I have a daughter that is a davidson young scholar. She is currently 7 but was reading (actual reading) by 20 months. She could take a new children book off the shelf and read it. She was also quite verbal, etc. etc.
Now my youngest son is 2. He also seems to be reading very early, like my daughter. HOWEVER, he is also delayed in his speech. So this looks different that just being gifted like his sister. He can read almost any word put in front of him, so he is able to say the words clearly, but they don't seem to hold a lot of functional meaning. So like he could read "Max needs to put the ball in the box." and if I told him to do what the words said, he'd be lost.
Even more than letters and reading, he has been obsessed with numbers from a very young age. OBSESSED. He can read printed numbers up into the 1000s, count that high as well. He understands what they mean and can do very basic math. (Like you could ask him "what is 53 minus 1" and he'd say 52). He counts things, reads every number he sees at the grocery store, etc. He seeks out numbers. Anything involving numbers (books, games) will hold his attention for hours at a time. I remember when he was about 18 months it would take forever to walk through a parking lot with him because he had to read every license plate (loudly and joyfully!).
He is in early intervention right now for his language delay and seems to have sensory issues as well. (Jumping, flapping, extremely picky eating). It's only been a few weeks but he is already making progress. Hyperlexia, hypernumeracy, and sensory issues are the "diagnosis" from the therapist.
While my Young Scholar was also quite advanced in reading and numbers, she wasn't obsessive about it like he is. She also didn't have any of these speech delays or sensory issues. So it just seems different. My oldest son was also number obsessed but not to this level of obsession or proficiency.
He has no signs of autism in my littlest guy, so I'm told, as he is quite social and makes good eye contact. But I would imagine a very high function autism could be a possibility, he's just too young to know right now.
Anyone else here dealt with this? I'm torn between letting him do what he loves (numbers!) versus always trying to redirect him. It seems like this could be a positive for him in some ways, but I can see it could also be a distraction and a fixation.
Is this something that requires special attention (like once he is 3 and can get special ed services - if needed - through the school district) or not?
