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67 %u00a9 Elklan Training Limited 2025Elklan Supporting Gestalt Language Processing %u2013 a Total Communication ApproachOne difference that practitioners and parents/carers should be aware of is the early signs of hyperlexia.What is hyperlexia?Hyperlexia is where a child or young person can read printed text but understands some or none of what they are reading. Sparks (1995) found individuals with hyperlexia identify words primarily through memorisation of visual patterns. They may have a keen interest in letters, logos and written words but blending sounds to form words and/or segmenting sounds and letters to spell words can be difficult. Ostrolenk et al (2017) reviewed research on hyperlexia and found that despite there being some differences in research findings, %u2018Hyperlexia is strongly associated with autism with some research showing 84% of the individuals considered as hyperlexic were also autistic.%u2019 This does not mean that an autistic child or young person will be hyperlexic. Ostrolenk%u2019s review suggests a range of 6-14% of autistic children are hyperlexic. It is important to be aware of hyperlexia when considering literacy skills as part of a Total Communication Approach. Simplified diagram of single word reading for meaning