them do it (something teachers are unable to do for

religious reasons - they know what the kids are " supposed " to think it

means). Clearly they understood just fine. They did not, however,

put the interpretations on it that teachers are taught in education

credential programs they are SUPPOSED to, so obviously the kids didn't

understand. As far as I can tell given my limited sample, the kids

understand just fine, they simply have a different opinion than the

one the experts think they should have. Probably comes from reading

too much - after all, one of the reasons reading is encouraged in

adults, and the key reason writing whatever you feel like is

constitutionally protected, is that it leads to people having a wide

variety of different opinions

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