Hyperlexics/Number & Letter People

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I do like to arrange things by numbers, such as in groups of four, or any other number, depending on my mood.
I like the number four and when I am walking without really paying attention I will whisper it over and over again to myself as I walk or am sitting around bored or observing. I'm not sure why. *shrugs* Someone pointed it out to me, and I finally noticed. But I always rather liked things in fours, or multiples of fours, especially eight.
I'm very fond of words and like dictionaries rather than just individual letters so much.

Four is a nice number because its the second smallest square positive number.

169 and 196 (yes, I know that they contain 6) are two interesting numbers, 13 squared and 14 squared.

I love patterns in numbers and will be able to see a pattern in almost any decently long sequence of numbers someone gives me almost automatically.

I have what probably is a stupid question, but do you think my son is hyperlexic?

When he had just turned 4 (he's 4 3/4 now) he started spelling out the DVD menu from memory with his blocks. Didn't have all of the right letters so he substituted like so:




Now that he has several sets of fridge magnets, he uses the correct letters:



He also has begun to make clocks. Here is his first and we have since bought him more "1" digits, so he can make the whole clock:





He doesn't communicate verbally, so it's hard to know if he is reading. He does get very excited by his creations and he spends a good 80% of is free time making letter arrangements and spelling with his (now, many) sets of letters. He has never been taught letters. In fact, I suggested his teacher do matching games with letters and not pictures, since he wasn't crazy about the random pictures. Now that she matches letters with him, he is very interested and of course, is now matching long words.

What do you all think?

The number 6 makes me very happy. I count syllables rhythmically in my head as I read, and I can't put a book down until I've ended a sentence on an even number. If I absolutely have to, I'll try to make it divisible by threes if I can't get twos. I'll even pronouce a word differently to add a syllable. I'm usually more of a letter person, but things in my little world must be counted out evenly!

5:00 - that's when my alarm goes off in the morning - hate it
negative numbers on my bank balance, hate that too...
never really thought about it, but it's interesting.

to be honest, the closest I get is waking up in the middle of the night, looking at the clock, calculating how many hours and minutes I have left to sleep, and falling back asleep

littlebopeep,

I think hyperlexia is definitely a possibility. Your son also sounds very smart.

Thanks9CatMom. I appreciate your response. I have been trying to research hyperlexia, but most of the stuff on official hyperlexia sites is very clinical and not really what I'm looking for. I'm looking for ways to encourage him, I guess.

Well if he doesn't communicate verbally, and hasn't been formally taught how to read, I'd say that is extremely impressive, and perhaps he is hyperlexic.

I'm no expert, but he sounds it to me. I'm hyperlexic (not diagnosed) and I was doing much the same. I was reading before I was 3, and my mother says a lot of the family thought I was some kind of a genius because I memorised words so well that I learnt all the words and when to say them/turn pages of a very long, difficult book she'd read to me... they all thought I was reading, but really I'd only memorised it. I was also apparently often spelling things out with fridge magnets. I loooved my alphabet spaghetti!

It sounds like you're doing a good job already if you're giving his teachers ideas and giving him plenty of magnets to play with.

Yes, I love multiples of 3. I used to hate 7, but it's grown on me. I still think there's something evil about prime numbers, except for 3 of course. Even numbers that are not multiples of 3 are boring. Multiples of 5 are generally placid and friendly. Odd numbers that are not multiples of 3 or 5 are unfriendly.

Thanks for the responses about my son. Much appreciated. Tonight he spelled out "widescreen & full frame." (Choices on the DVD for how you want to view Toy Story 2.)

I seem to have a (un) healthy interest in numbers, especially percentages, but my two sisters both attribute esthetic properties to number combinations. They request special phone numbers from the phone companies and only seem to be happy if they contain a lot of repeating sequences of the same numbers. I told them that my friend's number was 968-0896 and they both thought it was an excellent number.

I think most people like phone numbers with repeating numbers is to make it easier for themselves and others to remember.

Good point.

Yeah, because we've moved a couple times and I was there when my brother got a cell phone and all times they tried to get a good easy to remember number which had repeating ones in it.

i dont know if this is related or not,
but
I have a kind of strange obsession with letters-

Up until recently every word that i said or thought in my head, I would repeat it backwards-, occasionally whole sentences or paragraphs of writing.
and when i was 10 i learnt to say the alphabet backwards in under 5 seconds
the "shape" of the word was always intruiging
... the "emotion" (lack of a better word) of the letters and how they affect the word
-the question of why some words were spelt the way they were, because it really doesn't match with what the word means
-the shape of the letters themselves,,... blahblahblah...

.., well strangely enough I suck at creative writing, and am great at maths

(numbers also affect me but in different ways and on a different scale to letters)