When I was in kindergarten, I was crushed bc the boy I had a crush on never responded to any of my love notes. I wrote him love notes every day and gave them to him by the wooden play refrigerator in the corner. I think this colored my entire youth and adolescence in terms of self-worth, value, and relationship development. When I was in my early 30's, it dawned on me that NO ONE ELSE COULD READ back then. I thought of course everyone did... because I had been reading for almost three years already, and how could you survive WITHOUT reading??!?! It wasn't that the boy didn't like me... it's that he was befuddled by all those sheets of mysterious paper I was gifting him.
My gosh, that explains why Jenny Lampshire didn't respond to my love letter when I was 7. She simply didn't know what it was! Thank for for finally explaining this early heartbreak 45 years later!
I taught myself to read and was reading fluently by the age of 3. I was treated terribly at school and also at home. My parents were very upset at my manner of speech, which was concise. I utilized words that were best suited to convey the meaning of my thoughts or statements and the mention of "walking dictionary" really hit home. I trained myself to use the "correct" form of speech, reminding myself to speak in simple terms and to use the common slang that others did. I can recall each of these choices. I created a plan for "how to do what the others do". I systematically taught myself to edit and revise my speech patterns to better reflect those around me. This was done of necessity. To continue to use the English language in it's clearest form was to be bullied and berated. "Know it all" is a label that I have carried for my entire life. I have learned that others don't want to learn. For them, it seems as if communication is just a ritual of pleasantries to fill a silence with no growth or new knowledge gained from the exchange. I was diagnosed in the early 80's with ADHD. I have come to learn that this is unusual, as most females were, and still are overlooked. I have learned about ASD, lessons learned in an effort to help my granddaughter with severe non-verbal ASD that I too, have autism. I was told that if tested I would be deemed autistic but that, at the age of 53, it's a waste of time. Learning that hyperlexia is prevalent in autistic children is yet one more fact that adds to understanding why I feel like I am an entirely different species. Thank you for the informative video.
Very few people appreciate my concision, especially my mother. She has to maximise everything she says. Also: it always comes as a shock to me when people don't want to learn something new that I know about better than they do. I have learned it's better to keep my knowledge to myself and pretend that I am as ignorant of the facts as they are.
A diagnosis would never be a waste of time. As long as you continue to draw breath you can continue to learn. And you may be able to access supports which were previously closed to you. Good luck.
I never realized until just now, that part of my ex’s emotional abuse included teasing me for using words she didn’t understand. She could have just asked what I meant and been open to learning but instead she became a bully like in school…much to think about. Thanks for putting this out there!
I just found a study that explains what I have hypothesized- I WAS verbally delayed, but I learned to read at 18 months but only had 2 words. My natural, first language is the written word. When I am unable to speak, my ability to write remains.
I was the reverse. I could speak early but am dyslexic and struggled a lot with reading but I remember understanding words and then they told me to change how I thought about words and then I couldn't read anymore and I'm not entirely sure what happened there. Eventually I could read in my reading comprehension and speed is way faster than normal now. I'm not diagnosed as autistic though, so I guess I have these traits independent from it or something like that. I'm dyslexic ADHD. Oh yeah and the other weird thing is I have this calculator but only for basic math I'm really really good at complicated math. Just do not ask me to do division in my head.😂
I remember being punished for reading the whole of my library book over the weekend. The teacher forbade me to choose my own books after that and made me read books that she chose for me. I still can't get my head around that.
well done. Its kind of like me getting a hearing test and being told by the audiologist that they have only encountered one other person who aced the test. I asked if there is anything that can be done about it. She was perplexed and asked why. I responded with the fact that living in a world designed for partially hearing impaired people is a pita. Open plan offices, for example are far too noisy. And as for pubs, well lets just say I used to have a tendancy of getting drunk at pubs, which in hindsight was probably me trying to numb the auditory assault on my senses...
I can relate very much to this. As a student and young adult I used alcohol as a way to be able to be sociable, mainly because I couldn't cope with the environments people would socialise in, quite apart from my social anxieties. Working this out was probably a literal life saver for me.
@@marcuscosgrove9431 yep. It kinda seems really dumb of me to have willingly gone to places which bombarded my senses, prompting me to self medicate just to wake up with a hangover and much less money. It took me a while to figure it out, but I got there!
@@jack6539 you’ll probably never see this but for people who pass by, please know that natural age related hearing degradation does reduce this a little..
I was very young and I had just got my first pair of glasses. I fell in love with books, and read an entire Grolier encyclopedia extended reference set. I'm pretty sure I have Hyperlexia, Dysgraphia but I know I have Dyscalculia. Nobody knew what to do with me so I got stuck in Special Education. I basically had to teach myself, the internet saved and doomed my life because has anyone ever been so far as go want to do look more like?
I'm hyperlexic, and so is my 3-year-old daughter. Just a few hours before you posted this video, I was lambasted in a Facebook group for Montessori autism teachers that I thought was progressive in terms of neurodiversity after I asked for advice for how to switch my daughter's rigid interest from capital letters (which she had been taught at daycare) to lowercase letters (which are in books) and open up this new world of reading for her. The hatred I was receiving was appalling! "Your daughter doesn't really understand what she is reading," "She shouldn't be holding a pencil," "At this age it isn't reading, it's word-calling," "You should be assessing her REAL skill before doing anything else." Is this what she's going to go through in kindergarten? I'm so scared for her. Finally I was like, "Hey, I didn't come here for microaggressions because of our genetics, I came here because my daughter has autism and falls outside the norm. I'm just trying to follow her intense interest in a best-practice way." Then comments were turned off. Just pure hatred. Thank you for your video - you've helped to confirm that I was right. (And I think I'll just let my daughter figure it out on her own.)
That's a horrible attitude. I'm sorry you & your daughter had to be subjected to that. Considering the ethos behind Montessori methods it's even worse. Thanks for talking about it.
How sad. This is more social model of disability stuff. It’s the refusal to see difference and a need to homogenise that causes so much pain to all of us in one way or another.
Somehow this reminds me of a 4-year-old French boy in pre-school, where I interned while studying. The supervisor and owner targeted him with unkindness and trashtalked about him, ascribing to him all kinds of evil intentions. I could speak some French and then they targeted me for doing so with him. ..Soon I heard he'd stopped being acutely distressed and crying every day for more than an hour after he arrived. I never saw that because I started later. ..As a student, I catalogued all this as I studied his development in detail, as part of a project. The instructor was very thankful that I was there for him, and by good fortune he left just before I did. ..This was a responsive, gifted, delightful, kind little boy who happened not to speak English. .. The nastiness of some people is shocking, even adults towards a little child.
My sister is hyperlexic, I'm at the opposite side of this spectrum and dyslexic, my sister was reading novels before she started school, everyone was impressed with her reading billboards and posters when she was sitting up in her pram at 2yo. I couldn't read before starting high school, she was bullied for being intelligent and was good friends with her teachers long after leaving school. The teachers hated me because I wasn't like her, they'd scream in my face why couldn't I be like my sister, it was the 70's though. And most schools just didn't understand.
Yes, I fit this pattern. I was reading confidently long before starting school, and was a "little professor". I would read at a prodigious - even a voracious rate, and still do, and I have very good recall of what I read. I was also one of those kids who was moved up at school, and I also spent a couple of years in "gifted" classes. It didn't make me a lot of friends at school. It has stood me in pretty good stead though, in a career founded upon working with words.
Quinn, did you talk to my teachers and schoolmates? 🤣 THERAPY for doing something well?! Good grief! Hyperlexia was tough as a kid, but it's been such a joy outside of school. Thanks for another wonderful video. 💜
Very informative video. I was much older when I realized my reading ability was caused by hyperlexia. I started reading between the ages of 2-3. I was fascinated with words and letters. I didn't much like the big bright pictures. Actually, I hated everything about children's books. My favorite childhood items were the dictionary, medical reference books, and later my first set of Brittanica Encyclopedias. Thank you for the lovely trip down memory lane :D
I'm hyperlexic, but my reading skills didn't really shine until a little later. But I had alot of trauma as a kid. So i don't think reading was a priority until later when i realized that I was naturally inclined to decode. I coin novel terminology often. I think hyperlexia is actually just a form of semantic systemization. So it's like language is just a code. In order for me to understand something, I need the code for it (need to be able to describe it to myself). I often do this without words. It's like an intuitive calculation.
You should make a video on giftedness. I feel like a small group of high IQ high masking autistics and high IQ people with other disorders like OCD have been grouped together but in a way that divides community. Kind of like how Asperger's used to have a superiority complex I feel like they do the same thing. I think it's mostly propped up by parents because it gives them hope their disabled child might secretly be a genius but that actually puts a lot of unnecessary burden on the child to perform.
I think it's also important to note that nobody gets gifts without also getting something to balance it out. I have yet to meet a single human being that is gifted that doesn't have something else in short supply as a result. Every time I think I've found somebody who somehow got a gift without it becoming a double edged sword I eventually find out oh no they got screwed with something else that's just well hidden or hadn't shown up yet with epilepsy being the most common one where it seems like they just got gifts and then boom they hit middle-aged and epilepsy hits. It was always there, It was just sub threshold. The other combination I've seen of incredibly gifted people is absolutely massive susceptibility to alcoholism and drug abuse. I mean we are talking they consume alcohol one time and they are gone for life.
You have such a fantastic way of explaining all the things. Recommending these videos to everyone close to me. Definitely a lot of "must watch" level info in them.
I started reading at 3 years of age. I was in first grade in the fall of 75, I was put in the lowest reading group (long story), when it came my turn to start to read after the student next to me in the circle, I read the rest of the book. I got into trouble and the teacher ripped the book out of my hand and said I was good at guessing based on the pictures above the See Jack, see jack and the ball. I started to cry, and I was sent to the principals office because I had a meltdown and kept saying I can read I can read. My mother showed up saying I could read, the principal was skeptical, so she asked the principal why not test to see if I could read. By that time was done I was at the end of the 3 year book, and moved into the third year. At least then schools moved kids around by their levels to other classes. It was not unusual to see younger kids in a higher grade (or vice versa) level math and reading classes. I was also moved up to 3rd grade math, later in the year when my first grade teacher got tired of me working ahead. Last time I was home in the states visiting my mother, she found our old report cardsI saw how that teacher graded my social skills, it was still hurtful. She lacks friends, she is too quite, she does not communicate well, etc etc. Was I bullied for my hyperlexia? No, just by that first grade teacher. If other kids picked on me, I was pretty oblivious to it, since I cared more about what adults thought than kids, because I never really related well to kids.
Thanks for commenting with what is a very familiar tale. I did a personally informed video on Hyperlexia a while back & if you've watched it I'm sure you found it resonated.
I must have learned to read by osmosis before school, because I still remember my first day at school and already knowing the words the teacher was writing on the board. In those days we had the Through The Rainbow books and after whizzing through those, I went on to devour the paperback shelves.
You are telling my story here. In 5th grade I was bumped up into an advanced reading class, and was so proud of that. I was told to do a book report -my first book report. The teacher, in front of the entire class, said that he had given me a D on it because I had copied it off of the dust jacket. I had done no such thing.. and the fool didn't go and look at the dust jacket to make sure. I still carry resentment over that. I went back into the lower reading group.
I said my first word at 5 months. At one year, I had a vocabulary of 250 words. I taught myself to read at 4 and then proceeded to read the encyclopedia (the whole one) and the Oxford standard dictionary at the age of 5 and 6. I wanted to know all the information so I could make good decisions, and all the words so I knew just the right word to use when I was writing or talking. My father was learning differential calculus to learn how to teach high schoolers, and I wanted him to teach me algebra, which I picked up in bits and pieces. I'm 47. I had NO IDEA this was even a term until a WEEK ago. It's only been about a year and a half since I self-diagnosed.
I was always so bored reading with the class in school. I was 3 or 4 pages ahead of the class when it was my turn to read and so I never knew where we were. The teachers thought I couildnt keep up lol. I had finished the chapter already.
Haha, yes! I also hated comprehension tests because the answers to the questions were always so stupidly obvious that I couldn't be bothered writing them down. My teachers thought I didn't understand the text.
my grandma, a former elementary school teacher, was beyond thrilled when i started to read by the age of 2-3. she would always be teaching me something new when i visited and i absolutely loved it. when we went out i would read the words on street signs and read the names of stores over and over again. kids thought i was a showoff for being able to read as fluently as i could, and adults called me ‘wise beyond my years’ for my large vocabulary. in reality i was confused because i just really liked reading, and i started to really dislike other kids because not only did i get along with adults better, but kids seemed to hate me for what i thought was no reason at all.
this explains why i love dictionaries , and i would gladly take an hour or more if it means i will formulate my written opinion accurately , choosing the exact right words has been a passion of mine, i undesrtand now why all my obsessions involves reading and i write objectively too, even if i need to express a hurtful comment i found it easy to do so like a robot, in a very structured systemized manner , but because i am autistic , this skill is only visible in writing, in immediate interactions i sound very stupid and slow.
In elementary school I used to sit and read the dictionary for pleasure. I was fascinated with all definitions and also all the synonyms to add details to the meaning of a word. I was drawn to the dictionary because it contained so many words to express myself in writing that I did have to express myself verbally.
I don't know if I am hyperlexic, but my early years of reading fits the narrative. I was the only one who knew how to read in my pre-K class and the teacher would sometimes ask me to read to the rest of the class. Presumably while she waited out in the hallway getting drunk. Maybe as a result of this kind of recognition of my ability, I was never "read to" as a child. I can't recall a parent or other adult in my life sitting down with me and reading a book with me. It's not that they tried and gave up because I got ahead of them, it's that they never thought I required that because I already knew how to read. And it was always a solitary activity, which suited me just fine, I should say. But as a result, I didn't really "get" how to read books, if that makes any sense. I got a B.A. in English largely on the strength of my ability to deconstruct the text of novels and plays and poetry in terms of word use and structural models that revealed the psychology of author creativity and how social pressures affected what could be written and published. Which is to say I could read words and sentences just fine. But without even realizing it, the stories those sentences were weaving eluded me. Like being able to appreciate and explain the technical achievement of the brush strokes, but never being able to see the entire painting. I read a great deal up into my 30s, but then almost stopped reading entirely when I discovered audiobooks. Listening to someone else read these stories was a revelation. I never realized what I had been missing by not understanding the story as a whole flowing whole. Books I thought I knew suddenly came alive for the first time. I wasn't really reading when I was reading back then, I was interpreting the words. If that's hyperlexia, then I might have preferred to have been diagnosed and treated differently from the beginning. Of course, I might not have as well. I'm not unhappy with the way things turned out, and I don't want this to be a cautionary tale. It's more explanatory than accusatory.
I taught myself to read by 3 by reading my nightlight and milk cartons. The first word I tried to read on my own at 2 was from the milk carton. "Homogenized". I was wrong because I thought the word was "home squeezed". LOL! Not too bad for recognizing the homonym.
with the last bit about just ask us, Not only might they learn something, but we'll probably be enthusiastic for the opportunity to share our knowledge!
This happened to me. Interesting. Thanks for talking about it. I also had problems when talking because my brain wanted to process the words with the same speed as when reading, but my mouth wouldn't catch up, that caused me mild issues during the first 10 years of my life or so. I had some of the other issues you mention as well. Interesting.
Its only now that ive come across this term for this. Im a late diagnosed ADHD and undergoing autism assessment. The negative part ive found for me tho is I belive the love for learning and need for intellectual stimulation combined with speaking with big word, fast and in a colourful way(I would say dramatic but people rarely see that as snything positive), acctually hinders my social interactions with others quite alot. Not in a way where I would be harsh. But I cant always mask voice tone and love to discuss manners with objective angles. I was raised to be kind and I have high morals and do not bend to others peer-preassure if I have formed an opinion, however if im proven wrong I do accept it, byt it rarely happens, not out of spite, just from gathering information with critical thinking. Through my life all of this amounts to others reacting negatively in forms of them thinking im overly righteous, a besserwisser, "being too perfect", that I dint have any needs(even if knowing and applying aint the same), that im rude/condecending, always want to be right, that im unapproachable and other way around - gullible, that I lack emotions, boastful, that I cant work in teams, that Im intimidating in how i think and connect subjects like a mad scientist thing, that I am delusional when i make theories, that I dont listen, that no one can help/that Im not receptive to assistance. For my own negative experiences is that i rarely find others to engage with in deep connections since i thrive when i get to talk and discuss whats on my mind, but others cant relate so I end up teaching, and thats not a balanced intellectual give and take as most prefer talking about others.. I tend o not be able to stop my intake and learning and its disruptive to everyday life. I dont get taken seriously when i seek medical help as they think I googled everything and acctually dont need medical care(since I dont show pain ect as others too), peoples reactions accutually hurt deeply when they shut me out or ask me to shush all the time. Its also a part that stops me from DOING when I feel there is more to learn. I often feel missunderstood and overly judged when its the way i am, learn, take in information and i feel disconnected since I cant relate to not being this way. But it is a blessing none the less!😊 I love this about me and have great uses to help others too. But no I do not think a diagnosis is needed, but its good to know about so its things that can get accepted
I’m hyperlexic… was… sort of still am. Suffered multiple TBI’s deployed overseas early 2000’s, developed lots of side effects one being memory issues. It’s affected my hyperlexia. I am currently waiting for official diagnosis of ASD, ADHD, OCD. Losing the ability to do certain things that were a part of me, while living a life masking not realizing who I truly am, has been the most chaotic, confusing, and lonely times of my life.
I was a late speaker (which would probably have got me an autism diagnosis today) so my mother taught me to read to get me to speak. I took to reading like a duck to water - unlike my clear lack of ability in sport, which contributed to the bullying I endured throughout my school years. At one point, the teacher I had in primary school at the time took me off the school reading scheme to let others catch up, suggesting I read other things instead. And yes, I have been called a walking dictionary or a walking encyclopaedia - but I do not see why my liking for reading should be considered a source of shame. I am not particularly fast - because I am not fast generally.
I still to this day have issues reading, but I’m still very hyperlexic. Words & letters still occasionally jump around the page (especially if I’m tired), but I am hyper observant to context & the understand of concepts being described in print. I can figure out definitions very quickly, whilst I will also research them to be positive that such definitions are accurate. I use an array of words many wouldn’t utilize, but by all technical means it is an accurate usage. Hence, if dyslexia is supposedly the opposition of hyperlexia, then how is it that I have both? Many individuals questioning whether I used a word correctly & I have to literally show them that it’s the third or seventh definition. Then when I tell them I have issues reading they don’t believe me. I don’t find that dyslexia & hyperlexia are polar opposites. Perhaps, they are on a spectrum of the verbal & written dynamics of communication. Much like Autism itself is on a spectrum. Are we possibly trying to be too narrow on our understanding of hyperlexia vs dyslexia?
Thanks for bringing that up. It's a common (and harmful) misconception to think that dyslexic people have a lesser understanding of language and context but it's simply not the case. Everything you describe is consistent with what we know of dyslexia. The words "hyperlexia" and "dyslexia" directly apply to one's reading ability and it is not possible to be both. Someone who is hyperlexic finds reading easy, (some even say "instinctive") whereas to be dyslexic IS the polar opposite, as you put it - the act of reading itself is difficult. The ability to understand the words we use, whether spoken or written, is not directly related to our reading ability. The difference between hyperlexia and dyslexia is only the ease (and usually the speed) with which we read, however that has no impact on our intellectual capacity to understand and use language or our imagination. Don't forget that until the very recent advent of mass education the ability to read and write was a rarity usually reserved for the moneyed classes and the clergy, yet there were still countless storytellers, bards, minstrels and mummers who were completely illiterate. One can also look to the extensive and detailed histories and mythologies of many indigenous peoples which were passed down through dozens of generations without written records. Whilst a hyperlexic person may read with greater ease and have the potential to absorb and learn faster, there is no guarantee that they will do so or any reason why someone who is dyslexic cannot learn at a similar or even faster pace. All the characteristics you describe in your post are relatively common in hyperlexic people but they are not part of it's definition. Someone who is dyslexic, such as yourself, can achieve the same (as you demonstrate), but the route may be more challenging.
I also have hyperlexia and dyslexia. I grew up in the seventies and eighties and still have papers from kindergarten written completely backwards. My family wasn't well off and I was criticized and ridiculed for using words that sounded uppity by my family. I had read The Odyssey by second grade and sometimes was criticized by teachers for using word spelling like Grey instead of the gray . Numbers and algebra completely stumped me. I never advanced in mathematics after about fifth grade and even though I was in the talented and gifted program throughout school I never tried college. I had been bullied by my peers and never had any encouragement or guidance from my family so I wasted my potential and became a tradesman.
There are a number of skills that contribute to reading: there's spatial processing and the ability to recognize shapes, there's the ability to associate symbols with meanings, there's the ability to figure out the sounds made by a sequence of letters (especially difficult for English), there's the ability to recognize words by sight without decoding the sounds. I was always very good at all of these things. I know a little kid that's very good at recognizing and acquiring sight words, but has very little ability to sound words out and protests that he "can't read", despite being able to read well when everything is within the vocabulary of words he can recognize by sight. "Dyslexia" and "Hyperlexia" apply to your total reading skill and are opposites, but it's certainly possible to have unusual difficulties in one area combined with unusual strengths in another.
I remember when I was at primary school we had to take turns as a class to read a paragraph out loud from the book that was handed out to each child. I was always getting into trouble because I'd read to the end of the book when it came to my turn to read a paragraph but the teacher thought I hadn't been following on. I also hated comprehension tests because the questions had stupidly obvious answers, so I didn't bother answering them. I would then get into trouble for not answering the question. I didn't see the point.
Its weird, I've never used big words or anything, but I always use weird grammar. I think my brain is like a salad tosser for word order, and I always end up with sentences that are barely grammatically correct, so I either sound strange, or from out a book from 200 hundred years ago
Oh my. I use these etymological connections to understand words i dont know in english and other languages. And walked around reciting the entire script of Interview With a Vampire whsn i was a child...
Now as an adult, i find that i have to suppress my vocabulary when conversing with others. Also i wrote an essay in 3rd grade gifted class, and I made 1st place but was disqualified because they thought an adult had written my essay for me.😢
Thanks for commenting. Interview With a Vampire has long been a favourite of mine - the book, the later film and recently the remarkably reworked version of the story on television. Etymology has always fascinated me too, especially since it can be as useful a tool as context in deriving meaning when navigating the unfamiliar.
Is it considered hyperlexia if one only has the reading and complex speaking components? I was reading at 4 w/o being "taught" but didn't speak until I was 3, but then spoke in full sentences, my first words were "Shut the damn door!" something my dad said a lot. My reading and vocabulary was advanced; I remember in 6th grade, being told that I read at high school and or collage level, depending on the adult. However, my handwriting and spelling are deplorable. Also I used to read fairly slowly. Now, I just read at an avg pace. My comprehension has always been very high. And yeah I was bullied by teachers as well as the students. The teachers used to hit me a lot. This was in the late 60s early 70s. I have a "late diagnosis of AuDHD, at the age of 58 in the late winter of 2020, right before covid hit. About 2wks before.
Dear Autismatic, I have a question. I remember being able to read at a very young age, before anyone ever tried to teach me the alphabet. When I started school I were the only one in my class who could read. I have also been told very frequently throughout the years that I have a "very mature use of language" for my age. What these praising people (teachers, family mebers etc) never relized was that this has always been a struggle for me. I found many of the examples of struggles of hyperlectic people you gave inte the video being very relatable. I have always been "the weirdo", and felt like the curriculums in school have been holding me back. However, I have difficulties with comperhension and reading speed. I have no trouble understanding the words; not even unfamiliar ones, generally. But even though I fully understand all the words in a given sentence, I might have a hard time understanding the context and/or underlying message, thus reducing reading speed. Could it still be hyperlexia?
Thank you for this video even if it is 2 years late. Started it thinking that is not me... But it is. I think I am Audhd. I remember taking turns on reading out loud in the classroom, and how hard it was to wait for the others stumbling on the words.... I made it my speciality to read it demonstratively fluent and so fast the teacher actually had a problem stopping me... I guess as living on a small farm beeing brought in on the scoolbus I never caught on to much masking 😅 correct spelling was almost never a problem, and the grammar was by ear and feel weather it was danish, english or german. The rest of school you could'nt teach me besides the little stuff that might have interested me... The correct spelling has started beeing a bit hit or miss at 46 now like trying to write school in english this morning sc... h? well gotta run to see how I will be late for work as usual, if it is not the ocd-ish checking problems, then it is something else, yeah - yeah watching videos and feeling compelled to comment in the morning as well 😅
Is it possible to be both hyper- and dyslexic? I've always been a strong reader, way beyond my peers. But my handwriting is, at best, borderline unreadable, and my writing skills (ability to express my thoughts accurately and concisely, a problem also with my speech) have always been a struggle.
As I understand it, Hyperlexia is often coincident with ASD or at least can mimic ASD (leading to misdiagnosis). I therefore wouldn’t give the “charlatans” quite as much of a beating as you have done in this video, as there is often confusion on the part of parents and caregivers, as well as well-intended practitioners, when a child presents as Hyperlexic at an early age.
Did you know you can both. I have dyslexia but it was hard to notice because I'm also hyperlexic too. I taught myself to read, had strong desire to read comic books. My reading comprehension in school starting in grade 1 was 3 grade levels higher. Yet if I wrote out sentences I'd miss words or spell things wrong. Words like their, there, and they're. So I might right something like this. They're is cat. What in brain is "There is a cat". So takes more energy for to write things but I can read and understand well just slowly, I'm not fast at it. If read too fast the dyslexia kicks in. This post too 37 minutes to write and I'm still not sure it's 100% clear.
Yes it’s very clear (you wrote once « right » instead of « write », but that didn’t hinder comprehension) Thank you for sharing, I love to learn how other people function I’m french, and I learned english almost by myself. I’m fluent when I read in english, but when I try to write, grammar is always guesswork for me - and I’m not sure if these sentences are correct, even if I put a lot of effort and time, writing this comment. I think that maybe your experience and mine are comparable : the brain has no problem working « internally », but the « externalization » is a painful process :)
Hyperlexic issue is not only about reading. Makes no sense a person that can read a lot but comprehension skills are NOT GOOD. or can even understand what other people are saying because it does not pay attention. That is the big issue
When I was in kindergarten, I was crushed bc the boy I had a crush on never responded to any of my love notes. I wrote him love notes every day and gave them to him by the wooden play refrigerator in the corner. I think this colored my entire youth and adolescence in terms of self-worth, value, and relationship development. When I was in my early 30's, it dawned on me that NO ONE ELSE COULD READ back then. I thought of course everyone did... because I had been reading for almost three years already, and how could you survive WITHOUT reading??!?! It wasn't that the boy didn't like me... it's that he was befuddled by all those sheets of mysterious paper I was gifting him.
I love that story 😊💜
As a father of recently hyperlexia diagonised child..this story finally brought a smile
Oof
💀
My gosh, that explains why Jenny Lampshire didn't respond to my love letter when I was 7. She simply didn't know what it was! Thank for for finally explaining this early heartbreak 45 years later!
I taught myself to read and was reading fluently by the age of 3. I was treated terribly at school and also at home. My parents were very upset at my manner of speech, which was concise. I utilized words that were best suited to convey the meaning of my thoughts or statements and the mention of "walking dictionary" really hit home.
I trained myself to use the "correct" form of speech, reminding myself to speak in simple terms and to use the common slang that others did. I can recall each of these choices. I created a plan for "how to do what the others do". I systematically taught myself to edit and revise my speech patterns to better reflect those around me. This was done of necessity. To continue to use the English language in it's clearest form was to be bullied and berated. "Know it all" is a label that I have carried for my entire life. I have learned that others don't want to learn. For them, it seems as if communication is just a ritual of pleasantries to fill a silence with no growth or new knowledge gained from the exchange.
I was diagnosed in the early 80's with ADHD. I have come to learn that this is unusual, as most females were, and still are overlooked. I have learned about ASD, lessons learned in an effort to help my granddaughter with severe non-verbal ASD that I too, have autism. I was told that if tested I would be deemed autistic but that, at the age of 53, it's a waste of time. Learning that hyperlexia is prevalent in autistic children is yet one more fact that adds to understanding why I feel like I am an entirely different species. Thank you for the informative video.
Very few people appreciate my concision, especially my mother. She has to maximise everything she says.
Also: it always comes as a shock to me when people don't want to learn something new that I know about better than they do. I have learned it's better to keep my knowledge to myself and pretend that I am as ignorant of the facts as they are.
A diagnosis would never be a waste of time. As long as you continue to draw breath you can continue to learn. And you may be able to access supports which were previously
closed to you. Good luck.
I never realized until just now, that part of my ex’s emotional abuse included teasing me for using words she didn’t understand. She could have just asked what I meant and been open to learning but instead she became a bully like in school…much to think about. Thanks for putting this out there!
We seem to wind up with narcissistic people. Not healthy; better by myself.
I just found a study that explains what I have hypothesized- I WAS verbally delayed, but I learned to read at 18 months but only had 2 words.
My natural, first language is the written word. When I am unable to speak, my ability to write remains.
I was the reverse. I could speak early but am dyslexic and struggled a lot with reading but I remember understanding words and then they told me to change how I thought about words and then I couldn't read anymore and I'm not entirely sure what happened there. Eventually I could read in my reading comprehension and speed is way faster than normal now. I'm not diagnosed as autistic though, so I guess I have these traits independent from it or something like that. I'm dyslexic ADHD. Oh yeah and the other weird thing is I have this calculator but only for basic math I'm really really good at complicated math. Just do not ask me to do division in my head.😂
I remember being punished for reading the whole of my library book over the weekend. The teacher forbade me to choose my own books after that and made me read books that she chose for me. I still can't get my head around that.
You were reading on her level and that bothered her lol
@@johnrice1943 I never thought of that. It makes sense! 😂
well done. Its kind of like me getting a hearing test and being told by the audiologist that they have only encountered one other person who aced the test. I asked if there is anything that can be done about it. She was perplexed and asked why. I responded with the fact that living in a world designed for partially hearing impaired people is a pita. Open plan offices, for example are far too noisy. And as for pubs, well lets just say I used to have a tendancy of getting drunk at pubs, which in hindsight was probably me trying to numb the auditory assault on my senses...
I can relate very much to this. As a student and young adult I used alcohol as a way to be able to be sociable, mainly because I couldn't cope with the environments people would socialise in, quite apart from my social anxieties. Working this out was probably a literal life saver for me.
@@marcuscosgrove9431 yep. It kinda seems really dumb of me to have willingly gone to places which bombarded my senses, prompting me to self medicate just to wake up with a hangover and much less money. It took me a while to figure it out, but I got there!
@@jack6539 you’ll probably never see this but for people who pass by, please know that natural age related hearing degradation does reduce this a little..
@@freedahlogic8368 yay!?
I was very young and I had just got my first pair of glasses. I fell in love with books, and read an entire Grolier encyclopedia extended reference set. I'm pretty sure I have Hyperlexia, Dysgraphia but I know I have Dyscalculia. Nobody knew what to do with me so I got stuck in Special Education. I basically had to teach myself, the internet saved and doomed my life because has anyone ever been so far as go want to do look more like?
I'm hyperlexic, and so is my 3-year-old daughter. Just a few hours before you posted this video, I was lambasted in a Facebook group for Montessori autism teachers that I thought was progressive in terms of neurodiversity after I asked for advice for how to switch my daughter's rigid interest from capital letters (which she had been taught at daycare) to lowercase letters (which are in books) and open up this new world of reading for her.
The hatred I was receiving was appalling! "Your daughter doesn't really understand what she is reading," "She shouldn't be holding a pencil," "At this age it isn't reading, it's word-calling," "You should be assessing her REAL skill before doing anything else." Is this what she's going to go through in kindergarten? I'm so scared for her.
Finally I was like, "Hey, I didn't come here for microaggressions because of our genetics, I came here because my daughter has autism and falls outside the norm. I'm just trying to follow her intense interest in a best-practice way." Then comments were turned off. Just pure hatred. Thank you for your video - you've helped to confirm that I was right.
(And I think I'll just let my daughter figure it out on her own.)
That's a horrible attitude. I'm sorry you & your daughter had to be subjected to that. Considering the ethos behind Montessori methods it's even worse. Thanks for talking about it.
How sad. This is more social model of disability stuff. It’s the refusal to see difference and a need to homogenise that causes so much pain to all of us in one way or another.
I hope both you and your daughter have found places where people aren’t full of toxic pigeonholing.
Somehow this reminds me of a 4-year-old French boy in pre-school, where I interned while studying. The supervisor and owner targeted him with unkindness and trashtalked about him, ascribing to him all kinds of evil intentions. I could speak some French and then they targeted me for doing so with him.
..Soon I heard he'd stopped being acutely distressed and crying every day for more than an hour after he arrived. I never saw that because I started later.
..As a student, I catalogued all this as I studied his development in detail, as part of a project. The instructor was very thankful that I was there for him, and by good fortune he left just before I did.
..This was a responsive, gifted, delightful, kind little boy who happened not to speak English.
.. The nastiness of some people is shocking, even adults towards a little child.
2 words. Home School.
My sister is hyperlexic, I'm at the opposite side of this spectrum and dyslexic, my sister was reading novels before she started school, everyone was impressed with her reading billboards and posters when she was sitting up in her pram at 2yo. I couldn't read before starting high school, she was bullied for being intelligent and was good friends with her teachers long after leaving school. The teachers hated me because I wasn't like her, they'd scream in my face why couldn't I be like my sister, it was the 70's though. And most schools just didn't understand.
It was a similar story for my family.
Yes, I fit this pattern. I was reading confidently long before starting school, and was a "little professor". I would read at a prodigious - even a voracious rate, and still do, and I have very good recall of what I read. I was also one of those kids who was moved up at school, and I also spent a couple of years in "gifted" classes.
It didn't make me a lot of friends at school. It has stood me in pretty good stead though, in a career founded upon working with words.
The "gifted" and "2E" labels have been a blessing to some and a curse to others. I'm glad you made a career that made use of your skills 👍
@@Autistamatic thank you. And thank you for your videos.
Quinn, did you talk to my teachers and schoolmates? 🤣
THERAPY for doing something well?! Good grief! Hyperlexia was tough as a kid, but it's been such a joy outside of school.
Thanks for another wonderful video. 💜
Thank you, Quinn.
Can relate pretty well on the content of your video.
Kind regards from Argentina.
Very informative video. I was much older when I realized my reading ability was caused by hyperlexia. I started reading between the ages of 2-3. I was fascinated with words and letters. I didn't much like the big bright pictures. Actually, I hated everything about children's books. My favorite childhood items were the dictionary, medical reference books, and later my first set of Brittanica Encyclopedias.
Thank you for the lovely trip down memory lane :D
Thank You. My reading and curiosity aren't addictions or avoidance tactics....they are My Joys! (Well...two of them 😆.)
I'm hyperlexic, but my reading skills didn't really shine until a little later.
But I had alot of trauma as a kid. So i don't think reading was a priority until later when i realized that I was naturally inclined to decode.
I coin novel terminology often. I think hyperlexia is actually just a form of semantic systemization. So it's like language is just a code.
In order for me to understand something, I need the code for it (need to be able to describe it to myself).
I often do this without words. It's like an intuitive calculation.
You should make a video on giftedness. I feel like a small group of high IQ high masking autistics and high IQ people with other disorders like OCD have been grouped together but in a way that divides community. Kind of like how Asperger's used to have a superiority complex I feel like they do the same thing.
I think it's mostly propped up by parents because it gives them hope their disabled child might secretly be a genius but that actually puts a lot of unnecessary burden on the child to perform.
I think it's also important to note that nobody gets gifts without also getting something to balance it out. I have yet to meet a single human being that is gifted that doesn't have something else in short supply as a result. Every time I think I've found somebody who somehow got a gift without it becoming a double edged sword I eventually find out oh no they got screwed with something else that's just well hidden or hadn't shown up yet with epilepsy being the most common one where it seems like they just got gifts and then boom they hit middle-aged and epilepsy hits. It was always there, It was just sub threshold. The other combination I've seen of incredibly gifted people is absolutely massive susceptibility to alcoholism and drug abuse. I mean we are talking they consume alcohol one time and they are gone for life.
You have such a fantastic way of explaining all the things. Recommending these videos to everyone close to me. Definitely a lot of "must watch" level info in them.
I started reading at 3 years of age. I was in first grade in the fall of 75, I was put in the lowest reading group (long story), when it came my turn to start to read after the student next to me in the circle, I read the rest of the book. I got into trouble and the teacher ripped the book out of my hand and said I was good at guessing based on the pictures above the See Jack, see jack and the ball. I started to cry, and I was sent to the principals office because I had a meltdown and kept saying I can read I can read. My mother showed up saying I could read, the principal was skeptical, so she asked the principal why not test to see if I could read. By that time was done I was at the end of the 3 year book, and moved into the third year. At least then schools moved kids around by their levels to other classes. It was not unusual to see younger kids in a higher grade (or vice versa) level math and reading classes. I was also moved up to 3rd grade math, later in the year when my first grade teacher got tired of me working ahead. Last time I was home in the states visiting my mother, she found our old report cardsI saw how that teacher graded my social skills, it was still hurtful. She lacks friends, she is too quite, she does not communicate well, etc etc. Was I bullied for my hyperlexia? No, just by that first grade teacher. If other kids picked on me, I was pretty oblivious to it, since I cared more about what adults thought than kids, because I never really related well to kids.
Thanks for commenting with what is a very familiar tale. I did a personally informed video on Hyperlexia a while back & if you've watched it I'm sure you found it resonated.
Excellent video, thank you.
I must have learned to read by osmosis before school, because I still remember my first day at school and already knowing the words the teacher was writing on the board. In those days we had the Through The Rainbow books and after whizzing through those, I went on to devour the paperback shelves.
You are telling my story here. In 5th grade I was bumped up into an advanced reading class, and was so proud of that. I was told to do a book report -my first book report. The teacher, in front of the entire class, said that he had given me a D on it because I had copied it off of the dust jacket. I had done no such thing.. and the fool didn't go and look at the dust jacket to make sure. I still carry resentment over that. I went back into the lower reading group.
Oh my gosh that is absolutely horrifying I am so sorry that happened to you.
@@darcieclements4880 lol, thanks! I'm 65 and it still irritates me.🤓
I said my first word at 5 months. At one year, I had a vocabulary of 250 words. I taught myself to read at 4 and then proceeded to read the encyclopedia (the whole one) and the Oxford standard dictionary at the age of 5 and 6. I wanted to know all the information so I could make good decisions, and all the words so I knew just the right word to use when I was writing or talking. My father was learning differential calculus to learn how to teach high schoolers, and I wanted him to teach me algebra, which I picked up in bits and pieces. I'm 47. I had NO IDEA this was even a term until a WEEK ago. It's only been about a year and a half since I self-diagnosed.
I was always so bored reading with the class in school. I was 3 or 4 pages ahead of the class when it was my turn to read and so I never knew where we were. The teachers thought I couildnt keep up lol. I had finished the chapter already.
Yes, I did too!
Haha, yes! I also hated comprehension tests because the answers to the questions were always so stupidly obvious that I couldn't be bothered writing them down. My teachers thought I didn't understand the text.
my grandma, a former elementary school teacher, was beyond thrilled when i started to read by the age of 2-3. she would always be teaching me something new when i visited and i absolutely loved it. when we went out i would read the words on street signs and read the names of stores over and over again. kids thought i was a showoff for being able to read as fluently as i could, and adults called me ‘wise beyond my years’ for my large vocabulary. in reality i was confused because i just really liked reading, and i started to really dislike other kids because not only did i get along with adults better, but kids seemed to hate me for what i thought was no reason at all.
this explains why i love dictionaries , and i would gladly take an hour or more if it means i will formulate my written opinion accurately , choosing the exact right words has been a passion of mine, i undesrtand now why all my obsessions involves reading and i write objectively too, even if i need to express a hurtful comment i found it easy to do so like a robot, in a very structured systemized manner , but because i am autistic , this skill is only visible in writing, in immediate interactions i sound very stupid and slow.
In elementary school I used to sit and read the dictionary for pleasure. I was fascinated with all definitions and also all the synonyms to add details to the meaning of a word.
I was drawn to the dictionary because it contained so many words to express myself in writing that I did have to express myself verbally.
Also, reading is usually judged by how well you can read OUT LOUD. Which does nothing to show your comprehensive reading skills.
Yes agreed. For instance, if there is a difficulty with speech that is a motor skill, which doesn't necessarily reflect comprehension.
I don't know if I am hyperlexic, but my early years of reading fits the narrative. I was the only one who knew how to read in my pre-K class and the teacher would sometimes ask me to read to the rest of the class. Presumably while she waited out in the hallway getting drunk. Maybe as a result of this kind of recognition of my ability, I was never "read to" as a child. I can't recall a parent or other adult in my life sitting down with me and reading a book with me. It's not that they tried and gave up because I got ahead of them, it's that they never thought I required that because I already knew how to read. And it was always a solitary activity, which suited me just fine, I should say. But as a result, I didn't really "get" how to read books, if that makes any sense. I got a B.A. in English largely on the strength of my ability to deconstruct the text of novels and plays and poetry in terms of word use and structural models that revealed the psychology of author creativity and how social pressures affected what could be written and published. Which is to say I could read words and sentences just fine. But without even realizing it, the stories those sentences were weaving eluded me. Like being able to appreciate and explain the technical achievement of the brush strokes, but never being able to see the entire painting. I read a great deal up into my 30s, but then almost stopped reading entirely when I discovered audiobooks. Listening to someone else read these stories was a revelation. I never realized what I had been missing by not understanding the story as a whole flowing whole. Books I thought I knew suddenly came alive for the first time. I wasn't really reading when I was reading back then, I was interpreting the words. If that's hyperlexia, then I might have preferred to have been diagnosed and treated differently from the beginning. Of course, I might not have as well. I'm not unhappy with the way things turned out, and I don't want this to be a cautionary tale. It's more explanatory than accusatory.
I taught myself to read by 3 by reading my nightlight and milk cartons. The first word I tried to read on my own at 2 was from the milk carton. "Homogenized". I was wrong because I thought the word was "home squeezed". LOL! Not too bad for recognizing the homonym.
Might have been okay for orange juice!
🙂🧃
with the last bit about just ask us, Not only might they learn something, but we'll probably be enthusiastic for the opportunity to share our knowledge!
Great video thank you 💛
This happened to me. Interesting. Thanks for talking about it. I also had problems when talking because my brain wanted to process the words with the same speed as when reading, but my mouth wouldn't catch up, that caused me mild issues during the first 10 years of my life or so. I had some of the other issues you mention as well. Interesting.
Its only now that ive come across this term for this. Im a late diagnosed ADHD and undergoing autism assessment. The negative part ive found for me tho is I belive the love for learning and need for intellectual stimulation combined with speaking with big word, fast and in a colourful way(I would say dramatic but people rarely see that as snything positive), acctually hinders my social interactions with others quite alot.
Not in a way where I would be harsh. But I cant always mask voice tone and love to discuss manners with objective angles. I was raised to be kind and I have high morals and do not bend to others peer-preassure if I have formed an opinion, however if im proven wrong I do accept it, byt it rarely happens, not out of spite, just from gathering information with critical thinking.
Through my life all of this amounts to others reacting negatively in forms of them thinking im overly righteous, a besserwisser, "being too perfect", that I dint have any needs(even if knowing and applying aint the same), that im rude/condecending, always want to be right, that im unapproachable and other way around - gullible, that I lack emotions, boastful, that I cant work in teams, that Im intimidating in how i think and connect subjects like a mad scientist thing, that I am delusional when i make theories, that I dont listen, that no one can help/that Im not receptive to assistance.
For my own negative experiences is that i rarely find others to engage with in deep connections since i thrive when i get to talk and discuss whats on my mind, but others cant relate so I end up teaching, and thats not a balanced intellectual give and take as most prefer talking about others..
I tend o not be able to stop my intake and learning and its disruptive to everyday life. I dont get taken seriously when i seek medical help as they think I googled everything and acctually dont need medical care(since I dont show pain ect as others too), peoples reactions accutually hurt deeply when they shut me out or ask me to shush all the time. Its also a part that stops me from DOING when I feel there is more to learn. I often feel missunderstood and overly judged when its the way i am, learn, take in information and i feel disconnected since I cant relate to not being this way.
But it is a blessing none the less!😊 I love this about me and have great uses to help others too. But no I do not think a diagnosis is needed, but its good to know about so its things that can get accepted
I’m hyperlexic… was… sort of still am. Suffered multiple TBI’s deployed overseas early 2000’s, developed lots of side effects one being memory issues. It’s affected my hyperlexia. I am currently waiting for official diagnosis of ASD, ADHD, OCD. Losing the ability to do certain things that were a part of me, while living a life masking not realizing who I truly am, has been the most chaotic, confusing, and lonely times of my life.
I was a late speaker (which would probably have got me an autism diagnosis today) so my mother taught me to read to get me to speak. I took to reading like a duck to water - unlike my clear lack of ability in sport, which contributed to the bullying I endured throughout my school years. At one point, the teacher I had in primary school at the time took me off the school reading scheme to let others catch up, suggesting I read other things instead. And yes, I have been called a walking dictionary or a walking encyclopaedia - but I do not see why my liking for reading should be considered a source of shame. I am not particularly fast - because I am not fast generally.
I still to this day have issues reading, but I’m still very hyperlexic. Words & letters still occasionally jump around the page (especially if I’m tired), but I am hyper observant to context & the understand of concepts being described in print.
I can figure out definitions very quickly, whilst I will also research them to be positive that such definitions are accurate. I use an array of words many wouldn’t utilize, but by all technical means it is an accurate usage.
Hence, if dyslexia is supposedly the opposition of hyperlexia, then how is it that I have both? Many individuals questioning whether I used a word correctly & I have to literally show them that it’s the third or seventh definition. Then when I tell them I have issues reading they don’t believe me. I don’t find that dyslexia & hyperlexia are polar opposites. Perhaps, they are on a spectrum of the verbal & written dynamics of communication. Much like Autism itself is on a spectrum. Are we possibly trying to be too narrow on our understanding of hyperlexia vs dyslexia?
Thanks for bringing that up. It's a common (and harmful) misconception to think that dyslexic people have a lesser understanding of language and context but it's simply not the case. Everything you describe is consistent with what we know of dyslexia.
The words "hyperlexia" and "dyslexia" directly apply to one's reading ability and it is not possible to be both. Someone who is hyperlexic finds reading easy, (some even say "instinctive") whereas to be dyslexic IS the polar opposite, as you put it - the act of reading itself is difficult.
The ability to understand the words we use, whether spoken or written, is not directly related to our reading ability. The difference between hyperlexia and dyslexia is only the ease (and usually the speed) with which we read, however that has no impact on our intellectual capacity to understand and use language or our imagination. Don't forget that until the very recent advent of mass education the ability to read and write was a rarity usually reserved for the moneyed classes and the clergy, yet there were still countless storytellers, bards, minstrels and mummers who were completely illiterate. One can also look to the extensive and detailed histories and mythologies of many indigenous peoples which were passed down through dozens of generations without written records.
Whilst a hyperlexic person may read with greater ease and have the potential to absorb and learn faster, there is no guarantee that they will do so or any reason why someone who is dyslexic cannot learn at a similar or even faster pace.
All the characteristics you describe in your post are relatively common in hyperlexic people but they are not part of it's definition. Someone who is dyslexic, such as yourself, can achieve the same (as you demonstrate), but the route may be more challenging.
I also have hyperlexia and dyslexia. I grew up in the seventies and eighties and still have papers from kindergarten written completely backwards.
My family wasn't well off and I was criticized and ridiculed for using words that sounded uppity by my family. I had read The Odyssey by second grade and sometimes was criticized by teachers for using word spelling like Grey instead of the gray . Numbers and algebra completely stumped me. I never advanced in mathematics after about fifth grade and even though I was in the talented and gifted program throughout school I never tried college. I had been bullied by my peers and never had any encouragement or guidance from my family so I wasted my potential and became a tradesman.
There are a number of skills that contribute to reading: there's spatial processing and the ability to recognize shapes, there's the ability to associate symbols with meanings, there's the ability to figure out the sounds made by a sequence of letters (especially difficult for English), there's the ability to recognize words by sight without decoding the sounds. I was always very good at all of these things. I know a little kid that's very good at recognizing and acquiring sight words, but has very little ability to sound words out and protests that he "can't read", despite being able to read well when everything is within the vocabulary of words he can recognize by sight.
"Dyslexia" and "Hyperlexia" apply to your total reading skill and are opposites, but it's certainly possible to have unusual difficulties in one area combined with unusual strengths in another.
I remember when I was at primary school we had to take turns as a class to read a paragraph out loud from the book that was handed out to each child. I was always getting into trouble because I'd read to the end of the book when it came to my turn to read a paragraph but the teacher thought I hadn't been following on.
I also hated comprehension tests because the questions had stupidly obvious answers, so I didn't bother answering them. I would then get into trouble for not answering the question. I didn't see the point.
I struggle with writing and spelling yet my vocabulary is massive.
I guess what I struggle with is disgraphia
Its weird, I've never used big words or anything, but I always use weird grammar. I think my brain is like a salad tosser for word order, and I always end up with sentences that are barely grammatically correct, so I either sound strange, or from out a book from 200 hundred years ago
It was like that for me. I was repeating my abc's by 1 year and reading books by around 3. I cant remember ever being taught to read or write really.
Oh my. I use these etymological connections to understand words i dont know in english and other languages.
And walked around reciting the entire script of Interview With a Vampire whsn i was a child...
Now as an adult, i find that i have to suppress my vocabulary when conversing with others.
Also i wrote an essay in 3rd grade gifted class, and I made 1st place but was disqualified because they thought an adult had written my essay for me.😢
Thanks for commenting. Interview With a Vampire has long been a favourite of mine - the book, the later film and recently the remarkably reworked version of the story on television.
Etymology has always fascinated me too, especially since it can be as useful a tool as context in deriving meaning when navigating the unfamiliar.
Is it considered hyperlexia if one only has the reading and complex speaking components? I was reading at 4 w/o being "taught" but didn't speak until I was 3, but then spoke in full sentences, my first words were "Shut the damn door!" something my dad said a lot. My reading and vocabulary was advanced; I remember in 6th grade, being told that I read at high school and or collage level, depending on the adult. However, my handwriting and spelling are deplorable. Also I used to read fairly slowly. Now, I just read at an avg pace. My comprehension has always been very high.
And yeah I was bullied by teachers as well as the students. The teachers used to hit me a lot. This was in the late 60s early 70s. I have a "late diagnosis of AuDHD, at the age of 58 in the late winter of 2020, right before covid hit. About 2wks before.
Dear Autismatic,
I have a question. I remember being able to read at a very young age, before anyone ever tried to teach me the alphabet. When I started school I were the only one in my class who could read. I have also been told very frequently throughout the years that I have a "very mature use of language" for my age. What these praising people (teachers, family mebers etc) never relized was that this has always been a struggle for me.
I found many of the examples of struggles of hyperlectic people you gave inte the video being very relatable. I have always been "the weirdo", and felt like the curriculums in school have been holding me back. However, I have difficulties with comperhension and reading speed. I have no trouble understanding the words; not even unfamiliar ones, generally. But even though I fully understand all the words in a given sentence, I might have a hard time understanding the context and/or underlying message, thus reducing reading speed.
Could it still be hyperlexia?
I would give anything to be hyperlexic 💜
Thank you for this video even if it is 2 years late. Started it thinking that is not me... But it is. I think I am Audhd. I remember taking turns on reading out loud in the classroom, and how hard it was to wait for the others stumbling on the words.... I made it my speciality to read it demonstratively fluent and so fast the teacher actually had a problem stopping me... I guess as living on a small farm beeing brought in on the scoolbus I never caught on to much masking 😅 correct spelling was almost never a problem, and the grammar was by ear and feel weather it was danish, english or german. The rest of school you could'nt teach me besides the little stuff that might have interested me... The correct spelling has started beeing a bit hit or miss at 46 now like trying to write school in english this morning sc... h? well gotta run to see how I will be late for work as usual, if it is not the ocd-ish checking problems, then it is something else, yeah - yeah watching videos and feeling compelled to comment in the morning as well 😅
They used to call me Wiki, cause I knew at least one fact about almost everything.
Is it possible to be both hyper- and dyslexic? I've always been a strong reader, way beyond my peers. But my handwriting is, at best, borderline unreadable, and my writing skills (ability to express my thoughts accurately and concisely, a problem also with my speech) have always been a struggle.
That is called dysgraphia and yes it is a thing. Occupational therapy helps with this.
hello i am a fellow hyperlexic I learned to read before i could walk and talk :)
Perfect
This is literally my twin
As I understand it, Hyperlexia is often coincident with ASD or at least can mimic ASD (leading to misdiagnosis). I therefore wouldn’t give the “charlatans” quite as much of a beating as you have done in this video, as there is often confusion on the part of parents and caregivers, as well as well-intended practitioners, when a child presents as Hyperlexic at an early age.
Awwww dude thanks!
Did you know you can both. I have dyslexia but it was hard to notice because I'm also hyperlexic too. I taught myself to read, had strong desire to read comic books. My reading comprehension in school starting in grade 1 was 3 grade levels higher. Yet if I wrote out sentences I'd miss words or spell things wrong. Words like their, there, and they're. So I might right something like this. They're is cat. What in brain is "There is a cat". So takes more energy for to write things but I can read and understand well just slowly, I'm not fast at it. If read too fast the dyslexia kicks in. This post too 37 minutes to write and I'm still not sure it's 100% clear.
Yes it’s very clear (you wrote once « right » instead of « write », but that didn’t hinder comprehension)
Thank you for sharing, I love to learn how other people function
I’m french, and I learned english almost by myself. I’m fluent when I read in english, but when I try to write, grammar is always guesswork for me - and I’m not sure if these sentences are correct, even if I put a lot of effort and time, writing this comment.
I think that maybe your experience and mine are comparable : the brain has no problem working « internally », but the « externalization » is a painful process :)
Hyperlexic issue is not only about reading. Makes no sense a person that can read a lot but comprehension skills are NOT GOOD. or can even understand what other people are saying because it does not pay attention. That is the big issue
💫🌟🖤🖤🖤🌟💫
i thought you spoke that way because you were fancy and british
Xdddddd