And I am back 🙂 Its been a while since I blogged as we were going through a lot of transitions in our lives. This is a post I wrote long time back but had not shared on this blog and thought it may benefit some parents hence sharing.
When Dhruv was little, he started getting fascinated with alphabets and numbers. He would pore over books looking at the images and words. By the age of 3 he was reading and by the age of 4 he was making words with his magnetic alphabets. I remember Gopan and me being stunned and so proud of him. He would be assessed with autism only by 6 but we already knew our child was “different”.
There is a lot written about Autism but very little about Hyperlexia. In simple terms Hyperlexia is a syndrome where a child could be fascinated with numbers or alphabets and has a reading ability far ahead of his peers and age. They also have difficulty in understanding and using language and many a time it is accompanied by Echolalia ( repeating others’ words and sentences ) which was the case with Dhruv. It is normally not a stand alone condition and is accompanied by some other disorders. In the case of Dhruv along with Hyperlexia, he has Autism Spectrum Disorder and Developmental Coordination Disorder or Dyspraxia.
The child starts reading by himself without being taught but struggles with comprehension. This makes life tough for him especially in school as teachers would think if he is reading beyond his age he must be comprehending as well. Even today Dhruv struggles with comprehension though he can read anything from stories to billboards with ease. Many a time when we meet someone new I introduce them by name saying this is an aunty or uncle and he manages to zap us by spelling their names at that instant and most of the time he gets it correct !
Dhruv’s sense of phonics and auditory memory is very strong so I don’t have to teach him spellings, when he hears a word he instinctively knows how to spell it. He struggles with writing due to his Dyspraxia but used to love studying for spellbee with me for his earlier school by practising writing as he probably felt a sense of achievement by writing correct spellings and earning praise on a job well done. At times if he is not sure of a word he asks,’ What is the spelling?” and if he gets it wrong he knows it is wrong and will promptly tell me, “Mistake ,I want to erase it.”
Over the last one year home schooling Dhruv I have managed to work quite a bit on his comprehension by working on one sentence stories then increasing the scope to two sentence stories etc. Wh questions used to throw him in a tizzy and if you think about it, our social conversations revolve around wh questions…where did you go, whom did you meet, what did you do etc. So imagine how lost you would feel if you cant fathom any of this plus you have Autism and anyways find it difficult to navigate this world ! Nowadays when he hears a new word he wants to know what does it mean or in his words “means”?( He makes a complete sentence only when he feels like, yes language is still a challenge ! ) There are times I catch him reading the sub titles while I am watching a movie 😎 I look at Dhruv and feel very proud of him that he still wakes up with a smile and tries his best though we now know how hard it must be for him !
I am sharing this photo so that you can see the handiwork of a child with Hyperlexia. Dhruv was just about four years old and wanted to create ‘telephone’ with his letters. He was in a dilemma as he had one E but needed three so he just used a bit of creativity making telephone with one E and a 6 and a 9 ! I seriously hope that apart from being awed by their abilities people are more sensitive towards people with Hyperlexia as their struggles are real. The second image is taken from the internet.
Disclaimer: The views expressed are my personal thoughts and are not meant to offend anyone’s beliefs and sensibilities.
A Mom's Tryst With Autism 
The e bit was amazing! Hugs to our lil champ!
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Yes that e bit was truly amazing & I remember just staring at it !! Hugs to you too 🤗🤗
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As always the kid is a wonder child. 🥰🥰🥰
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Seema….💙💙
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I also realised the ‘e’ part only now, such a smart kid in some ways.. love him 😍
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Vids 💙💙
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What creativity even at age 4 .. He’s our little Rockstar 😻. I am always learning new words reading ur blog . Now we know whom he takes after 😆.
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Neena 🤗🤗
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The e solution definitely amazes but I love that he accepts his little errors and perseveres to carry on…
Such an important trait to have!!
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Thank you so much 💙💙 I keep learning from him how to be positive & laugh off failures though it’s a tough act to follow !
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And Dhruv continues to shine, inspire and helps us to navigate in the journey of life – just the star that he is.
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Aww….thank you so much for always being his champion 🤗
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The ingenuity with e left me speechless! This guy will go places! Awesome read Suja ma’m,
Dhruvs gleeful smile is a rarity these days n stays long after we have met him
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Thanks a ton Tias and hope you guys are doing good 🙂
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A creative child and so inspiring…Thanks Suja
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Thank you so much Girish 😊
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Special Child, needs Special Care, God Bless him Improvement with time.
Sandher
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Thank you Cdr Sandher 😊
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May god’s blessings and your loving care take Dhruv to his rightful place in the constellation of “superstars”. Music is a great way to channelise his creative mind; we look forward to some magic there too from the little champ.
Love & hugs from Madhuri and me 💞
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Thank you so much & have heard about you from Gopan 😊
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It’s amazing that Young Dhruv is doing wonderfully well and making a mark for himself. It’s been years since we interacted with him but he is fresh in our memory … I am happy to see you support him so well… Your blog surely brings out a lot for other parents who are looking for support. I showed it to my sis-in-law who liked it too… God is Kind and am sure Dhruv will be a Star always…
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Thank you so much Suresh & we too remember you,Sumathi & Deeksha with a lot of love 😊
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May little Dhruv achieve all what you and gopan aspire for him .
May god give you both all the strength to groom him into a star .Take care and stay blessed 💕
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Thank you so much Gayatri 😊
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Very well written blog on a lesser known subject to many (though personal to you).
Just wondering the following:-
Does speaking in a language, which is not English, make any difference in understanding and communicating?
Does interacting with pictures to convey something / communicate help?
Difficulty in understanding something is usually balanced by ease in picking up another thing, for e.g. one could be very good at picking up music whist having difficulty in comprehending language. Is that the so?
Wish you, Dhruv, and Gopan the very best in life.
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Hi thanks for reading & will try to answer your questions
Speaking in any language does not make any difference in understanding and communicating but having said that for kids with Autism typically it’s best to stick to one language till they are able to comprehend the basics of one language before jumping to the next…
Yes pictures help in communication as it’s easier for them to understand
So difficulty in understanding something is usually balanced…to be honest it applies to my son as he has a lot of challenges but is brilliant in music but it’s not a rule & not all kids on the spectrum have that kind of a skill…
At the end will say one more thing,if you have met one person with Autism you have met one person with Autism ! It’s a spectrum so everyone has varying degrees of challenges and no two people are the same.
Thanks for the wishes 😊
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It was a revelation reading about “super dhruv”….a really informative post and the story about dhruv’s innovative use of 6 and 9 to spell telephone was amazing…..
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Thank you so much and hope you and Pamela are doing well 😊
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I wouldn’t have noticed the innovative use of 6 n 9 as ‘e’ s if you hadn’t mentioned it dear Suja. That’s amazing how quickly Dhruv found a way to complete his word and that too so effectively. As always Your keen insights and intelligent observations bring aspects of these subjects out in the open and in a new understanding light possibly helping so many families. Well done Suja 💞and Dear Dhruv mon❤️ keep rocking that solid brain and handsome smile of yours forever. Awesome read Suja. Loads of love 😊❤️💕
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Thanks Roopa for always being there 💙
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I found the blog informative. I also realised that you are being very courageous in being so open about it. You are doing a very good deed which may help another set of parents to come to terms with what is definitely not easy to live with. My salute to the courageous lady behind the blog…..
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Thank you so much Pankaj 😊
When it comes to our children,one has to stand up & do the best possible even if means educating others who probably are not aware of Autism and it’s challenges.
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Hi Suja
It’s amazing how you’ve put across the immense complexities and challenges of Dhruv’s life in such an endearing and relatable manner. Takes a special mum of a special child to do so. That bit about the ‘e’ in Telephone tells us about the tremendous intelligence and capabilities locked inside his brain which come to the fore with your loving and tireless efforts. My respectful compliments to both you and Gopan for smiling in the face of such challenges and coming out winners. Tons of love and good wishes to Dhruv…🙂
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Thank you so much Amarjyot for the lovely words 😊
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Hi, Suja! 😊 I guess you’ve heard about the theory of six handshakes… I know you from my mother in low – Natasha, who knows your husband))) So, hello from St. Petersburg! 😉 I’m reading your blog with great pleasure and geting happiness from your smiling faces and successes of your special son. Thank you for sharing. I’m sure that your blog helps many parents who raise children with autism.
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Thank you so much Julia and how lovely we are connected through the 6 degrees of separation 😊 Hope to meet you in person someday 💙
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