Guest guest Posted June 16, 2010 Report Share Posted June 16, 2010 I am getting very conflicting information from the different therapist that my 2 year old sees. He currently sees 2 different speech therapist. One has briefly mentioned that he is hyperlexic. The other seems quite concerned about it and has told me not to work on letter at all with him. I have no background in child development so I had to look up the term hyperlexic. Many of the things sounded just like my son. However, his abilities with letters and numbers are no different from some of his peers and what my mom remembers about me. I could read short stories by age 3! So does this fixation with numbers, letter, colors, and shapes mean that he is definitely hyperlexic? Does this mean that they think he should be on the autism spectrum? He was diagnosed as having CAS and sensory processing but he was only 20 months at the time. I have been using his love of letters to help him with speech because he likes to learn the sounds that each letter makes. He is way past just knowing and recognizing letters. Another thing that I read is that these children do not understand language. To what extent do these children not understand language? My son seems to understand language pretty well because he can follow directions and rarely answer simple questions. Secondly, his OT told me today that one of his goals is to use scissors. Is this right? Learning scissors at age 2 seems really early to me. What on earth does he need to use scissors for? Does anyone have a good checklist of things that a child should be able to do at age 2 for OT? I really feel like they forget how old he is because he is such a big kid. His birthday was in April and he is well over 40 inches and over 45 lbs! I can understand this getting mixed up but it should not affect their perception of what he should be able to do. Thanks in advance for any help!Krista Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Only really know about the scissors.... yes, I believe this to be very young for that. [ ] Frustrated I am getting very conflicting information from the different therapist that my 2 year old sees. He currently sees 2 different speech therapist. One has briefly mentioned that he is hyperlexic. The other seems quite concerned about it and has told me not to work on letter at all with him. I have no background in child development so I had to look up the term hyperlexic. Many of the things sounded just like my son. However, his abilities with letters and numbers are no different from some of his peers and what my mom remembers about me. I could read short stories by age 3! So does this fixation with numbers, letter, colors, and shapes mean that he is definitely hyperlexic? Does this mean that they think he should be on the autism spectrum? He was diagnosed as having CAS and sensory processing but he was only 20 months at the time. I have been using his love of letters to help him with speech because he likes to learn the sounds that each letter makes. He is way past just knowing and recognizing letters. Another thing that I read is that these children do not understand language. To what extent do these children not understand language? My son seems to understand language pretty well because he can follow directions and rarely answer simple questions. Secondly, his OT told me today that one of his goals is to use scissors. Is this right? Learning scissors at age 2 seems really early to me. What on earth does he need to use scissors for? Does anyone have a good checklist of things that a child should be able to do at age 2 for OT? I really feel like they forget how old he is because he is such a big kid. His birthday was in April and he is well over 40 inches and over 45 lbs! I can understand this getting mixed up but it should not affect their perception of what he should be able to do. Thanks in advance for any help!Krista Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 I know when my son was being evaluated for PPCD about a month before he turned three they asked all sorts of questions about if he could cut with scissors, etc. and I was surprised and thought the was young for that. I do not know about hyperlexic. I will have to look that up. Praying for you Krista! I know this can all be frustrating. From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of D. Meyer Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2010 8:45 AM Subject: RE: [ ] Frustrated Only really know about the scissors.... yes, I believe this to be very young for that. [ ] Frustrated I am getting very conflicting information from the different therapist that my 2 year old sees. He currently sees 2 different speech therapist. One has briefly mentioned that he is hyperlexic. The other seems quite concerned about it and has told me not to work on letter at all with him. I have no background in child development so I had to look up the term hyperlexic. Many of the things sounded just like my son. However, his abilities with letters and numbers are no different from some of his peers and what my mom remembers about me. I could read short stories by age 3! So does this fixation with numbers, letter, colors, and shapes mean that he is definitely hyperlexic? Does this mean that they think he should be on the autism spectrum? He was diagnosed as having CAS and sensory processing but he was only 20 months at the time. I have been using his love of letters to help him with speech because he likes to learn the sounds that each letter makes. He is way past just knowing and recognizing letters. Another thing that I read is that these children do not understand language. To what extent do these children not understand language? My son seems to understand language pretty well because he can follow directions and rarely answer simple questions. Secondly, his OT told me today that one of his goals is to use scissors. Is this right? Learning scissors at age 2 seems really early to me. What on earth does he need to use scissors for? Does anyone have a good checklist of things that a child should be able to do at age 2 for OT? I really feel like they forget how old he is because he is such a big kid. His birthday was in April and he is well over 40 inches and over 45 lbs! I can understand this getting mixed up but it should not affect their perception of what he should be able to do. Thanks in advance for any help!Krista Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 17, 2010 Report Share Posted June 17, 2010 Krista sometimes the issue is the child, and sometimes the issue is misdiagnosis by the professionals that work with your child. I'm perhaps different than some here as I rarely got so attached to any therapist or doctor that I didn't question their opinion with a second opinion. I know you are seeing two SLPs and the one that just mentioned in passing the hyperlexia would be the one I would stick with rather than the other. If hyperlexia is suspected, you want to seek opinions on this from a professional that is qualified in this area. From what I read " If you feel that your child may be suffering from hyperlexia, you should contact your family doctor. You should be warned, however, that the identification and study of hyperlexia is a relatively new field " I also found this book written by a parent of a child diagnosed with hyperlexia which may offer some insight and suggestions http://westwingpublishing.com/Hannahs_Hope.html The scissor area -what exactly is the OT looking to do as a goal for your 2 year old? Snipping or cutting? Snipping during the time between 2 and 3 years old may be appropriate. If it's cutting in a line or even more advanced cutting shapes from what I found that is not appropriate. I have below two OT guides in this area but I'd say you should let us know what state or country you are in and we can see if we can help you in finding professionals that others are happy with. Below is information on hyperlexia as well as OT guidelines. In short I'd say the jury is still out on the hyperlexia until you are 100 percent sure by second opinion from a professional who has extensive knowledge in this area. And let us know exactly what the OT is looking for -snips or shapes. Either way take a deep breath and relax -your child is 2 and you are on it no matter what and right now the most important thing for you is to just find a professional or two you can trust who can help guide you for an accurate diagnosis (without being an alarmist) and the most appropriate course of treatment and when the time comes placement for the IEP. ~~~~~~~some articles that may help ease your frustration " While some children that begin reading before preschool age are not hyperlexia and have no difficulties in school, hyperlexic children have problems with reading comprehension as well as difficulties with learning phonics. For children who are beginning to read, phonics are an important key to help them figure out words that they are not familiar with by " sounding " the words out. Children with this disorder recognize words from memory and thus have difficulties when they come across words that they have never seen before…Due to his fascination with the written word, a hyperlexic child often does not interact well with others. He may exhibit abnormal and awkward social skills and have problems relating to his peers. The child may have difficulties engaging in conversations. This may be due to the fact that many of these children learned to read by repetition, a process that they carry over into verbal conversation. This child may be able to repeat spoken words that he has just heard, but does not do well when asked to express his own thoughts or opinions. A child suffering from hyperlexia may also display an exaggerated need to follow a routine and may become upset if that routine is disrupted. He also may have difficulties making transitions from one task to another. This symptom is especially apparent in the classroom setting, where the child is expected to finish one task and then move on to the next. The youngster may become emotionally upset or may just refuse to make this transition. If you feel that your child may be suffering from hyperlexia, you should contact your family doctor. You should be warned, however, that the identification and study of hyperlexia is a relatively new field…Early intervention is the best treatment in dealing with hyperlexia. The younger that the child is when he is diagnosed will make it easier to retrain his mind to read in a different manner that will improve his comprehension and verbal skills. These are two important factors to having a successful academic career. http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/understanding-hyperlexia-407915.html\ #ixzz0r8j8KFnB Hyperlexia is a condition in which the main characteristics are an above normal ability to read accompanied with a below normal ability to understand spoken language. The symptoms are closely related to those of autism and some consider it to be an autism spectrum disorder whereas others contest it to be a completely different condition. http://www.k12academics.com/disorders-disabilities/hyperlexia 2 year old diagnosed with autism and hyperplexia I found a few sources on OT skills for 0 to 6 years old –this first is a PDF which really doesn't talk about it much prior to the age of 3 http://www.thelittlevillageschoolhouse.com/fine_motor_skill_development_0-6_year\ s.pdf But from the LDA online website it's a skill that can be worked on starting between the ages of 2-3 in regards to " snipping " but actual cutting isn't mentioned (and I don't recall it being a skill we focused on at 2! until the age of 4 to 5 years old. Motor Skills Milestones There are two categories within the area of motor skills: gross motor and fine motor. Gross motor skills deals with large muscle groups such as walking. Fine motor incorporate the small muscles such as writing. By age one • Gross Motor o sits without support o crawls o pulls self to standing position and stands unaided o walks with aid o rolls a ball in imitation of adult • Fine Motor o reaches, grasps, puts object in mouth o picks things up with pincer grasp (thumb and one finger) o transfers object from one hand to the other o drops and picks up toy Between ages one and two • Gross Motor o walks alone o walks backwards o picks up toys from floor without falling o pulls toys, pushes toys o seats self in child size chair o walks up and down stairs with hand held o moves to music • Fine Motor o builds tower of three small blocks o puts four rings on stick o places five pegs in pegboard o turns pages two or three at a time o scribbles o turns knobs o throws small ball o paints with whole arm movement, shifts hands, makes strokes Between ages two and three • Gross Motor o runs forward well o jumps in place with two feet together o stands on one foot (with aid) o walks on tiptoe o kicks a ball forward • Fine Motor o strings four large beads o turns single pages o snips with scissors o holds crayon with thumb and fingers (not fist) o uses one hand consistently in most activities o imitates circular, vertical, horizontal strokes o paints with some wrist action; makes dots, lines, circular strokes o rolls, pounds, squeezes, and pulls clay Between ages three and four • Gross Motor o runs around obstacles o walks on a line o balances on one foot for five to ten seconds o hops on one foot o pushes, pulls, steers wheeled toys o rides tricycle o uses slide independently o jumps over six inch high object and lands on both feet together o throws ball overhead o catches a bounce ball • Fine Motor o builds tower of nine small blocks o drives nails and pegs o copies circle o imitates cross o manipulates clay material (rolls balls, snakes, cookies) Between ages four and five • Gross Motor o walks backward toe-heel o jumps forward 10 times without falling o walks up and down stair independently, alternating feet o turns somersault • Fine Motor o cuts on line continuously o copies cross o copies square o prints some capital letters Between ages five and six • Gross Motor o runs lightly on toes o walks on balance beam o can cover 2 meters hopping o skips on alternate feet o jumps rope o skates • Fine Motor o cuts out simple shapes o copies triangle o traces diamond o copies first name o prints numerals 1 to 5 o colors within lines o has adult grasp of pencil o had handedness well established o pastes and glues appropriately http://www.ldonline.org/article/6045 ===== Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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