Autism-World

To help aid a hyperlexic child’s communication, it is important to make a program for a child rather than trying to make a child fit into a program (Kroll). Developing the intent to communicate is of great importance. Allowing the child to take the leading role and then following their lead is the easiest way to accomplish this. Using their particular likes and interests is helpful. It is important to make both verbal and non-verbal communication with the child a positive experience.

Since many of these children have difficulty connecting their thoughts and feelings to means of expression, it is useful to give the child examples from your life experiences such as, “I’m hungry” or “I’m sad.” These expressions then need to be connected to facial gestures and body language. Mirrors and audiotapes will allow the child to see themselves making these gestures and will aid in their memorization for use at a later time. Because processing difficulties often hinder the child’s understanding, it is necessary to speak to the child at their language level. It may also take extra time for the child to process information, requiring a person to speak to the child in a slow rate of speech, with repetition often times necessary (Kroll).

A child’s development is rapidly changing; therefore it is necessary to constantly update professional assessments frequently. Parent and teachers need to constantly review goals and create new techniques to implement the child’s new interests or language demands (Kroll). The best thing a parent can do for their child is to get them the support or help that they need, whether it is physical, emotional, educational, or professional. Neglecting to get the appropriate help is detrimental to both the child and the parents.

In order for a child to reach their potential, it is necessary for the parents, teachers, and professionals to all work side by side to ensure the child’s success. They all hold an important piece of the puzzle, which cannot be completed without them. It is the teacher’s responsibility to take the information the parents and professionals have given them and then make sure they follow the necessary steps. Because a hyperlexic child is unable to grasp social cues, they do not do well in a group setting. If it is necessary to have the child in a group, it is important to sit the child right in front of the teacher so that they know the teacher is talking to them. If this is not done, the child may have no clue they were being spoken to or they may know the teacher is talking to them, but only take in half of the directions they were given (Kupperman).

It is also important that a child is not expected to completely follow verbal instructions alone. Because the child does best when they know exactly what is going to happen, it is best if the teacher writes down the schedule for the child to follow. This helps because the visual pathways in the brain are so much better than the verbal ones. The classroom schedule should be structured, but it should not be too rigid (Kupperman). Routine is something that the child relies on, however they need to be taught how to cope with and accept any slight variation in the pattern. It would be impossible for the child to survive in the real world if they did not know how to deal with change and unexpected occurrences.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, April 16th, 2008 at 1:13 pm and is filed under Hyperlexia.