How to Help a Hyperlexic Child with Reading Comprehension
A reader of my hub, Reading Comprehension and the Hyperlexic Child sent me this question:
"I read your article about the Hyperlexic child and reading comprehension.
My daughter who is now 10, was diagnosed as Hyperlexic when she was
3.5 yrs old. She started spelling words she could see everywhere and anywhere
by the time she was 2 years old, and was reading story books by the time
she was 3. I had no idea at the time that she was not understanding
what she was reading. She has come a very long way since then in
her Language Arts subject in school - she is getting As now instead of Bs or B+
However, she has some serious problems with reading comprehension on
Standardized tests.
How can I help her? Going over practice tests with her only goes
so far. Like you said, if she doesn't understand the context of the passage
or author, she is lost to the meaning of the question.
How do I help her??
Regards
Very concerned parent"
The problem that hyperlexics have with reading comprehension is not really a reading problem -- it is a social problem, and the way to overcome it is by taking every opportunity to improve your daughter's social skills. Reading comprehension for the purposes of passing those standardized tests is an exercise in reading between the lines and putting yourself in the author's shoes.It is about asking: why did the author say this instead of something else? What context does the author take for granted? What is his or her point of view? How can we infer what is the bias the author brings to this passage?
Of course, practice tests can be a way to increase familiarity with the test-taking procedure, but to really hone those perspective taking skills, you need not even focus on reading.
When watching a movie, try to ask your daughter questions about the bias of each of the characters, and try to subtly point out how their word choice betrays that bias. When playing a mind-reading game like poker, ask your child what kind of hand another player has, and point out what subtle or not so subtle cues in demeanor and language use suggest the player's position. After meeting an acquaintance at the grocery store, go over the conversation with your child for cues about that person's state of mind and preoccupations at the time of the meeting.
Every skill that we have can improve with practice. Social skills are no different. Make sure that your child has plenty of social opportunities to practice drawing inferences and perspective taking.
The children who do well on the standardized reading comprehension tests are the ones whose social skills are most well honed. With practice, your daughter can catch up and even surpass them. She already is very skillful at reading, turning letters on the page into words and sentences. Now all she need do is learn how to read between the lines!
"I read your article about the Hyperlexic child and reading comprehension.
My daughter who is now 10, was diagnosed as Hyperlexic when she was
3.5 yrs old. She started spelling words she could see everywhere and anywhere
by the time she was 2 years old, and was reading story books by the time
she was 3. I had no idea at the time that she was not understanding
what she was reading. She has come a very long way since then in
her Language Arts subject in school - she is getting As now instead of Bs or B+
However, she has some serious problems with reading comprehension on
Standardized tests.
How can I help her? Going over practice tests with her only goes
so far. Like you said, if she doesn't understand the context of the passage
or author, she is lost to the meaning of the question.
How do I help her??
Regards
Very concerned parent"
The problem that hyperlexics have with reading comprehension is not really a reading problem -- it is a social problem, and the way to overcome it is by taking every opportunity to improve your daughter's social skills. Reading comprehension for the purposes of passing those standardized tests is an exercise in reading between the lines and putting yourself in the author's shoes.It is about asking: why did the author say this instead of something else? What context does the author take for granted? What is his or her point of view? How can we infer what is the bias the author brings to this passage?
Of course, practice tests can be a way to increase familiarity with the test-taking procedure, but to really hone those perspective taking skills, you need not even focus on reading.
When watching a movie, try to ask your daughter questions about the bias of each of the characters, and try to subtly point out how their word choice betrays that bias. When playing a mind-reading game like poker, ask your child what kind of hand another player has, and point out what subtle or not so subtle cues in demeanor and language use suggest the player's position. After meeting an acquaintance at the grocery store, go over the conversation with your child for cues about that person's state of mind and preoccupations at the time of the meeting.
Every skill that we have can improve with practice. Social skills are no different. Make sure that your child has plenty of social opportunities to practice drawing inferences and perspective taking.
The children who do well on the standardized reading comprehension tests are the ones whose social skills are most well honed. With practice, your daughter can catch up and even surpass them. She already is very skillful at reading, turning letters on the page into words and sentences. Now all she need do is learn how to read between the lines!
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