mentalutopia's commentsComments On: EverythingArticles Blogs Journals Photos created by: Everyonementalutopia Hyperlexia: Autism with a Twist? - Blog Entry07 Sep 2007 05:01 PM My son spontaneously started reading a year and a half ago when he was 2.5 years old. Whenever I read a list of the traits of "syndrome of hyperlexia" he fits them to a Tee. His actual diagnosis, however, is autism. He also fits the autistic traits and symptoms to a tee--scripting, insisting on routines and sameness, extremely picky eating, sensory issues, language delay, etc. We get a big kick out of the movie Rainman because the main character shares so many traits with our son. Only our boy doesn't amaze others by counting cards--he just reads. First he read sight words that he recognized from Baby Einstein and Signing Time videos. But after watching a few Leapfrog videos he branched out and now reads phonetically. While he will read words he isn't familiar with, he prefers words he knows and understands. While he was not reading yet when he was diagnosed (not until a few months later), he was already fascinated with letters and numbers. He does not exhibit ADHD or hyperactivity symptoms. And autism runs in the family--I have one autistic sister and one brother who likely has Asperger's. So do I think my son has an autistic spectrum disorder? Yes. Do I think that hyperlexia should be a diagnosable disorder? Yes. But I do think it belongs on the autistic spectrum. My understanding is that the DMS-IV does not list hyperlexia as a disorder, so for children to currently be labelled hyperlexic without also being labeled autistic could prevent those children from accessing many services that could help them. Do You Have BOTH Juvenile Diabetes and Autism in Your Family? - Blog Entry01 Sep 2007 02:26 PM Here are a few relevant articles : http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/28/4/925 http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/29/2/484 http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/29/2/1985-a http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi/content/full/29/4/485 Do You Have BOTH Juvenile Diabetes and Autism in Your Family? - Blog Entry26 Aug 2007 08:16 PM I'm sorry to have to say that having an autistic spectrum disorder does not necssarily protect you from Type I (juvenile) diabetes. My son was diagnosed with autism about a year ago. He was diagnosed with diabetes 2 days ago. He is three-and-a-half years old. There is a history of autism in my family, but no history of juvenile diabetes prior to this case; neither condition effects my husband's family. |
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