Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder are a group of children suffering from multiple behavioural disorders at once. All of the present behavioural issues are rooted from a dysfunctional part of their brain, which either over-works or under-works its capacity. As contrasting it can be with the psychological disorders of Autism, autistic children can also have capabilities that can make them stand out amongst the crowd for their skills.
A concentrated interest in reading, letters and numbers is known as Hyperlexia. Opposite to Dyslexia, where a child is unable to differentiate between letters and is weak at numbers too, children with hyperlexia are keen to explore the letters and numbers as well as learning reading at a very young age. Typically, Hyperlexia has three types:
- Hyperlexia l: A condition in which a child is a keen learner where numbers, letters and reading is concerned. There are no other behavioural or health issues diagnosed in this, and is simply an extraordinary child with special skills.
- Hyperlexia ll: The kind of reading and learning skills developed at an early age, accompanied with autism or autism related behavioural disorders.
- Hyperlexia lll: The keen-ness for reading and numbers is present at an early age, develops exceptional reading skills, has no other accompanied behavioural problems. The keen-ness though, it fades with time, say around the teens.
A rare occurrence amongst the population with autism, at about 6% to 14% of the autistic population worldwide, is diagnosed with Hyperlexia ll. Hyperlexia is the interest in letters and numbers a child develops at a very early age, between 2 to 5 years of age. The child as well develops precocious reading skills within this age period.
In the Hyperlexia ll, while the children have great reading skills, they are still unable to be more open in eye contact and communication. Autistic children with Hyperlexia still tend to be introvert, prefer silent atmosphere and are reluctant to let their surroundings change much. Consideration of the expertise of the reading skill can be used to the children’s advantage at making them excel at one talent or the other, which may as well help them in acquiring professional experience with their talent.
Therapies are utilised for this purpose to polish the skills acquired in hyperlexia by an autistic child, and to help the child in better understanding of the subjects related to linguistics. Some of the prominent ways one can route the reading love of a hyperlexic child are:
- The reading skill of a hyperlexic child is also used to class him in the development of better communication and group activities in school and at home.
- With kids classified as autism hyperlexic, the love for toys is replaced with the love for books. Involvement of such kids with the games that include letters, reading and numbers helps them in developing strategic understanding while playing as well as forming their ideas around the game that shall be fun and educating at the same time.
- The reading frequency is tried to be put on a notebook. The memories children have of their read books or information, when asked to note down, shall help in giving them time and opportunity to write what they remember and build or improve their writing skills.
Every child is different, and in autism, every child has different levels of understandings and disorders. For every child, strategic developmental therapies in Dubai are available to assist you in bringing forth a better learning and a happier future for your autistic child.