Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Question re: early spelling vs hyperlexia

Hello! I do a lot of lurking here, and this morning I'm coming out of the shadows to ask a question. I've posted a few times before about my 3 yo twin boys. I don't know if they're actually gifted, but I've really appreciated the perspectives that the people here have. They've both known the alphabet and letter sounds for over a year. One of my sons, let's call him J, has recently developed an obsession with spelling words with magnetic letters. He's mainly copying words that he sees around the house (buttons on the dishwasher, dvd player, etc.), and it's hard to tell if he knows what the letters are spelling. It looks almost like he's playing a sequencing game, not really spelling words. Although he did spell out NOTI one time, stand across the room and point at it with wide eyes and say "Ooooh, it's naughty! Naughty!". Both boys are receiving therapy for social communication delays, and we've been told they might have Autism Spectrum Disorders.
I'm wondering if this scenario sounds familiar to anyone. I've done a search through old threads regarding early spelling, but I'm not sure what he's doing is really "spelling" exactly. I don't have many people to freely talk to about the boys IRL, and the few I have talked to don't have any experience with this. Any insight you all might have would be deeply appreciated! Thank you!
Julie

Hi juliekd,

I'm no expert, but my dd went through a spelling phase sometime in her 2s.

She had those foam letters you can have in the bathtub and she used to love to spell words. Some of them she knew herself (her name, mommy, daddy, etc) and some I am sure she memorized (the word "Noel" written for the holidays on a neighbor's roof).

Can your ds read the words he spells? My dd could read the words she spelled at that age. Not sure if that might make a difference in the spelling vs. sequencing.

By the time she was 3, my dd had lost interest in spelling, focusing instead on reading and math. She is now learning spelling again in kindergarten. I am aware of many gifted children who are very advanced spellers. My dd just isn't one of them.

I'm not sure if my response is helpful.

Is this something that has you concerned?

Hello Irisheyes! Thank you for your response. It seems like he can read some of the words he's spelling, or at least that he's intentionally trying to spell a particular word, but mostly I think he's just playing. For example, after he spells a particular word several times, he'll start doing it upside-down and backwards, like he's seeking a greater challenge. I am a little concerned, but more confused. When I mentioned his interest in spelling to their early intervention teacher last week, he said "Oh, lots of our autistic kids like letters." I guess I'm not sure whether to put this in the "autistic trait" or "gifted trait" column in my head, if that makes sense.

Sorry if I'm rambling -- I'm running on about 3 hours sleep this morning and I think I need some more coffee!

My DS used to love playing with magnetic letters and was obsessed with spelling around 2y6m - he'd be forever asking how particular words were spelt and could spell many words, and consistently work out what letter words started with (modulo vagueries of English!). He'd also make very long sequences of letters and ask what they said (he knew very well they weren't real words, but he thought it was hilarious when people agreed to attempt to pronounce them for him). I'm pretty sure everything he did was closely connected with the use of letters to communicate, not "just" sequencing. I don't remember him copying written words, but that might just be because as an only child he didn't have too much difficulty in capturing an adult to tell him how to spell words he wanted to spell!

Don't know whether that helps at all. FWIW I think classifying traits as ASD or GT can be very tricky, and may not always be useful!

1. Have you read Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis of Gifted Children? It is a good book to have around if you have any questions like this. Not that all these questions can be answered easily though. It may take some time for the answer to come out.

2. My son was fixated on letters before his second birthday - read letters and numbers any time he saw them. License plates.... parking lots were pure misery as he wanted to read every plate. I saw a tv story on hyperlexia and definitely wondered. Then came the spelling fixation. And the reading fixation.

My son is gifted and is now 11 years old. No autism. I had complete strangers tell me that he was "obviously" autistic because of the early reading or "obviously" ADHD because he was active.

3. A child can be autistic and gifted at the same time. Some of the folks on the twice exceptional board might have some insights.

4. I guess what I am saying is that this might be gifted or autistic or both. However, I suspect it may be early to tell - and it may be unnecessary to tell at this point. However, if it is necessary to tell the difference, I suggest a pediatric neuropsychologist or a psychologist who is experienced with gifted children.

In any case - Misdiagnosis and Dual Diagnosis is a great book to have.

Mary

hi juliekd

The letters/reading is not the problem, its the self-stimulatory, repetetive part that is. And doing self-stimulatory, repetetive behaviors is just one piece of the autism diagnosis and not every kid on the spectrum does it (though they have to have something atypical that fits in the "behavior category")..

Also hyperlexia is not a trait of the autism spectrum disorders, and is not official "diagnosis" on its own. When in the context of the spectrum, it is usually used when describing a self-stimulatory, repetetive, behavior that has to do with letters and reading. A friend of mine has a child who used to draw letters in the air, over and over.. even when people were trying to interact with him. The letter-drawing activity was preferred over the interaction. Then he would sometimes talk about the letters being different colors,etc..He then became a very early reader but his comprehension is less than age-appropriate. He was diagnosed with mild autism that seems to be the right thing for him and he's thriving in a school program for high-functioning autism.

For you i'd just look at it as a "piece" that might fit or not. I would really focus most on the social interaction, and not as much on the behavior or language. After reading "misdiagnosis and dual diagnosis" book and relfecting on my experiences with my own son (age 7, PDD-nos).. that the social piece is the key deficit for the spectrum.. issues of language and behavior can have other causes. Watch for things like joint attention, social reciprocity, following peers, etc..

irene

Thank you all for the responses! Mary & ColinsMum - you're probably both right that it's too early to tell, and maybe not so useful to try to classify traits at this point. I'm concerned about meeting their needs, but it's not really necessary for me to figure everything out now. Thanks for the book recommendation!
Renie1 - thank you for sharing your experience! The boys do have some self-stimulatory behaviors, but the spelling doesn't appear to be one of them. J seems to enjoy if I sit down and hand him letters as he asks for them. He also thinks it's really funny when his brother kicks through and scatters all of his carefully arranged letters. Thanks for the advice!

Thanks again guys!
Julie

Just wish I had a dollar for every time I have recommended that book....

Good luck - While I enjoyed the lack of school in those early years, I hated the not understanding....

Mary

DS2.9 loves to spell at the fridge. He mostly likes to figure out how to spell long words (or get help to do so), but he does have one three word name he likes to spell that he does at least daily just for the heck of it, as if he enjoys the particular sequence of it without regard for the meaning. Maybe because its three words all about the same length, makes kind of a set, I don't know.

I know of a few other 3 year olds that also like to spell and do so with varying degrees of success. One likes to just put the letters of the alphabet in order in a long row across the fridge -- which seems kind of like your DS, wanting to put the letters in a particular order that they have seen elsewhere, without necessarily caring what the sequence means.

I don't think (in my clearly non-expert opinion) that any of that is hyperlexia or abnormal, perhaps it's similar to the phase during early language acquisition of going around saying a phrase because it sounds good rather than as a communicative tool.

Polly

Polly - Thanks for the comments! It very much seems like he's just exploring the patterns without really paying attention to the code, if that makes sense.

Thanks again!
Julie