For Teachers
How to support a hyperlexic child in education

As a Teacher you can do a lot to support a hyperlexic child
Reading early could give important signals about how that child learns. From the research (Ostralenk et al 2017) there is evidence that a hyperlexic child has superior pattern recognition ability. It could be argued that this ability could be a different way of learning language (Mottron et al 2021).
It can also be incorrectly assumed that a child that reads early can understand everything they read.
Hyperlexia is linked to difficulties with comprehension (Ostralenk et al 2017). If a child doesn’t get the right help with understanding, they could go through school ‘under the radar’.
Would you like to find out more?
You can find more information that may be of help:
- Help with general support in the classroom – Some hyperlexic children have particular difficulties with understanding language. As a teacher or professional there are several simple ways that you can help.
- Books, articles and other links – There isn’t a huge amount of information out there on hyperlexia. We’ve collected the main links and books available.
Date created: 6/5/2021 Date to be reviewed: 6/5/2022
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Hyperlexia can support development
Hyperlexia can support other developmental skills such as social skills, speech, motor development and emotional regulation.

Do I need to teach a hyperlexic child phonics?
Children with hyperlexia need more support with their comprehension than they do for their reading skills.

Helping Comprehension
An early interest in reading can sometimes be accompanied by comprehension difficulties