Among the notable words I learned in 2022 was hyperlexia. Burrowing into articles about autism, the term popped up. Hyper = excessive, lexia = related to words. That rung a bell, personally and professionally.
Defining hyperlexia
In 1997, Aram described hyperlexia as, “the developmental disorder in which children decode words early but have significant impairments in aural and reading comprehension”.
Nation (1999) defined it as, “advanced word-recognition skills in individuals who otherwise have pronounced cognitive, social, and linguistic handicaps.”
Four years later, a meta-study by Grigorenko, Klin and Volkmar (2003) concluded “that hyperlexia is a superability demonstrated by a very specific group of individuals with developmental disorders.”
A few years further along, the definition had grown more nuanced: Ostrolenk et al. (2017) wrote that it is, “the co-occurrence of advanced reading skills relative to comprehension skills or general intelligence, the early acquisition of reading skills without explicit teaching, and a strong orientation toward written material, generally in the context of a neurodevelopmental disorder.”
The final clause of that last sentence is significant to the discussion/debate around hyperlexia, which has been running since the mid-20th century. Is it a disability or, as Grigorenko et al. argue, a ‘superability’?
Hyperlexia and developmental disabilities
The answer starts with statistics. Ostrolenk et al. (2017) found that 84% of hyperlexic subjects were autistic.
This does not mean there is a direct correlation between autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and hyperlexia. In a 2021 study by Solazzo et al., “9% children with ASD showed early hyperlexic traits”.
So, while autistic individuals are not necessarily hyperlexic, there is a good chance that hyperlexic individuals are autistic.
This makes hyperlexia a significant issue for teachers, especially those who teach gifted students. Arguably, especially those who teach gifted girls.
Risks of hyperlexia
In Aspergirls (2010), Rudy Simone writes, “this early ability to read and comprehend above our years (hyperlexia) gives some young Aspergirls an air of intellectual maturity that tricks people into thinking we possess emotional maturity as well. It also hides autism by shielding our deficits.”
Conventional education is built on a foundation of reading and writing. This fundamental bent of our educational system privileges students who appear to read effortlessly and above-grade-level.
As a teacher, it is natural enough to be wowed when a student sets down their book 10 minutes into an assigned reading period and says: “I’m done. What do I do now?”
Since we associate literary skills with intelligence and competence, it is tempting to stereotype precocious readers as super-competent or super-smart.
It takes discipline to stop and ask ourselves: “What is this student really absorbing? What needs might this apparent super-competence be masking?”
Knowing that north of 80% of hyperlexic kids are on the autism spectrum, we need to treat hyperlexia as seriously as we would treat dyslexia. Otherwise, we risk overlooking significant intellectual, developmental and social-emotional needs.
What hyperlexia is not
- Key to academic success
- Proof a student has it all figured out
- Sign of high executive function
- Substitute for social and emotional skills
Let’s look at these one by one
Academic success
According to Zhang and Malatesha Joshi (2019), “originally the term ‘hyperlexia’ only referred to those readers with low IQ but precocious decoding skills”. Though, as we’ve seen, the definition has become more nuanced with time and research, the significant fact of hyperlexia is that it is out of sync with the child’s other capacities.
Whipping through a textbook chapter or an assigned story is an accomplishment, but it doesn’t mean the student is equally precocious in other areas. Hyperlexia should be treated as a sign that a student potentially needs more, not less, general academic support.
Proof a student has it all figured out
Rapid reading does not mean improved comprehension. In 2010, Castles et al. published research that found “clear evidence of a dissociation between reading accuracy and comprehension of the same set of irregular words in hyperlexia.”
In the classroom, I’ve witnessed students who read with astonishing speed and fluency but struggle to offer a simple summary of what they’ve just read. Their decoding is phenomenal, but they are not grasping the significance of the words they skim so easily.
It is vital that teachers do explicit work on comprehension (including explicit and implicit details, descriptions, inference, word choice, etc.) with hyperlexic students, not assume, they read it = they got it.
Sign of high executive function
Author Cynthia Kim was diagnosed with Asperger’s (now formally included under ASD) in her early 40s. In her 2014 book, Nerdy, Shy, and Socially Inappropriate, she reflects on her schooldays:
“Doubly-exceptional children have an advantage in their intelligence.
Unfortunately, part of this advantage is that we can mask a big portion of our disability with coping strategies and adaptations. And when we fail to hide something, people assume we’re not trying hard enough. Or we’re being deliberately obstinate. Or that we’re lazy, defiant, insolent, shy, ditzy, or scatterbrained.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ they ask incredulously. ‘You can memorize the batting averages of the entire Major League, but you can’t remember to put your homework in your backpack?'”
Research shows up to 80% of people with autism have executive function difficulties. Again, as educators, we need to avoid the category error of assuming that a hyperlexic student will be as quick in other aspects of their life and studies. Rather, we should be alert to the fact it’s likely the opposite: hyperlexia means greater likelihood of executive function challenges.
Substitute for social and emotional skills
Being able to read texts about sophisticated social and emotional realities does not equal understanding or being able to navigate those realities.
“Difficulty with communication and interaction with other people” is a core diagnostic criterion for autism (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, cited by the National Institute of Mental Health).
Precocious reading is more likely to be a refuge than an aid to an autistic child. Books are safe, comforting and non-judgmental. They have predictable narrative arcs. They are readily available and don’t demand emotional reciprocity.
Books are marvellous, natch, but as teachers we have a responsibility to support students’ holistic development. That means supporting social and emotional skills through appropriate collaborative or group activities, encouraging them in discussions, and not singling them out for their hyperlexia.
Ideally, we help our hyperlexic students leverage this strength to support weaker areas without making too much or too little of it.
Every student has unique capacities. We need to be aware of the blind spots in our educational system, and ourselves, to ensure these develop in full, and avoid privileging specific (dis/super)abilities that fit our narrow definitions of what is useful or laudable.
What is your experience with hyperlexic students? Questions? Comments?
Cila Warncke Writer 