Is it hyperlexia? Toward a deeper understanding of precocious reading skills in two cases of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Clin Ter. 2022 Feb 7;173(1):15-21. doi: 10.7417/CT.2022.2385.

Abstract

Background: Hyperlexia is defined by a precocious and sponta-neously acquired ability to read at preschool age. Hyperlexia appears to be a wide yet not highly studied phenomenon involving different populations and possibly including children with different neuropsy-chological profiles and outcomes.

Methods: We describe two clinical cases of unrelated children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) who both showed precocious and spontaneous reading ability. We report the neuropsy-chological assessment they underwent.

Results: Both children showed above average IQ, reading skills, and text comprehension, whereas one showed below average comprehen-sion only in oral text. We question whether these two phenotypes can be considered forms of hyperlexia, as defined by the most recent and consistent observations, or a subtype of ASD with hyperlexia.

Conclusion: We conclude that our patients should be considered hyperlexic ASD, with interesting potential implications for progno-sis and rehabilitation.

Keywords: Children; Hyperlexia; Key words: Autism Spectrum Disorder; Precocious reading ability.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder*
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cognition
  • Comprehension
  • Humans
  • Language Disorders*
  • Reading*

Supplementary concepts

  • Hyperlexia