Identifying and Differentiating Children with Hyperlexia and its Subtypes: A Meta-Analysis of Results from WISC-III Subtests and Standardized Reading Tests

Hyperlexia is a term often associated with autism spectrum disorders. However, its place on or outside of the autistic spectrum is still very much a debatable topic. In this article, the authors presented their findings on 53 children with comprehension deficit or suspected hyperlexia (based on the diagnostic symptoms described in the Educator’s Diagnostic Manual of Disabilities and Disorders), aged between 10 and 14, of both genders, grouped according to four disorders that these children were diagnosed to have: (1) dyslexia (or specific learning disability); (2) non-verbal learning disability; (3) autistic disorder; and (4) Asperger syndrome. Based on selected results of the Neale Analysis of Reading Ability (3rd Edition), the Oral and Written Language Scales: Listening Comprehension Scale and Oral Expression Scale, and the WISC-III, a meta-diagnostic analysis of the psycho-educational assessment results was done to identify and differentiate children with hyperlexia and its subtypes.