Hyperlexia in spanish-speaking children: report of 2 cases from Colombia, South America

Hyperlexia is a condition rarely reported in Spanish-speaking children, characterized by the ability to recognize written words without formal training. We present two unrelated autistic children with hyperlexia from Colombia (South America) who were followed for 8 years with formal neuropsychological evaluations of language, motor skills, visual perception, attention and behavior. Both children taught themselves to read before 5 years of age but showed minimal comprehension; both displayed obsessional reading and difficulties in social skills and attention. Brain CT scans were normal. Hyperlexia has been associated with hyperactivation of the left superior temporal cortex; we conclude that the orthographic route is a probable mechanism for the development of hyperlexia.

• Fecha de publicación: 2006
• Institución: Universidad del Rosario
• Repositorio: Repositorio EdocUR - U. Rosario
• Idioma: eng
• OAI Identifier: oai:repository.urosario.edu.co:10336/27825
• Acceso en línea: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jns.2006.05.058; https://repository.urosario.edu.co/handle/10336/27825
• Palabra clave: Hyperlexia; Dyslexia; Autism; Speech; Language development; Spanish
• License: Restringido (Acceso a grupos específicos)