10 Activities For Hyperlexic Children
Leo gravitated to numbers and the letters of the alphabet at a very early age. He would line up the letters from his foam mats over and over again, loved flashcards and any toys/books that had anything to do with the alphabet/numbers. Lorenzo was no different and both boys had letter recognition before they could speak. Friends and family members thought it was fascinating and it truly was. They seemed to find letters and numbers everywhere they went - In the clouds, the electrical poles on the streets (letter Ts), on their plates with food, everywhere!
I first learned about the term hyperlexia after Leo was diagnosed with autism. Apparently, 6-14% of children diagnosed with autism have hyperlexia (Source). Hyperlexia is the advanced ability to read compared to the ability to understand spoken language. Children with hyperlexia have a precocious ability to read words (far above what would be expected at their chronological age), or an intense fascination with letters and numbers.
After seeing how I could use the boys’ love and interest in letters/numbers to my advantage, to enhance their verbal, social, fine motor and a variety of other skills, I found a way to incorporate letters and numbers into our daily “play”.
I’ve compiled 10 different activities and toys that helped the boys, in hopes that it will help you as well below.
Kinetic Sand With Alphabet Cookie Cutters
Kinetic sand provides a range of sensory experiences for children. It can help with your child’s sensory diet, has a calming and relaxing effect, can be used to strengthen fine motor muscles and also provide deep pressure.
Leo playing with kinetic sand and alphabet cookie cutters
Alphabet Sticker Match
Stickers have always been a hit in our household, especially if they’re alphabet stickers. Sticker play helps strengthen pincer grip and can be quite satisfying as they provide a sticky sensory feeling, without the mess.
I created these rainbow printables that can be downloaded for free. There are a variety of activities and some can be used to match stickers with the letters of the alphabet. In this example, Lorenzo is matching dot stickers by using the legend on the worksheet.
A motivating activity geared to his interests, while simultaneously strengthening his pincer grip and fine motor muscles.
Lorenzo strengthening his pincer grip with rainbow alphabet printables - Download them for free here.
Alphabet Popsicle Stick Match
I love walking through the Dollar Store and finding new products that can be used for fun activities. These colourful popsicle sticks were a great find. I wrote upper case and lower case letters on them with a Sharpie marker and the boys used them for matching activities. As your children get older, you can use them to spell words.
Alphabet Sensory Bag
Sensory bags can help children of all abilities explore, create and learn while engaging a variety of their senses.
To create this sensory bag, write the letters of the alphabet on a freezer size Ziploc bag, add hair gel and alphabet beads from the Dollar Store/craft store.
Pushing the beads through the hair gel provides sensory feedback to the child and can help stimulate and strengthen their fine motor muscles.
Sensory bag with hair gel and alphabet beads from the Dollar Store to practice matching.
Free Alphabet Playdough Mats & Dot Marker Printables
I created these free alphabet printables and use them for a variety of activities with the boys. I laminated some of them so that they could use them over and over again as playdough mats and with dry erase markers. They also enjoy using the paper versions with dot markers.
Dot markers help with hand-eye coordination, improve hand dexterity and fine motor skills as they twist the caps on and off.
Rolling, flattening, squeezing and playing with playdough relieves stress, is calming and helps strengthen hand muscles and fine motor skills.
Free Alphabet Printables - Download Them Here
Alphabet Robot Toy
These alphabet robot toys are such a creative way to strengthen your child’s fine motor skills.
The boys use them with flashcards to spell words as seen in the video below. They open up and transform into robots and I love how an educational toy like this can help them with their fine motor skills.
Hiding Alphabet Beads In Putty
Therapy putty can help with hand strength and fine motor skills.
If your child is motivated by letters or numbers, you can hide alphabet or number beads from the Dollar Store inside. Therapy putty has different levels (soft, medium, firm and extra firm).
As your child’s hands and fingers get stronger, you can increase the level.
Letters and Words with Q-Tips and Cardboard
Cardboard crafts are a great way to entertain children.
In this activity, you can write a word or a letter on a piece of cardboard, puncture holes with a screwdriver and have your child push the Q-Tips through to create a beautiful piece of art.
Pushing the Q-Tips through provides sensory feedback and can help strengthen fine motor and pincer grip strength.
Alphabet Beads
The Dollar Store carries a variety of alphabet and number beads that can be used to make jewelry.
In this activity, I gave the boys pipe cleaners so that they could bead the letters through to create necklaces.
Beaded crafts help increase coordination, pincer grip strength, fine motor skills and encourage creativity!
Leo and Lorenzo using pipe cleaners and alphabet beads to strengthen their fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and pincer grip.
Watermelon Alphabet Sticker Match
You can use a watermelon for this activity or another large fruit.
Write the letters of the alphabet all over the fruit. Do the same on the dot stickers.
Have your child match the dot stickers by placing them on the watermelon.
Another unique idea to help strengthen hand eye coordination and fine motor skills.
Hope these recommendations help! As always, be sure to supervise your children closely during these activities, especially children who like to put things in their mouths.
I frequently share updates on my Instagram page @natalieabkariancimini and you’re welcome to send me a DM if you have any specific questions.
Lots of love,
Natalie Abkarian Cimini
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: For Little Monkeys Charity is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com or Amazon.ca. None of the links are sponsored and the recommendations are 100% based on my own opinion/experience.
