This definitely fits our DS7. He taught himself to read by age 2.75, but had virtually no speech until age 3.5, when he blossomed into full sentences. His behavior was highly `atypical'. For a while we were taking a fair bit of heat from pediatricians, and anyone else with an opinion, to submit him for Autism evaluation.
We refused.
We did a lot of reading, and knew about Hyperlexia (which didn't seem to fit because he seemed to comprehend) and Einstein Syndrome (which fit perfectly).
We were warned that if you miss the window for early treatment, you could have permanently missed the opportunity the `treat' some aspects of your child's `autism'. But we had the opposite fear, that if we submitted him for evaluation, (mis)diagnosis, and `treatment', our son could be damaged by the trauma of being subjected to intense but unneeded `treatment', as well as the stigma and prejudice from the (mis)diagnosis, and a label that could never be removed.
Once he was talking fluently, the suspicions of `autism' faded away. His behavior was still pretty wild (though he's mellowed now). He is thoughtful and empathic, though socially awkward. He is exceptionally good at mathematics, though not an avid reader, preferring non-fiction to fiction.
It is late talking, rather than early reading, that really bring on suspicions of `autism'. But DSM-5 no longer has delayed speech as an indicator of Autism, so maybe delayed speech won't trigger such suspicions so much in the future.
