Treffert Center: A Conversation With Dr. Treffert: Hyperlexia & Einstein Syndrome

Early reading and delayed speaking in children is often misdiagnosed as autism. Join Darold Treffert, MD, a world-renowned autism and savant syndrome expert, for a conversation that will sort out temporary "autistic-like" symptoms from "autism," and highlights the good outcomes in these exceptionally bright children.

[@jennaannas4922]

My son is turning 3 next month. He is an absolute classic case of hyperlexia 3. He started identifying letters before he was 2, learned to read and spell by 2.5 yrs old. He knows his alphabet, shapes, colors, can count to 200, skip count by numbers up to 20. He lined up toys and blocks, demonstrated immediate and delayed echolalia/scripting and had some sensory issues. but he was/is so affectionate and loves engaging with us, gives pretty good eye contact and is so inquisitive. Follows simple directions and answers simple questions and asks for most of his wants with minimal prompting. I did so much research for months trying to "figure out" what my son "had". I'm a speech language pathologist and am very familiar with Autism, however I always joked "can you be kinda Autistic?". After learning about hyperlexia and then hyperlexia 3 my whole word changed and my sons characteristics made total sense. I am so grateful for this man and helping parents all over the world help put the peices together. I really hope hyperlexia and the sub categories will be added to official diagnosis criterias one day. I think it's crucial that these children be appropriately identified. I am grateful that my son will be going into a general education prek 3 classroom this fall with accommodations to help support his strengths and needs ❤

[@akmack2]

Amazing!

[@seddiko07]

Hell! My son is also having hypelexia and keeps singing shaping alphabets with his hands, i would like to know if there is anything to make him stop this and forget about alphabet. Appreciate if you can share you experience. Thank you so much🙏🏻

[@John-rn1uw]

I was a late talking toddler and was held back in kindergarten. My parents thought something was wrong with me and thought I may be delayed. I had to take speech and I was often made fun of by my family for being spacey. In reality I was spacey because I was always thinking. In 3rd grade I knew I was gifted in math but this went unnoticed. We would do math flash cards and winner stays at the front of class. I beat the entire class of 20 students or so. So I knew I wasn’t dumb. Fast forward to college and I was best in class in calculus and physics. I was offered a full academic scholarship if I majored in physics, but I didn’t want to major in physics. fast forward 20 years later and I’m a medical doctor now and inventor. Now my son is a late talking toddler and I suspect he is very bright as well with some of the things he does.

[@kiamavani]

It's good to hear that my son is late talker , I hope he will like u

[@jacklyngilsinsuat4105]

My son is also hyperlexic and very spacey. I feel like he is thinking too much. But he also has many advanced abilities and very independent. He was diagnosed with autism due to limited of eye contact. When you were a child did you also has limited eye contact? Thank you

[@Emanu2018]

Inspiring thank God

[@patrickaraujo7360]

Dr Treffert is a legend. The studies about hyperlexia should be more explored by the medical community.

[@bernicelaporta272]

I love this man. He saved my son and my family. Before we knew what HL3 was, we didn't know how to help Frankie and "experts" simply wanted to label my son autistic. This would be fine if this is what my son had. But he did not. He has HL3 and knowing this helped me get him to where he is today. I can never express how thankful I am to this man.

[@DragonflyF7]

Bernice La Porta what did you do

[@Chicago81484]

how is he doing now I believe my Josiah is hyperlexia 3 or 2 not sure but I feel he is more 3 then 2 can you please help me im so overwelmed

[@anbonner17]

@ByHisCall I believe she is, or maybe co-owner.

[@anbonner17]

@@Chicago81484 It is overwhelming and depending on how advanced of a reader and learner your child is, the more you may have to treat your child like a genius to make sure he's learning, enriched, and challenged.

[@Chicago81484]

@@anbonner17 he can tell time he answers ixl questions this month over 1800 in prek,k k and 1 st grade,i printed out all the questions on the hyperlexic website and turned my wall into a questions board he pretty much knows all them if you ask him what your name he will tell you my name is josiah im 4 years old,what color are your eyes pretty much all of them i have him eating with a fork he can draw,spell all he does is play educational games on tablet and loves ixl time,he likes to try to figure out things himself and how they work in my opinion he is kinda of a lil einstein ..hes precious in a lot of areas not withdrawn good eye contact plenty of hugs n kisses plus hes very intuned especially with me i heard they pick up on any anxiety and thats not good this lady on youtube told me my son sounds very much like h3 i think shes a speech pathologist she said stop worrying and to let him learn in peace at his pace not well meaning others like aba i think she meant

[@lolitareginereservationste6666]

Exactly like my son too! . Reading at 2 year old, late talker, very affectionate, sociable . Its just so heartbreaking that they label these kids gift as "autistic". Giving me hope ...listening to this man.

[@kr1221E]

I am an unusual case. I could read before the age of 2 and could talk at 12 months. My mum said I asked to have my nappy taken off at 1 and was dry and toilet trained myself, even using the potty. I could read and write around or before age 2, however I gave that up as my Dad was undiagnosed Narcissistic sadistic type and it was painful to see his daughter outshining him, and I allowed it by placing his approval over my gifts and talents. He was physically violent and a functional alcoholic with explosive rage and grandiose, self centred. School was negative for me, I clowned around and had a negative experience with teachers and kids. I a now a drug addict with lots of problems, underachieved. I am clumsy and cannot tell what people's intentions are, easily manipulated etc. I wonder if I was Hyperlexia 3 and as I gave up reading so early, retained my autistic like traits into adulthood. As I am a drug addict I have not been able to get an autism diagnosis. the drugs prevented a successful assessment. I am now 53 physically but 3 emotionally. I have meltdowns under stress. I hate loud noises, socially I am false. I wonder where I fit in. I sing perfect pitch and can draw photorealistically, but I only realised these talents after 30, as they lay dormant, as I spent my youth wanting to be good at sport, and popular.

[@TracyAFDKL]

Thank you for this. I have a son who was initially diagnosed as ASD (High Functioning). I have known since he was 3 that he must have Hyperlexia as well. The older he has gotten though, the more I am realizing that he has Hyperlexia 3. He is so much better than he was when he was younger, losing many of the "autism symptoms". It's very hard living in a country where there are very few resources for "normal" autism, let alone Hyperlexia. I would be very interested in trying to start a website or support network for South African parents with Hyperlexic kids. Thank you so much for giving me hope for my sons future.

[@Chicago81484]

MY SON IS 4 HES HYPERLEXIA 3 HES SO SMART ABA IS NOT GOOD FOR THEM THEY PRESSED THE ISSUEITS DETREMENTAL TO THEM IF YOUR HYPERLEXIC THERE VERY INTUNED AND SMART THEY SHOULDNT GET LABLED AT TREATED UNFAIR

[@buttercxpdraws8101]

Your son may have simply learnt to mask his autism. I did. Hyperlexic, masked for 49 years, then had a breakdown due to autistic burnout. It is ok to have autism, you can still have hope for your son, his neurodiversity just needs to be accepted and worked with instead of working against it.

[@Vgallo]

Thank you my son has just turned 2 and he seems to be going backwards, he taught himself the alphabet at 18 months and over the next 6 months developed about a 50 word vocabulary, but over the last 3 months he seems to be going backwards and I’m terribly worried and scared for him, but your comment has given me hope, thank you 😊

[@Emanu2018]

How is your son now

[@dradelet]

I'm a South African but living in Australia, and my first and last sons out of my 3 boys are like this :-). Even here no-one knows about this, so we feel like we have to 'hide' our sons from everyone around us wanting to slap on the ASD label...

[@DarkAngel-cj6sx]

Since I found this channel, I stopped spending my days and nights crying because I could not find any videos that shows children that have similar problems like mine. Expect that my son used to talk and by 3 and few months this June he stopped communicating with words. He was so fascinated with numbers and letters and loved books a lot. Now he still has eye contact and love cuddling. He can talk when he needs something and he has a robotic voice sometimes. However, he still loves riding his bike, alphabet and loves drawing. His progress is slow, but I am sure once he gets speech therapy he will get even better

[@Chicago81484]

He went thru a regression same thing happened with my son it will get better from 4 to 6 you will see speech getting better a lot of things,I know its tough I use to cry so much I still do sometimes,hyperlexic kids are very loving and lots of hugs and kisses on another level,they love to read,write,draw play with carstrucks,imaginitive play,computers,how is your son doing?

[@barbaraeubank3602]

My three year old grandson was recently diagnosed with Autism,but my daughter and myself know that he has Hyperlexia . He sings on tune,has been reading and now spelling words,OCD with alphabet and numbers,but his speech was non existent until past age two.He is very affectionate,so sweet,interacts with people,but shy around strangers.He is getting less inhibited with others.He is not hyperactive,in fact,he is very calm,very interested in lining up letters and numbers.He counts to 100,and knows the numbers on sight.My kids were tested as "gifted",and he's more advanced than they were,in reading and math.He IS outgrowing the symptoms,such as echolalia,and he refuses to eat food.We are taking him to speech,to help with that.He drinks a gallon of milk per day,and is bigger than most three year olds,at 40 pounds.Now,we are being pressured by the "experts" at the Cleveland Clinic,to enroll him in everal therapies.He is NOT Autistic,and only his eating is abnormal now. Help!

[@Rebecca-1111]

Barbara Eubank they need to get the word out more.

[@luciachangnavarromd3309]

Barbara Eubank please remove completely that whole gallon of milk from his diet, even tho if that’s the only thing he wants to have in a whole day. Take it away, and you will see your new child. I hope you did it already, or have seen him loosing his diagnosis in this two years.

[@JGallardoOntheMove]

Hello! Would you care to update, we seem to be in a similar situation, and it would be like a light at the end of a tunnel getting some update on your child. Thank you!

[@robertolson7304]

That much mike from cows. High chance of cancer now. Over dose on vitiem D. Witch cause brain damage😂.

[@amysteryintime7293]

Thank you for this, I'm the mom of a seven year old who has a diagnosis of autism, it's been a long fight to get my DS, and myself the assistance that we needed and began when he was slightly younger than two. He didn't talk properly until he was 5, that was even a struggle for him, but he was writing his own computer games, his maths boggled my mind..from a very young age, he showed a crazy interest in maths..fast forward to now and with a fantastic group of speech, language and behavioural therapists/teachers with us, (who I suspect think much like yourself) , he has shown and proven that he is extremely bright, today for example, he had an intellect assessment and the score came in at sometimes double what they would expect for his age, for a non autistic child........the future is unknown, but the autistic signs are diminishing with increasing speed, to the point where the autisim doctors have discharged him from their treatment and basically handed it over to the therapists, who, having just got off the phone with them and following their advise I've ended up watching this. I won't pretend to understand everything within this field but I know one thing, my son is exceptionally intelligent, strangely so (if that makes sense). So again, thank you, because without this line of thought, my son would not have had the team of therapists and teachers behind him that he has.

[@jessmine1128]

My son was just diagnosed with Hyperlexia. He is reading and has been since 1 1/2 . He is now two and now learning his state and capitals . There isn’t no dialogue with him butt he can read and loves languages. He can count in Italian and Mandarin and Japanese. He knows the French alphabet. He’s learning his states and capitals now . But he is also intrigued with math as welll . He knows how to count to a million . Shapes he actually learned that probably a year ago . He calls out his shapes pentagon, hexagon, parallelogram . I think my son has a splinter skills as well . He’s beyond amazing to me . I’ve never finished high school or am bilingual . Only English is spoken in the home . My son is insatiable with knowledge I’m trying to keep up with his needs . It’s frustrating to keep up with his speed . I feel like I’m inadequate to handle such brilliance. I’m getting help butt I still feel there is much to be learned.

[@Rebecca-1111]

My son was just diagnosed today with hyperlexia. He also got diagnosed with autism. Always makes eye contact and asking for hugs and kisses. Not much talk about hyperlexia at all. She even mention " savant like" thank you for this video. You have given me so much hope!

[@Chicago81484]

how is he doing I believe my son is h3 he got asd diagnosis

[@13fyrefli]

From everything I’ve read (which is a lot), most autistic kids don’t make eye contact or are affectionate. I would get a second opinion. A lot of kids act weird around strangers. I would take a lot of videos supporting how he acts when you are at home.

[@Rebecca-1111]

@@13fyrefli thank you. I have had 2 psychological visits. He talks fully but only what he wants to talk about. No personal pronouns. Once in awhile. They told me he would probably have to be put in a institution. He is 11yrs old still in diapers. Autism doesn't get better? After the mmr that day he klost his soeech.

[@Rebecca-1111]

This sounds exactly like my son!

[@Bettybeautytube]

If i say thank u wouldn't be enough. U have save me and my family the stress with a child who is ready n wrting n spelling n doing math at 3 with autistic like symptoms but very affectionate. Maintain eye contact n point to things when ask. It sad n i will spread the word. From the bottom og my heart. When teacher's are complaining without knowing where to put my son. Am really grateful. Now i have to look for support n what school he can attend

[@DarkAngel-cj6sx]

Did you find which school is good for him?

[@lucasandfriendsmolina5696]

Iam so glad I have found this , my son was diagnosed with speech delay at 2, he was having motor issues too, however he started reading at 3, Iam is very smart and I can say he probably knows more than young adults and he is 7, he is in gifted classes since 1 grade and he has not issue with any class and only need to listen one time to the material , has never struggled with anything in school, he does gets super bored and reads in middle of every class,

[@lucasandfriendsmolina5696]

He is very social too

[@AnneMaier-sb6gv]

Really glad I found this! My grandson, a two and a half year old happy, outgoing and highly capable at letters and numbers, was just diagnosed as ASD level 1. But what you are describing sounds more accurate as he is very affectionate , open to new people and places and a very quick learner. I worry about him being labeled incorrectly. His only real deficit currently is delayed speech. He comprehends but doesn’t vocalize and that’s enough to earn the ASD label.

[@soberanobrasil9370]

Thank you! That was so helpful! 👏👏👏👏

[@NatHawley]

I did not normally comment on videos but I had to on this occasion as this is the best sauce I have found on hyperlexia thank you for your research

[@brendamitchell5030]

I just found this channel thank God❤

[@jeffreyc.mcandrew8911]

Very interesting, great!

[@mickeyoshea2035]

I started to wonder if my daughter was on the spectrum before she was 12 months of age and also late to talk. Fortunately I worked as a teacher's aide at Fraser school serving children on the spectrum so I was baffled at how my daughter had so many characteristics and behaviors that did NOT fit the range of behaviors and ways kids on the spectrum present. My gut told me there was something else going on, and fortunately a little searching brought me to reading about Einstein Syndrome and hyperlexia. The bit about the child who was preoccupied with the FBI anti-piracy warning on a video struck me because my daughter has loved to watch the credits roll at the end of a music video or short film since she was well under 12 months. She would stop what she was doing to watch credits roll. As her knowledge of the alphabet has emerged she has begun talking more. It seems as though she is more motivated to *spell* a word out loud than to try to say it. This is one quirk that I have not read about yet and am curious if this is occurring with late talkers exhibiting hyperlexia. (Maybe I should add that I see whatever words I think or speak spelled out in the air in front of me almost as if on an invisible chalkboard- not sure if there is any correlation there or not.) I realized by chance that at 14 months she could find and bring an object of any color (of the ROYGBV colors) when asked, she wasn't just matching colors- she knew the names but couldn't or didn't say them. She is now almost 21 months and she has started saying some more words (has about 20, but they just emerged in the past 2 months). She will say a word once then I won't hear it for days or weeks until she pulls it out again. However, she will refer to herself using "I", "Me" and her name. But she doesn't say her name- she spells the first two letters, saying "A" "E". She routinely recognizes letters, A, B, C, F, H, I, J, L, M, O, P, S, and Z. I said once to her while reading an alphabet book that "H" "I" spells hi. Now she can recognize that word anywhere. And will say "O" when she sees something that starts with letter O, such as octopus or the color orange, will say "B" when she sees something that starts with a letter 'B'. I joke that she will be spelling her name out loud before she actually says it- but it's not really a joke. Recently while scribbling on a notepad with a pen she wrote an 'accidental' letter M and immediately said "Mom-mom", the next day she made what looked like an 'A', then said "A" "E" for her name Aesa (pronounced like Asa / Aysa) and she continued to try to make more A's. She made a point the same night to show me that she knew that lowercase and uppercase letter A/a were the same and that they both are for her name, for ants and for apples. She knows numbers 1 through 10 by sight- I didn't realize this until recently so who knows how long she has known them. She has been saying the number 'eight' when she sees the numeral or the written word 'eight' since about 19 months old- at that time she would rarely say anything else, even mom. When she would wake from nap- she insisted on looking at a Logic textbook near our bed and finding the number 8, 5, and 1. My mom joked from early on that she would be reading before age three because she has loved books from the start- but now it seems to not be a joke. She doesn't present many of the other symptoms of hyperlexia besides late talking and what seems to be early reading. I suppose she does fit the 'symptom' of affinity for music- dancing and rhythm from before she could walk. She also is extremely theatrical- I mean extremely. She loves to reenact scenes or makes sounds and motions to act out the expressions of people or animals in books. For a while now- unless it is a book about numbers or the alphabet she is not interested in 'baby' books- she wants a good plot and excitement to the story. She does like receiving affection and does show affection. Due to the pandemic I have not been able to observe her interact with other children- but she seems interested in them from a distance when we see them on walks.

[@youngjung161]

Thank you for this video, there is almost no literature on savantism and especially hyperlexia.

[@m.r.thoreson3248]

thank you for educating me, my son at 27, I allowed to become a savant on computer (luckily he got a caregiver at 12 who educated him on computer and it went from there) and he needed no more training as he traught himself to talk, type, search and discover to use the computer for all his needs and questions, and this led to computer video gaming, and becoming a gaming video host, regardless how inept he was speaking, while he would pick up phrases to use etc., so seeing this is surprising welcome information

[@m.r.thoreson3248]

and yes he does have the symptoms of high functioning autism, slow in math and reading

[@m.r.thoreson3248]

Also he was abused in secondary (2 year school after high school), by the teachers and I wrote a book about what they did to him, called Junuh the Mechanic, A Story of Autism & Discrimination

[@bethwelsch9813]

Did the Einstein music CDs with my babies. You don't "recover" from Autism- right- nor do you have to. You're reference to Black Belt is interesting as it requires total focus and control. Hyperlexia can be intimidating; I imagine. Visual, Audible, Tactile applies differently to each person. Right? I only know a few people labeled "Autistic" And they all have different talents.I'm so glad you brought up Dementia/Alzheimers! It's amazing to experience and observe. I talked early and I'm a loud mouth. But I do seem to have some things that I see/memorize in "my brain". A matter of focus. I'm 59 today and wonder when to relax a bit. It's "Picture" that doesn't erase. And Music is Everything!! Genre. I'm no Savant for sure but think maybe at my old age - on the spectrum. Enjoyed your presentation Dr.

[@hannahlevy6074]

I would be interested to know how these things pass through families. My father has autistic or OCD-like tendencies. He sorts his M&Ms by color and is careful to eat them in order, will cut his food in squares, has a hard time speaking one-on-one to people, has a very regimented routine for meals and exercise. Yet he operates "normally" within society. I was labeled as gifted and spoke late. My husband was the same as me and has relatively perfect pitch. My son might be hyperlexic (3). He became obsessed with the alphabet 2 weeks after his 2nd birthday and was reading an adult Bible by 3.5. At 6 he is very affectionate and pursues social engagements. He is several years advanced in math and reading. He is slow to respond to verbal instructions. I teach him at home, so have had no need or desire to seek professional diagnoses. Until I came across "hyperlexia" I had pegged him as "gifted." Both seem to describe him. He also has an uncanny ability to identify directions north, south, east, and west.

[@aketchaketch7450]

I have just come across this today and it feels like the dust is finally settling for me…my 3 year old has been described on here and I am still processing all the information on this Video! Not sure where he falls exactly but definitely 2 or 3. I live in London and I pray and hope I can figure this out and get him help and support!

[@bethwelsch9813]

"Don't be Precise" or "Stringent". Be "ELASTIC". And we'll find such awesome kids!!! With (dicipline).

[@lydiap23]

I would like to reach out to the mother in London the doctor mentions from 21:30-22:49 in the video. My son is 2 years 3 months old and is also sociable with adults, has great energy always active, has speech delay, sensory issues , does not play with children of his age, no issues with change of place or his bed or change in routine,( not toilet trained yet though). The NHS in my case is also keen to label him autistic - he is 2 years away from a diagnosis because of the current wait period, he is obsessed with letters,numbers can arrange upto 60 , can arrange 10,20,30 etc , knows his planets, dwarf planets . I also feel that the NHS brushes off his positives completely and they are focused only on his speech him being non-verbal . If you could please please help me with your experiences that will benefit my son largely . Hope I can connect with you.

[@janietrain]

I have three children who could read as soon as they could talk. My oldest is 11 and VERY social. She repeats herself a lot and struggles with gross and fine motor skills. She could read on a 5th grade level in K and 11th grade level in 1st grade. My middle child, a boy, could read as soon as he could talk, but couldn't have been less interested. He's going into second grade and has a lot of sensory issues, but is otherwise average. My youngest child is a very late talker, is constantly moving, VERY willful, late to potty train, just turned three and we have discovered that she is also a spontaneous reader. She has always been friendly and affectionate. She couldn't name objects or even point to the object when you would name it when she was 22 months old. The early intervention people in our school district think she's about a year behind in some aspects and WAY ahead in others. My husband was a spontaneous reader, a bit of a late talker and has many "mild" autism features, even though most people would find him typical. He got a reputation as a know-it-all in high school and was the captain of his high school academic team because he so easily memorized facts. I believe this is familial for my kids. Their Grandmother is musical, perfect pitch, plays piano by ear. This is VERY interesting because I believe my entire family has it.

[@anbonner17]

Yes, I believe hypermedia runs in families.

[@bethwelsch9813]

My kids "PUT IT IN YOUR BRAIN". Worked sometimes.

[@jess4reallyreal]

I don't see my son having a big interest in music, but he likes music, he is more into observing things and seeing how things work or are put together

[@Rebecca-1111]

Jae Remi it can be computers as well. My son loves anything electronic. He ran a computer better than I at 1 yrs of age.

[@janinerussell]

my 4year old son was just diagnosed last week as High functioning ASD. He has some separation anxiety but is definitely not withdrawn or self-isolating. He is sociable and seek and give affection and has good eye contact. He also has hyperlexia and echolalia. He is a verbal child though currently he sometimes has pronouns reversals, and has some difficulty answering questions "how" and "why". I would like to believe that he might fall under the Hyperlexia 3 category tho I understand that further observations & therapy need to be done.

[@13fyrefli]

My son is five. He reads better than some adults I know. He was a late talker. He has some autistic symptoms but is outgoing, affectionate, and highly empathetic. My greatest fear is that he will be “labeled” as autistic and put in special needs classes, even though he is obviously advanced in academics for his age. He knows all the shapes (even the weird ones), can do mathematics I can’t even do, can play the piano by ear (although not perfectly you can definitely recognize the songs).

[@kathleenflorida7166]

I think you should check your son for genius level not autism… those are signs of genius toddler or child…

[@nkemonwumah8241]

I pray to meet you with my 10 year old son,Noah

[@Chicago81484]

r.ip dr treffert i was planning on meeting you one day thank you for your life long devotion to your studies on hyperlexia and autism like you said one day hyperlexia will be a stand alone diagnosis or at least recognized if it wanst for you and dylan from then then comes l i would be so lost and not know what to do with my josiah thank you so much you will be greatly missed,and dylan if you see this thank you im on your page everyday

[@DarkAngel-cj6sx]

I just discovered this video and now uou are he already passed away? Hummm.

[@littlemel1408]

My 3 year old was diagnosed on the spectrum. He is hyperlexic. He speaks using echolalia, he has sensory issues around food, and no understanding of danger. He’s also super affectionate, has no issues around routine disruption, and plays well with his brother who is two years older. He’s going to school next year and we have supports in place in keeping with a developmentally delayed child. I don’t know what to do.

[@luciachangnavarromd3309]

Little Mel I hope at this point you have more clues. I also wish your son has improved. If not, the diet could make the difference.

[@Chicago81484]

how is he doing I believe my son is h3 also

[@LordMondegrene]

Dr. Palindrime is right. I have Hyperlexia 1, my middle sister has Hyperlexia 2.

[@mrnobody2873]

How do you sort the mix when you also have ADHD diagnoses?

[@dralkhargawy6939]

PhD student .. looking at Hyperlexia .. Looking for a Hyperlexia scale..please

[@jess4reallyreal]

What you said at 35:50 is how I felt.

[@Rebecca-1111]

Jae Remi my son did this as well. We have caught him many times watching videos in different languages. We now wonder if he was speaking them? He was 4 then and seven now. He was diagnosed with autism and hyperlexia

[@sivanm7234]

Hey, I hope all is well with your son. I have a 2 year old who behaves exactly same. Pro with Smart phone and uses it like he was one of the engineers worked on designing it. I am interested to know how things are with your son now. Thanks.

[@Rebecca-1111]

Shiva Mundru just saw a psychologist. She said hyperlexia can run with autism. It's rare. They want to test his IQ. And mentioned the hyperlexia being a splinter skill or like savant type ability.

[@DarkAngel-cj6sx]

How is he now? You described my son. Yes he came up with his own language. He used to talk though

[@jess4reallyreal]

@@DarkAngel-cj6sx well he is still non verbal, quite inquisitive for being Non-Verbal, diagnosis is Autism, he receives services for his diagnosis. He is still very shy around other children but is still very charming towards adults.

[@anshnnrryaer608]

Wow, very interesting. My 24 months old has ASD like behavior but he started reading 4-6 letters words when he was only 17 months, by 19 month old he knows all alphabet, numbers 1-20,shapes, colours, animals. 24 months old now, he knows days of the week, months of the year, the whole solar system and over 250 words. He loves giving and receiving hugs and kisses, love spending times with me and his dad. And some of his ASD like behavior r fading away . He met all his milestones early except speech. He was walking when he was 10 months old. We r in process of getting him a ASD diagnosis.

[@Chicago81484]

does he spell words?does he have intenese need for sameness with certain tv shows?does he have sensory issues like brushing his teeth?does he have certain fears and phobias???

[@Chicago81484]

hey how is he doing my josiah is h3 i believe he is 4 and a half now he is reading at 2nd grade level,knows all the planets from closes to the sun furthest out,knows complex shapes and all colors,can count to 100,passed 1000,he knows all his 50 states and capitals,he recites the 50 states in alphabetical order can add and subtract 1 thru 20,has the lining and stacking rituals plentyty of hugs and kisses very outgoing loving and affectionate,obssseed with the computer and knowing how things work great puzzles solving ablility,he has answered over 6 thousand questions on ixl,great eye contact,he does pretty much everything h3 desrcibes certain fears and phobias how old is your kido hope to hear from you

[@laynepaige5397]

I have an HL 3 boy myself.

[@Chicago81484]

me too were not alone

[@bilalhassan844]

@@Chicago81484 hi

[@nkemonwumah8241]

Noah has been out of school for four year now.He stopped at Elementary three and started home schooling for one and half years but I couldn’t afford the exorbitant fees of the speech therapists,occupational therapists and behavioral specialists.

[@dimpledarl10]

Hello Do you know a Dr. that treats Hyperlexia I’m from Houston.. Pls need some help. Thanks

[@helenatomkiewicz3753]

❤ R.I.P.😢

[@LettersAndNumbers300]

What is preventing this syndrome from being picked up by mainstream medicine / science? It seems no papers have been written based on this work that was done in the nineties (?) or did I just not look well enough. It's so frustrating having to get through the skulls of my son's various carers based on a syndrome that simply isn't that widely accepted.

[@mares3841]

💛

[@VDHmain]

I'm fairly certain Hyperlexia 3 don't outgrow their autism, they just learn to mask better than the others. It's certainly the case with autistic females in general, so it may be that this group has similar traits that lead to a similar outcome.

[@latasih]

But you don’t have more knowledge of this than the doctor that states in his research that they do so…🤷🏽‍♀️

[@Chicago81484]

its 8 months later from my original post im more convinced but still not 100% but almsost ,my josiah is hyperlexia type 3 he doest spin in a circle any more,hes speech is getting better just like it said it would right about when they turn 4 hes speaking in simple sentences and hes vocabulary is expanding everyday,he hasnt chewed on his shirt in over 1 month,he is doing ixl and has answered over 1700 questions this month from prek,k, and 1 st grade math,he can tell time and count to 1000 by hundreds,he can write sentences out and draw simple and complex shapes and cars and there memory is amazing they get taught something 1 time and learn it he is very loving and affecionate with me and his mother and grandpArents and people close to him,everything that dr treffert said about h3 i see it in my son theres great eye contact not with drawn he plays with kids at park recpical play very intrested in how things work constantly playing learning games on tablet,loves making words and playing letter games loves to color, read books building legos,random hugs and kisses very intuned, hes need for sameness is getting better he does have sensory issues,its hes original diagnosis was severe autism 3 intelectual disability and his hyperlexia wasnt even on his diagnosis it just said he like letters n numbers i was in so much distress when i read that diagnosis report and found that really starnge and it said he couldnt even hold a pencil which was strange cause during his evaluation that was like 1 hour or longer he grabed a pencil and wrote on there wall,so if they lie about that wow they did no ados test just seen him spin in a circle and some eholalia,i been trying to seperate out the sympthoms and i recently just stoped his aba thats not for them im mad at myself but i did what i thought was best its cause h3 does present like autsim but it is not and just a few days ago they were still trying to tell me hes has severe autsim level3 i was f like get out here i am so even the director of the aba i wont say the name when i took my josiah there i was like u have a loving one here she was like we dont use that term here i found that strange so now im on a new journey now and i feel they didnt listen to me his lead didnt even know anything about hyperlexia i found that strange also considering they can go together,they had the nerve to put there hands on my child right infront of me and try to block him in the room from what i learned from dr mary barbera there not supose to do that,plus i wish i can go to wisconsin and take my josiah to trefferd center....thank you dr trefferd i watched this video so many times you are amazing :) they should of gave him a differetional diagnosis beacuse i told them hes been spelling over 100 words and reading since 2 and a half something sounds very fishy i am so mad i been in so much distress over his diagnosis i know in my heart he is h3 and they didnt take time what kind of diagnosis is done in 1 hour with no test.when in doubt write it out .......:)

[@anbonner17]

Don't be too hard on yourself! Forgive yourself and give yourself grace. We are on a learning curve with our children. I don't think the world really knows about hyperlexia, so we are ahead of the curve! It will be 🆗. You’ve got this dad!

[@Chicago81484]

@@anbonner17 yea i hope so i have my ups and my downs,yea a lot of people dont take time to learn about hyperlexia and the professionals just wana say asd right away they didnt even do an ados test just observed him in the room with me and mom,i told him he was hyperlexic that may be so he was like oh he gets points for that,i thought that if a child is presenting with reading and spelling at age 2 with all the diff things good eye contact and loving not withdrawn that a differentional diagnosis was suppose to be presented,the first correct step is a accurate thourough diagnosis if i am correct

[@anbonner17]

@@Chicago81484 Yes, you are correct! And get two or three evaluation if you can.

[@Chicago81484]

@@anbonner17 i actually got 1 from a child phyciatrist that said he wasnt on spectrum,then a few weeks later the aba dr mike did his evaluation that was about the same time no ados test just observation but he said severe autsim and possiblity of adhd,on the diagnosis so everything i have learned and see my josiah doing points to h3 thats why the physiatrist didnt give ados test he said he wasnt on spectrum his words were hes to smart for his own good get speech therapy and occupational...today josiah was picking out complex shapes like rectangular prism,cyclinders,hexagons.he can answer questions like what color is that hes speech is on a upward trend every day more and more today he hurts himself he said ouch it hurt,

[@anbonner17]

@@Chicago81484 I had to Google who is qualified to evaluate ASD and you're right it needs to be a child psychiatrist, a developmental pediatrician, a pediatric neurologist, and/or a psychologist. The aba doctor is not assessing with validity or accuracy.

[@nkemonwumah8241]

Unfortunately,my country lacks the sufficient skills and infrastructures to support Noah.The few handful of schools that could help within a 30% range are so expensive!

[@luciachangnavarromd3309]

Question min 45:10. Dr. Treffert, I agree with your answer: “Asperger falls in the spectrum, is just a form of Autism”. If she meant: How do you clinically differentiate (which one is) between Asperger and Einstein Syndromes? I would answer: Aspergers children have a precocious normal or even above the average (brilliant) vocabulary for their chronological age, even though the speech is meaningless; whereas Einstein’s are late talker, both with Hyperlexia and bright minds. Do you agree with me? Am I right? Or have you seen in your practice Asperger children that have speech delay as well? Thanks !

[@anbonner17]

🧐🧐🧐 hmmm, interesting. I agree with you!

[@Chicago81484]

@@anbonner17 i agree my son josiah is h3 he can say the planets of the solor system from closet to the sun furthest out,can count to one thousand by 100s is very loving and afficionate not with drawn can read and write simple senctences speech is improving everyday i am teaching him the hyperlexic way he knows all his shapes and advanced shapes loves to color and play eduactional games always learning i had him in aba but not anymore they try to say hes severly autistic 3 they are so wrong and i think they know they misdiagnosed him

[@anbonner17]

@@Chicago81484 How old is your son? My son is 5y4m and virtually learning in Kindergarten.

[@Chicago81484]

@@anbonner17 my josiah turned 4 years old sept 7 i am figuring out what to do i took him out aba last week looking for some kind of hyperlexic facility in lombard il untill then am teaching him myself i do ixl with him everyday he answered more than 1800 questions this month from prek,tok even first grade questions what was your sons original diagnosis?

[@anbonner17]

@@Chicago81484 No diagnosis. Earlier this year I was in grad school and came across an article from a parent in the Medium. And I was like this is my son. It explains his sensitivity to certain sound perservative behaviors and of course early reading with little to no instruction. I heard from a speech pathologist that HL can run in families. My dad said he read the newspaper at age 3 and my son started reading Biscuit and Ten Apples up on Top at 2.

[@Chicago81484]

I believe my son is hyperlexic 3 he is so loving makes eye contact and can read and spell over 50 words knows all his colors and shapes can count to 100 and then some has echolialia and is very outgoing and seeks my love and affection contastly telling me he loves me he has a amazing memory and to me seems to fit hyperlexia 3 more than 2 he got an asd diagonis I am awaiting to start aba for him but I told his lead that I believe he is hyperlexic either 2 or 3 and she told me she dosnt know that much about it , hes def hyperlexic ,, my Josiah is 3 im so confused he does have sensory issues to low frequency sounds I pray he is hyperlexia 3 he differs he is outgoing so much signing he is very precious and all that I think he has autistic like characteristics seen in asd but he mostyly ideniifys with h3 to me , he don't cry when a ambulance passes anymore sometimes he chews sometimes he doesn't I fell so confused sometimes please I need some advice and help when in doubt write it out dr treffort said and its true if I write I like milk,i like park I like playground my Josiah will read the phrase and say it he is very loving very affectionate with me telling me he loves me a lot and good eye contact amazing memory and puzzles solving abilities plus all he does in his tablet is mostly play word games and letters and in diff langauges too he told me today hug spelled hug said hug and then gave me a hug,he does also gets scared of certain things like it says about kids with h3,i seen him write his alphabet before a to z and announcates from a-z,

[@Emanu2018]

How is your son

[@Chicago81484]

@@Emanu2018 he's doing good .he is very loving, me and him have a very strong bond,its a challenge every day to teach him new things.he learns quick they have super abilities in some areas,a astonishing memory and plays with all kinds of toys interactive imagitive play,speech is getting better I hear new functional language every day,how's your kiddo?

[@Emanu2018]

@@Chicago81484 mine too big changes he is 4.5 he is making full sentence, eye contact and very bright

[@Chicago81484]

@@Emanu2018 thats great we need to learn as much as we can language is the key to unlocking hyperlexia I surround him with big box words to make his own sentences,I also use ixl and k and first grade workbooks,he also tells time day of week and month,they are naturally have a obsession on how things work and Wana do things there own we are not alone

[@Chicago81484]

@@Emanu2018 thats great im glad to hear that

[@christianschneider5385]

hello, i have a Question, could you imagine, that a Person, with autism lost its Spezial skills, when i get into conversation, with the expectations, from the normally People, and try to be "normal", i mean, when this Person, Needs all its autistic intelligence, for beeing like the usually People? , this is often a Risk for developing psychiatric Problems, like schizophrenia and Paranoia, because the person, lost its real personality, in a second world, or from the beginning of its life, when the parents, dont have enough thime, for developing, Special autistic skills? for example, when they are traumatised, i say, an autistic Person, who tries to be normal, could develope Paranoia and schizophrenia, because than, it losts its first personality, on the others, are less intelligence, they use and lost its own autistic intelligence, for beeing like them thanks.

[@kr1221E]

See my comment written 5 months after you.

[@nkemonwumah8241]

I pray the Lord sends me divine helpers, to save us from this undeserved trap,delay,stress,sadness and pain.My desire is to have Noah fulfill ALL that GOD ALMIGHTY has planned for him ,through the Lord’s chosen vessels such as yourself ,your associates and your team ,Dr Treffert,in Jesus name,Amen.

[@nkemonwumah8241]

Noah(God Almighty’s divine gift to me)was medically diagnosed as SPEECH DELAY not GOD but everyone keeps saying that I am in denial because they feel he is Autistic

[@colvingregg]

This gentleman's last name is a palindrome. interesting.

[@anbonner17]

You are so right! 🙂

[@BibleBelieverDani]

Fun right

[@turtleanton6539]

Xdddd