A Case of a Four-Year-Old Boy with Hyperlexia: Some Considerations for Diagnosis and Treatment from a Psychodynamic Perspective

Abstract

This article examines a case of a four-year-old boy presenting with hyperlexia who was seen in twice-a-week psychodynamically oriented psychotherapy over a nine-month period. Hyperlexia can be defined as a speech-language disorder with significant problems in language learning and social skills, often accompanied by a fascination with letters, patterns, numbers and logos, and precocious reading and writing. Treatment focused primarily on the boy’s psychological conflicts and relationships, rather than on implementing the typical language and education strategies for hyperlexia. Results of this treatment support the hypothesis that hyperlexia can be usefully conceptualized as a symptom arising from biological predisposition and severe emotional stress or trauma. General issues pertaining to the conceptualization, diagnosis and treatment of hyperlexia are also addressed.