So my son has been obsessed with letters and numbers since he was about 18 months. It started when his daycare would show a phonics video regularly - they commented to me that he was super interested in it while the other kids didn't really care. We thought it was pretty cool that he was into letters so we really encouraged it and bought lots of letter puzzles and games, and continued reading to him a lot. Now at approx 28 months the obsession is kind of out of control and it's almost like he uses letters as a soothing mechanism? When he gets upset or frustrated he immediately goes to play with his letters. He constantly asks us to draw letters on his chalkboard, on scrap paper, on his back, etc. He is getting pretty good at writing letters himself. I don't mean this to sound like a humblebrag - though i'm super proud of him, googling pretty much automatically brings up Autism in conjunction with hyperlexia. Does anyone have any strories of hyperlexic kids? Should I discourage letters and numbers for play? Seeing a paediatrician for unrelated issues in a couple of weeks so I'll bring it up then, and his regular GP didn't seem concerned at his 2yo well visit, but its gotten a lot more pronounced since then.
Any thoughts?
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My girls are like this-- my eldest was pulling her letters out of her alphabet soup and telling me what they were at 18 mos, and anywhere she saw letters she'd scream them out over and over. A lot of people mentioned the word autism when they saw her behavior (she is now 4 and not autistic). DD2 also had the same early intense interest in letters. I wouldn't worry that it's something wrong, some kids have intense interests, even that young.
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@erinpye: thanks! yes the screaming out letters happens here too, it's kind of hilarious actually. My gut definitely tells me that he's neurotypical, he doesn't really display any other traits of autism, though he was/is probably a little behind his peers in speech (but has always been, no regression). Anyway, thanks for the reassurance! My MIL keeps telling me he'll be a typographer or graphic designer, which I would be fine with!
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@ScarletBegonia: it can be a sign of giftedness, so you could consider having him tested when he's older, and adjusting his education appropriately
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Zero medical expertise, but mine is the same way, obsessed with his letters. He could happily spend an afternoon drawing his alphabet out on our driveway in chalk, and he wakes up in the morning and lays in his crib singing his ABC's to himself over and over. I have never connected it to any issue, just that he is obsessed with his letters and he's probably going to read a lot sooner than I had planned on! And he was a late talker too - didn't start really speaking until 25 months.
ETA: LO is 2.5 years old
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My son was obsessed with letters. It was the first thing he learned in preschool (with Chicka Chicka Boom Boom) and it was almost two years of letter love.
He asked Santa for a Chicka tree and I had to order one from a classroom prop catalog, lolI wouldn't worry about it. Now he's all about Angry Birds and Ghostbusters. (4.5 years old)
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@Tanjowen: J reads on his own now and can read signs, kids books, etc.
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My son is 2 and is a little like this. He just about lost his mind in the library the other day because he was so excited to match the letters labeled on board books to the letters labeled on the shelves. "I see a K. Where K go?" I use it in stores when he gets bored and have him point out letters and numbers to pass time. He doesn't have any signs of autism so I have always just assumed it was one of his obsessions - very similar to his obsession with vehicles.
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@Tanjowen: @rachiecakes: @gilmoregirl: Thanks so much ladies. All of his little buddies are obsessed with dinosaurs or Thomas or Peppa pig and he carries around a foam A with him everywhere! Good to know he's not the only one.
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@ScarletBegonia: I totally hear you! I feel a little sensitive about it sometimes because I'm afraid other people think I'm showing off or bragging that my kid knows all of his letters already. He just loves them! So whatever. But it can be hard to talk about and gauge.
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@ScarletBegonia: Hahaha, my son's name starts with the letter "O" and for a long time he slept with his bath foam letter O until I managed to convince him it was happier to sleep in the tub.
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@Tanjowen: Yep, "A" name here! Not sleeping with it but woe to us if we forget it on an outing!!
@gilmoregirl: Yup I know what you mean. My son has a cousin exactly the same age who is off the charts in terms of physical milestones and eats like a champ, but could not care less about the alphabet and counting, whereas my little nerd is un-coordinated, doesn't know how to jump, and eats like a bird. We all have our battles and our successes I guess!
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E was OBSESSED with the ABCs for a *really* long time. He knew and could write the alphabet way sooner than the kids at school. When asked to free draw he almost always wrote letters. He's almost 4, and while it's lessened slightly he still wants to read Dr Suess's ABCs or Chicka every night. No medical concerns, though. He's crazy smart, and we just roll with it.
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Both of mine have done this, starting at 18 months, and really into it by two years. My oldest is autistic, but my youngest is neurotypical- sure it can be an indicator among many, many other things, but it isn't a definitive thing.
Discouraging it wouldn't have changed anything with my oldest, but redirecting him into a better use of the letters when he does it repeatedly helps. That said, my youngest did letters and numbers the same exact way and is entirely different from his big brother developmentally otherwise.
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