Assessment and skill remediation of hyperlexic children

Assessment and remedial approaches derived from the field of learning disabilities were applied in two studies of hyperlexic children. Information-processing strengths and weaknesses of hyperlexic children were assessed in the first study, and the hypothesis that hyperlexic children have superior abilities to retain sound/symbol associations was investigated. Results supported this hypothesis, and indicated that the exceptional reading skills of hyperlexic children are not simply a result of repeated exposure to words. In the second study, a hyperlexic child's ability to decode words was used to increase her functional speech. Written prompts resulted in rapid increases in appropriate verbal responses in naturalistic settings. Furthermore, our results demonstrated maintenance and generalization of the positive effects of written prompts.