great mind

[kezzer]

My son has just started school, just turned 5, he is the only one in his class that can count into the hundreds and beyond , for example if you wrote down 432 he would say 4 hundred and 32 not 4.3.2, he is obsessed with numbers and letters, he recognises and remembers peoples house numbers after only seeing it once and can tell who lives there, we went on holiday last year on two seperate occasions stayed  at two caravans and he can still remember the numbers, he has speech and language therapy which has now been advanced because his communication  and langage is of a three year old, he also knows his 2, 5 10, and 11 times tables already, what is feelings to this or diagnosis?

[specialmom]

Your child DOES have a great mind.  I have a 5 year old that does not know numbers  into the 100's that I think is a smart guy in his own right.  Be so proud of your child!!!  Kids with delays do not lack intelligence and many are in the gifted program in schools.  Many of the worlds most brilliant people have had aspergers syndrome.  Does he have this intense interest in particular subjects but completely ignore others?  How is his reading and phonics?  I am a big fan of evaluation so that you can point a child in the direction to be the best they can be.  There ARE things that can be done to help our children but we have to know what the problems are.  Your child has such an advantage in life to be so smart.   Who knows where his ability with numbers will take him?  But he may need help with speech (as it sounds you've been getting him), social skills and some life skills.  This is nothing to be ashamed of and has nothing to do with intelligence.  Accentuate the posatives of our kids and help their weaknesses.  I have a child with a developmental delay.  Couldn't love him any more if I tried.  Good luck and don't be afraid of what an evaluation says----  it doesn't change your kid.  It just gives them the opportunity to be understood.  

[jeleanora]

Hello.
I am not an Autism expert, but I was just reading your question to mother, she teaches preschoolers with severe autism, and has been doing it for years.
She said that this is may be a case of hyperlexic behavior. But I guess this mostly relates to the alphabet. You might have already looked this up. It is common in children with autism, and I guess somehow it comes with children that have a good sense of humor.
I hope that this was a little helpful. : ]
Im trying to get my mother to join Medhelp. haha.

[paranoid_cataclysm]

Well I developed really really quickly myself in some areas but in others I just was screwed and I'm Autistic.  My language started developing when I was six months old but it was all the stuff like repeating words over and over that I had heard and other problems like that.  Sad thing is I remember parts of that time of my life clearly and my mother doesn't much of it at all.  Now that I'm older I have an extensive repertoire for a vocabulary but that's compromised and idiosyncratic.