Re: Hyperlexics don't all LIKE to read

[Guest guest]

Quote from Roxanne

> I am surprised by so many people saying that their kids love to read.

> My ds is hyperlexic and does not like reading.

My ds does not like to read just anything either. He'd read off of electronic

displays, signs, TV close captioning, but he doesn't just pick up a book and

read it on his own. Once in a while if it's a book that's fun and new he'd want

to read it with us over and over for a few days, like " Cloudy with a chance of

meatballs " , or the Cars movie story, etc.

It seems to me there are 2 factors that might contribute to the difference in

whether they LIKE to read,

1 is the learning/thinking style, whether they are visual or auditory/verbal.

Visual ones just like the shapes and symbolic icons. Auditory/verbal ones would

read/listen more because they enjoy it.

2 is they just like novel stuff. With my ds and a few other ASD kids I've found

they are interested in completely strange things that they don't know or

understand, it's almost like they crave the unknown, for no reason at all. Once

it's known they lose interest. I know kids are all like that to some extent, but

some HFAs are extremely so.

Whether they comprehend of course is a totally different issue.

My ds' case a visual + novelty effect + bilingual. I once read some theory

saying it's really better for kids to focus on one language before 2. Truly

bilingual kids from birth sometimes learn both like foreign languages, by

echolocation, copying entire sentences and phrases without comprehending them,

etc. When they are overwhelmed by a strong emotion, sometimes they can't use

either languages to express themselves, or have another " language " (sounds) that

is neither. These descriptions all fit my ds pretty well. Also we can't figure

out whether he is seeing the words in his mind before he says it, which language

he thinks of first, etc., anyway it's a lot of work in that poor head of his.

[Guest guest]

My son will read all kinds of books--one night it may be fantasy, the next realistic fic--now that may because he is such a voracious reader, and just keeps going. I have probably over 2500 books on the shelves, all childrens. I used to teach intermediate grades.

My son was identified as a visual learner (the psych said). So I really have no idea, except that I love to read too--and maybe he just got it from me.

We are both voracious readers, love art, but we both have eccentric personalities.

We both can also tell you about what page something we read is on. Can we read it word for word? no--it doesn't stay in our memory long enough for a photo. I used to be able to do that when I was younger, but as I aged I lost that photo memory. I can tell you it's on this page, etc, but can't pull it up word for word in my mind. Jasper can do the same, only a bit better--I can grab a book he read last month to "quiz" him and ask him, what happened on this page, he can tell you grandly (but not word for word--but he tells in HIS own words), and he will say, I can also tell you what is on the next page, etc. But it's summary on the words with lots of details (he remembers them) and remembers the pictures fantastically.So I'm not surprised with anything--not after reading Temple Grandin--autism is a WIDE spectrum--so I guess it really just depends on our kid.I can't wait for 20 years from now, all the new discoveries they make with our

aspies--alot ride now is for high functioning or lower functioning, but not much with Aspergers.

Purrs & Kisses,

Kristal of Digi Kitty

The Kitty who loves Digi!

Designer for the VDBC "More" Team - you can see my designs HERE!!!

From: april_qian <april_qian@...>Subject: ( ) Re: Hyperlexics don't all LIKE to read Date: Thursday, June 3, 2010, 11:21 AM

Quote from Roxanne > I am surprised by so many people saying that their kids love to read. > My ds is hyperlexic and does not like reading. My ds does not like to read just anything either. He'd read off of electronic displays, signs, TV close captioning, but he doesn't just pick up a book and read it on his own. Once in a while if it's a book that's fun and new he'd want to read it with us over and over for a few days, like "Cloudy with a chance of meatballs", or the Cars movie story, etc.It seems to me there are 2 factors that might contribute to the difference in whether they LIKE to read, 1 is the learning/thinking style, whether they are visual or auditory/verbal. Visual ones just like the shapes and symbolic icons. Auditory/verbal ones would read/listen more because they enjoy it. 2 is they just like novel stuff. With my ds and a few other ASD kids I've found they are interested in completely strange

things that they don't know or understand, it's almost like they crave the unknown, for no reason at all. Once it's known they lose interest. I know kids are all like that to some extent, but some HFAs are extremely so.Whether they comprehend of course is a totally different issue.My ds' case a visual + novelty effect + bilingual. I once read some theory saying it's really better for kids to focus on one language before 2. Truly bilingual kids from birth sometimes learn both like foreign languages, by echolocation, copying entire sentences and phrases without comprehending them, etc. When they are overwhelmed by a strong emotion, sometimes they can't use either languages to express themselves, or have another "language"(sounds) that is neither. These descriptions all fit my ds pretty well. Also we can't figure out whether he is seeing the words in his mind before he says it, which language he thinks of first, etc., anyway it's a lot of

work in that poor head of his.

[Guest guest]

No, my kid does not like to read - PERIOD. It's not a matter of just

finding something he wants to read because he isn't interested. He

reads really well though. But he has no interest in stories or finding

out what happens next. maybe that is the " autism " part vs the

" hyperlexia " part? I don't know. We go to the library several times a

week - I am a big reader myself. I just know that everything about

hyperlexia for us has been opposite what you might have thought but

typical for hyperlexia. He was really advanced for a hyperlexic,

reading by 18 months. He had an estimated reading level of 9th grade

by Kindergarten but his ability to comprehend was severely impaired.

This is standard for hyperlexia. Also, his speech was very delayed and

not just social/pragmatic language. Speech from the ground up was

delayed, another marker.

I did want to add to this thread that I mentioned a book I was reading

the other day, " When babies read " and ugh. I did not like it overall

for learning anything new about hyperlexia. the first chapter seems to

describe the author's experience which was nice to read. And she did

discuss how they used the ability to read to teach him the skills he

was missing which we did as well and I agree with. It almost seems to

me a " duh " thing, though. We did it automatically without knowing and

I would like to think most people would get that. But then she goes

into how to teach babies to read overall - something she advocates,

especially for kids with disabilities but for all babies. And I really

felt the topic of hyperlexia was gone by then. Then her own experience

seems almost too good to be true - insurance company paid for home ABA

program and school implemented intensive early intervention program. I

was hoping she would tell us which insurance company and which school

is so great! But she didn't. She has the standard " take cookies to

the IEP meeting " advice. You can tell she's never been in a school

system who refused to do the right thing and were willing to pay

laywers big money to make their point. lol. Which is good for them,

really. The less people have to struggle, the better. But I don't

know if people who haven't had to fight for anything have really

experienced the situation to where they should give advice to people

who have or are going through that. Not that they can't but that it

always seems to be those little pieces of advice that you are so far

past by this point. if the obvious worked, we wouldn't be here, is my

motto to that end. <g>

Anyway, too bad. I had hoped to gain some insight into the disorder.

Roxanna

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

( ) Re: Hyperlexics don't all LIKE to read

Quote from Roxanne

> I am surprised by so many people saying that their kids love to read.

> My ds is hyperlexic and does not like reading.

My ds does not like to read just anything either. He'd read off of

electronic displays, signs, TV close captioning, but he doesn't just

pick up a book and read it on his own. Once in a while if it's a book

that's fun and new he'd want to read it with us over and over for a few

days, like " Cloudy with a chance of meatballs " , or the Cars movie

story, etc.

It seems to me there are 2 factors that might contribute to the

difference in whether they LIKE to read,

1 is the learning/thinking style, whether they are visual or

auditory/verbal. Visual ones just like the shapes and symbolic icons.

Auditory/verbal ones would read/listen more because they enjoy it.

2 is they just like novel stuff. With my ds and a few other ASD kids

I've found they are interested in completely strange things that they

don't know or understand, it's almost like they crave the unknown, for

no reason at all. Once it's known they lose interest. I know kids are

all like that to some extent, but some HFAs are extremely so.

Whether they comprehend of course is a totally different issue.

My ds' case a visual + novelty effect + bilingual. I once read some

theory saying it's really better for kids to focus on one language

before 2. Truly bilingual kids from birth sometimes learn both like

foreign languages, by echolocation, copying entire sentences and

phrases without comprehending them, etc. When they are overwhelmed by a

strong emotion, sometimes they can't use either languages to express

themselves, or have another " language " (sounds) that is neither. These

descriptions all fit my ds pretty well. Also we can't figure out

whether he is seeing the words in his mind before he says it, which

language he thinks of first, etc., anyway it's a lot of work in that

poor head of his.

[Guest guest]

My son doesn't like reading books unless it is something related to one of his

obsessions. However he does read everything, signs, labels, everything. He

told us yesterday that he can't use soap on his hands because the label says

" keep out of reach of children " .

>

> Quote from Roxanne

> > I am surprised by so many people saying that their kids love to read.

> > My ds is hyperlexic and does not like reading.

>

> My ds does not like to read just anything either. He'd read off of electronic

displays, signs, TV close captioning, but he doesn't just pick up a book and

read it on his own. Once in a while if it's a book that's fun and new he'd want

to read it with us over and over for a few days, like " Cloudy with a chance of

meatballs " , or the Cars movie story, etc.

>

> It seems to me there are 2 factors that might contribute to the difference in

whether they LIKE to read,

> 1 is the learning/thinking style, whether they are visual or auditory/verbal.

Visual ones just like the shapes and symbolic icons. Auditory/verbal ones would

read/listen more because they enjoy it.

> 2 is they just like novel stuff. With my ds and a few other ASD kids I've

found they are interested in completely strange things that they don't know or

understand, it's almost like they crave the unknown, for no reason at all. Once

it's known they lose interest. I know kids are all like that to some extent, but

some HFAs are extremely so.

>

> Whether they comprehend of course is a totally different issue.

>

> My ds' case a visual + novelty effect + bilingual. I once read some theory

saying it's really better for kids to focus on one language before 2. Truly

bilingual kids from birth sometimes learn both like foreign languages, by

echolocation, copying entire sentences and phrases without comprehending them,

etc. When they are overwhelmed by a strong emotion, sometimes they can't use

either languages to express themselves, or have another " language " (sounds) that

is neither. These descriptions all fit my ds pretty well. Also we can't figure

out whether he is seeing the words in his mind before he says it, which language

he thinks of first, etc., anyway it's a lot of work in that poor head of his.

>

[Guest guest]

I had to laugh at this one. This sort of thing nails us all the time!

> My son doesn't like reading books unless it is something related to one of his

obsessions. However he does read everything, signs, labels, everything. He

told us yesterday that he can't use soap on his hands because the label says

" keep out of reach of children " .

>

[Guest guest]

I also checked out " When Babies Read " from the library. I agree with you, and

skippe dthoe whole part about teaching reading. However, there were two or

three good and helpful chapters at the end, with activities for improving

comprehension and theory of mind areas.

The book was probably targeted wrongly, because by the time you've already

figured out that your kid can read early, the book loses a lot of relevance.

However, I wonder if research could be done into trying to teach young autistic

children to read, and if that would improve long term outcome. Even though my

hyperlexic does not like to read, reading was the magic road to communication

and stability for us. I have a friend with a son in a dedicated autism

classroom. He is now 4, but they are teaching them to read. I don't know if it

is a " step above " your typical preschool play-classroom, but I think it might

be. It will be interesting to see how this affects overall outcome.

>

> I did want to add to this thread that I mentioned a book I was reading

> the other day, " When babies read " and ugh. I did not like it overall

> for learning anything new about hyperlexia. the first chapter seems to

> describe the author's experience which was nice to read. And she did

> discuss how they used the ability to read to teach him the skills he

> was missing which we did as well and I agree with. It almost seems to

> me a " duh " thing, though. We did it automatically without knowing and

> I would like to think most people would get that. But then she goes

> into how to teach babies to read overall - something she advocates,

> especially for kids with disabilities but for all babies. And I really

> felt the topic of hyperlexia was gone by then. Then her own experience

> seems almost too good to be true - insurance company paid for home ABA

> program and school implemented intensive early intervention program. I

> was hoping she would tell us which insurance company and which school

> is so great! But she didn't. She has the standard " take cookies to

> the IEP meeting " advice. You can tell she's never been in a school

> system who refused to do the right thing and were willing to pay

> laywers big money to make their point. lol. Which is good for them,

> really. The less people have to struggle, the better. But I don't

> know if people who haven't had to fight for anything have really

> experienced the situation to where they should give advice to people

> who have or are going through that. Not that they can't but that it

> always seems to be those little pieces of advice that you are so far

> past by this point. if the obvious worked, we wouldn't be here, is my

> motto to that end. <g>

>

> Anyway, too bad. I had hoped to gain some insight into the disorder.

>

> Roxanna

> Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

>

[Guest guest]

My second son does not have autism. He read when he was 2 (I know he was

reciting his alphabet backwards at 18 months). He wrote when he was 2. Tests

showed he is gifted. However, at 10, he does not like reading.

My son with autism (12) started reading at 7. Not gifted. He LOVES reading.

Reading wise, he is now ahead of his gifted sibling.

>

> No, my kid does not like to read - PERIOD. It's not a matter of just

> finding something he wants to read because he isn't interested. He

> reads really well though. But he has no interest in stories or finding

> out what happens next. maybe that is the " autism " part vs the

> " hyperlexia " part? I don't know. We go to the library several times a

> week - I am a big reader myself. I just know that everything about

> hyperlexia for us has been opposite what you might have thought but

> typical for hyperlexia. He was really advanced for a hyperlexic,

> reading by 18 months. He had an estimated reading level of 9th grade

> by Kindergarten but his ability to comprehend was severely impaired.

> This is standard for hyperlexia. Also, his speech was very delayed and

> not just social/pragmatic language. Speech from the ground up was

> delayed, another marker.

[Guest guest]

I do think that was an interesting point to make - to teach them to

read. But I kind of wondered how big a problem that is. I mean, maybe

it is???? I wouldn't know overall. The little guy I worked with with

severe autism - they were introducing reading skills as soon as he hit

school even though he doesn't talk or communicate. So it seemed in

that case at least, it was being done. I don't know if that is

standard or not. We could have done things earlier and she seems to

advocate doing it earlier than " normal " too. But even to that end,

when I worked with my friend, we were introducing letters and numbers

as part of his home ABA program in addition to all the other things.

We just had several areas and I tried to have a few programs in each

area going on at once. In my mind, we never knew what might click with

him and when. It wasn't as aggressive as she advocated in her book.

It would be really interesting to have studies done on it, that I

agree!

Roxanna

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

( ) Re: Hyperlexics don't all LIKE to read

I also checked out " When Babies Read " from the library. I agree with

you, and skippe dthoe whole part about teaching reading. However,

there were two or three good and helpful chapters at the end, with

activities for improving comprehension and theory of mind areas.

The book was probably targeted wrongly, because by the time you've

already figured out that your kid can read early, the book loses a lot

of relevance.

However, I wonder if research could be done into trying to teach young

autistic children to read, and if that would improve long term outcome.

Even though my hyperlexic does not like to read, reading was the magic

road to communication and stability for us. I have a friend with a son

in a dedicated autism classroom. He is now 4, but they are teaching

them to read. I don't know if it is a " step above " your typical

preschool play-classroom, but I think it might be. It will be

interesting to see how this affects overall outcome.

>

> I did want to add to this thread that I mentioned a book I was

reading

> the other day, " When babies read " and ugh. I did not like it overall

> for learning anything new about hyperlexia. the first chapter seems

to

> describe the author's experience which was nice to read. And she did

> discuss how they used the ability to read to teach him the skills he

> was missing which we did as well and I agree with. It almost seems

to

> me a " duh " thing, though. We did it automatically without knowing

and

> I would like to think most people would get that. But then she goes

> into how to teach babies to read overall - something she advocates,

> especially for kids with disabilities but for all babies. And I

really

> felt the topic of hyperlexia was gone by then. Then her own

experience

> seems almost too good to be true - insurance company paid for home

ABA

> program and school implemented intensive early intervention program.

I

> was hoping she would tell us which insurance company and which school

> is so great! But she didn't. She has the standard " take cookies to

> the IEP meeting " advice. You can tell she's never been in a school

> system who refused to do the right thing and were willing to pay

> laywers big money to make their point. lol. Which is good for them,

> really. The less people have to struggle, the better. But I don't

> know if people who haven't had to fight for anything have really

> experienced the situation to where they should give advice to people

> who have or are going through that. Not that they can't but that it

> always seems to be those little pieces of advice that you are so far

> past by this point. if the obvious worked, we wouldn't be here, is

my

> motto to that end. <g>

>

> Anyway, too bad. I had hoped to gain some insight into the disorder.

>

> Roxanna

> Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

>

[Guest guest]

, that is so ironic! lol. I wonder if there is a key to helping

kids with hyperlexia love to read half as much as they are obviously

obsesses with reading? It's a strange problem to mull over. That is

also interesting that your ds who is gifted and was an early reader

does not like reading. I wonder if there is a connection in there? Do

you know if that is a common problem for the kids who are gifted who

read early? Is he curious about many things?

Roxanna

Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

( ) Re: Hyperlexics don't all LIKE to read

My second son does not have autism. He read when he was 2 (I know he

was reciting his alphabet backwards at 18 months). He wrote when he

was 2. Tests showed he is gifted. However, at 10, he does not like

reading.

My son with autism (12) started reading at 7. Not gifted. He LOVES

reading. Reading wise, he is now ahead of his gifted sibling.

>

> No, my kid does not like to read - PERIOD. It's not a matter of just

> finding something he wants to read because he isn't interested. He

> reads really well though. But he has no interest in stories or

finding

> out what happens next. maybe that is the " autism " part vs the

> " hyperlexia " part? I don't know. We go to the library several times

a

> week - I am a big reader myself. I just know that everything about

> hyperlexia for us has been opposite what you might have thought but

> typical for hyperlexia. He was really advanced for a hyperlexic,

> reading by 18 months. He had an estimated reading level of 9th grade

> by Kindergarten but his ability to comprehend was severely impaired.

> This is standard for hyperlexia. Also, his speech was very delayed

and

> not just social/pragmatic language. Speech from the ground up was

> delayed, another marker.

[Guest guest]

He tends to master things, and then move on. For example, when he was five he

mastered the multiplication table, and then learned roman numerals, and then

would do multiplication in roman numerals. A few years ago, he memorized the

entire periodic table. However, once he gets it, and shows off for a bit, he

moves on to something else. We are having him continue with piano, and despite

the fact that in 2.5 years he has moved up the ladder second from the top out of

20 students (with the oldest being in 9th grade while he is in 5th) he has zero

passion for it. He once loved it.

My son is more focused on his social life than anything academic. He wants to

listen to music, email his friends, and hang out with other kids. School stuff

fulfills him little, so he doesn't push himself to move ahead.

Perhaps reading for him was a task that once he mastered he was done with.

>

> , that is so ironic! lol. I wonder if there is a key to helping

> kids with hyperlexia love to read half as much as they are obviously

> obsesses with reading? It's a strange problem to mull over. That is

> also interesting that your ds who is gifted and was an early reader

> does not like reading. I wonder if there is a connection in there? Do

> you know if that is a common problem for the kids who are gifted who

> read early? Is he curious about many things?

>

>

> Roxanna

> Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

[Guest guest]

This may be way off base here, but when my aspie daughter

was 16 months old she enjoyed jig saw puzzles which I believe is similar to

reading because of the pattern recognition. We had several around from

when her sister was younger. I started her off with 5 piece puzzles which

she put together quickly so I gave her puzzles with more pieces working her way

up to 28 pieces. Anything beyond that was too difficult because the piece

size was too small to handle for her. And this is all she wanted to do,

no toy/tv/interaction could hold her interest like puzzles. This went on

for a few months and then it abruptly stopped and even today, she is not

interested in jig saw puzzles.

melody

[Guest guest]

that is funny that you would say that once he mastered he was done with it. I have heard my husband say that who is an aspie by the way. He likes projects that have a clear finish and things that do not like house work or the yard drive him crazy. He also hates cronic problems I am worried about him when he gets older.From: laura6307 <laura6307@...>Subject: ( ) Re: Hyperlexics don't all LIKE to read Date: Monday, June 7, 2010, 8:47 AM

He tends to master things, and then move on. For example, when he was five he mastered the multiplication table, and then learned roman numerals, and then would do multiplication in roman numerals. A few years ago, he memorized the entire periodic table. However, once he gets it, and shows off for a bit, he moves on to something else. We are having him continue with piano, and despite the fact that in 2.5 years he has moved up the ladder second from the top out of 20 students (with the oldest being in 9th grade while he is in 5th) he has zero passion for it. He once loved it.

My son is more focused on his social life than anything academic. He wants to listen to music, email his friends, and hang out with other kids. School stuff fulfills him little, so he doesn't push himself to move ahead.

Perhaps reading for him was a task that once he mastered he was done with.

>

> , that is so ironic! lol. I wonder if there is a key to helping

> kids with hyperlexia love to read half as much as they are obviously

> obsesses with reading? It's a strange problem to mull over. That is

> also interesting that your ds who is gifted and was an early reader

> does not like reading. I wonder if there is a connection in there? Do

> you know if that is a common problem for the kids who are gifted who

> read early? Is he curious about many things?

>

>

> Roxanna

> Whenever I feel blue, I start breathing again.

[Guest guest]

Me too!!!!!!! My daughter from about 15 months to 2 and half years was totally obsessed with puzzles. She could do about 25 by herself. She was very good at finding the spots where the peice went but now she is bored with it. She like her leapster a lot now. She loves to play the different learning games and I think it is great because she is learning so many great things and she loves it so much.From: Melody Kalomiris <mkalomiris@...>Subject: Re: ( ) Re: Hyperlexics don't all LIKE to read Date: Monday, June 7, 2010, 9:35 AM

This may be way off base here, but when my aspie daughter

was 16 months old she enjoyed jig saw puzzles which I believe is similar to

reading because of the pattern recognition. We had several around from

when her sister was younger. I started her off with 5 piece puzzles which

she put together quickly so I gave her puzzles with more pieces working her way

up to 28 pieces. Anything beyond that was too difficult because the piece

size was too small to handle for her. And this is all she wanted to do,

no toy/tv/interaction could hold her interest like puzzles. This went on

for a few months and then it abruptly stopped and even today, she is not

interested in jig saw puzzles. melody

[Guest guest]

My DD did this too!!! She was way ahead of her age doing jigsaw puzzles and now can barely do them at all - the only difference is that she is now a prolific reader and loves books.

At almost 9 she has 36+ piece puzzles in her room she cannot do and never even tries to do yet at 18 months she did 28 pieces without any problem. It's like she lost the key to figuring them out somewhere along the way.

a

From: Melody Kalomiris

Sent: Monday, June 07, 2010 4:35 PM

Subject: Re: ( ) Re: Hyperlexics don't all LIKE to read

This may be way off base here, but when my aspie daughter was 16 months old she enjoyed jig saw puzzles which I believe is similar to reading because of the pattern recognition. We had several around from when her sister was younger. I started her off with 5 piece puzzles which she put together quickly so I gave her puzzles with more pieces working her way up to 28 pieces. Anything beyond that was too difficult because the piece size was too small to handle for her. And this is all she wanted to do, no toy/tv/interaction could hold her interest like puzzles. This went on for a few months and then it abruptly stopped and even today, she is not interested in jig saw puzzles.

melody

[Guest guest]

she is playing and learning! And with their terrific memory

(at least about this kind of stuff) she will retain the info thru school .

Regards, melody

[Guest guest]

What books does your daughter like to read? Does she

have any other hobbies, or interests?

My daughter would read non-stop about her obsessions which was

always non-fiction (mostly animals, birds). She has read all the bird field

guides and feels at this point there is nothing new to read. throughout

elementary school, she had to read several books each year from a list at

school after which she was tested. This list contained popular choices but

we found very few non-fiction. this was torture for her and really turned

her off to reading all together. maybe she’ll find the fun in it

again some day.

Regards, melody

[Guest guest]

Somebody once told me that hyperlexics were on the spectrum. never

struggles with social issues, but he has some OCD tendencies - his chair has to

be 'just right' and will spend minutes adjusting it before sitting down.

Previously, it was his blankets that had to be like this, and it would take him

forever to get situated for sleep.

>

> that is funny that you would say that once he mastered he was done with it. 

I have heard my husband say that who is an aspie by the way.  He likes projects

that have a clear finish and things that do not like house work or the yard

drive him crazy.  He also hates cronic problems I am worried about him when he

gets older.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Melody,

Beth is almost 9 and is obsessed with horses to the point she spends a lot of her time *being* one. She has studied them intently and can kick out backwards (hard to describe but amazing to watch her), canters, trots, gallops, walks etc, whinnies, does the mouthy/tooth grimace thing, tosses her head and generally holds herself like one. Before anyone tells me this is part of being a girl, I would say that most girls go through a phase of owning a pretend horse, riding it, leaving it outside shops etc but most do not pretend to be one. This obsession has gone on for a good 2-3 years now and superseded *loaf of bread* (which involved spinning round lots in the bread maker then being "sliced" and "spread" but involved meltdowns if she was spread with anything not on her limited list) and *dog*. We live on a farm and have had to ban her from whinnying across the fields as she gets next door's stallion trying to jump the fence she is so realistic. She rides her swing sideways in circles as a "horse" too. She has spent a lot of her pocket money on Breyer models. I have had to ban her from being an animal in the house as she was trying to eat her food as a dog would. As she has gotten older she is now spending a bit more time as a girl and I try to keep her absorbed in girl-type occupations for a lot of her time rather than letting her be a horse constantly - she has slowly learned that being a girl has advantages and can be a lot of fun.

Most of her reading revolves around horses - both factual and fiction. But she does also read quite widely on other subjects although the basic theme is animals or sea creatures. She gets upset when her DS games about nature quote incorrect information!

To keep her interests more varied, when we drive to our Home Ed weekly event (an hour each way) she reads to me - something she loves doing - and I try to make sure we cover a variety of books and topics. I also read to her although not as often as I would wish and I usually choose children's classics but I am not sure how much she relates to them - we recently finished What Katy Did and she didn't seem to have absorbed that much of it.

Apologies for the essay - sometimes it isn't until you start to put it down on paper you realise how much something is a part of your life!!

a

From: Melody Kalomiris

Sent: Monday, June 07, 2010 11:56 PM

Subject: Re: ( ) Re: Hyperlexics don't all LIKE to read

What books does your daughter like to read? Does she have any other hobbies, or interests?

My daughter would read non-stop about her obsessions which was always non-fiction (mostly animals, birds). She has read all the bird field guides and feels at this point there is nothing new to read. throughout elementary school, she had to read several books each year from a list at school after which she was tested. This list contained popular choices but we found very few non-fiction. this was torture for her and really turned her off to reading all together. maybe she’ll find the fun in it again some day.

Regards, melody