I was SO excited to take Jonah to speech therapy today. Any time he has a new trick, I can't wait to tell someone. Look! Autistic, but genius! Lately, he has been working with his magnet board, placing letters on it, and (correctly) naming the letters as he goes. Okay, Gabby can't even do that. They're two years old. Awesome, right? Nope.
Now it seems that Jonah might be hyperlexic. Honestly, I'm not even totally sure what it means yet. Something like, he's learning letters almost like he's seeing a picture or a shape, rather than understanding what they are and what they do. Precocious reading is, evidently, not good news.
My reaction? Come ON. Even the things that seem promising to me are in fact things that need to be overcome, minimized. I feel like I can't even trust my own reaction to anything he does without wondering... okay, is he sensory seeking or does he just really like to swing? Every little thing feels tainted. I'm so frustrated and madmadmad. I want to be able to just let him play how he wants to without thinking- okay, time to redirect- where are my flashcards?
I guess my mistake is to have any expectations at all. I keep thinking I know what we're dealing with and then something new comes up. And that, I guess, is autism. And if I'm being totally honest with myself, I guess I haven't given myself over to this "new normal" as completely as I thought.
If it helps at all, Elle does that. I think it means they are geniuses.
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Mr. LC and I were discussing this after I read your post. Isn't the entire life experience sensory seeking? What do we do, except do things that stimulate our senses? I don't know what to make of this new 'diagnosis' but I know sometimes it seems like the punches just keep coming and that's a suckass feeling. But know we're here, supporting.
ReplyDeleteNow get thee to Gourdoughs, which really, is my temporary cure for most everything :)
Hyperlexia is a gift, at least that's what I believe. In my son's case, it's translated into a photographic memory that really aids him in every area of his life. There's a blog I read that you might like called Hyperlexicon: http://hyperlexicon.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteAnd wondering if every little thing is normal or something to be worried about -- completely normal! I still do that and we're four years into this.
I have taught a few children on the autistic spectrum, including one who is hyperlexic. I'm really not at all sure why anyone would think it's not a gift. The only issue comes when their comprehension does not match their decoding ability - the wee one I taught could read absolutely anything, but his understanding of what he had read was hugely variable. On the other hand, I'm teaching a child just now who is going through the diagnostic process (we think Aspergers) and he is hyperlexic and his understanding is pretty good. I love teaching kids who are on the spectrum - I've always maintained that whatever has been "taken away" from them has been more than made up for.
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