Reading Comprehension for Children with Hyperlexia: A Scaffolding Model

Children with language disorders can exhibit symptoms of hyperlexia, a superior level of word recognition relative to other linguistic or cognitive functioning. Language disorders have been described by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association as deficits in comprehension and/or use of spoken, written and/or other symbol systems [1]. This study examines the effectiveness of an intervention known as the Scaffolding Interrogative Method (SIM) [2], [3] that mitigates the causal factors by leveraging on the learning style of such children. Measures of comprehension test scores using a repeated baseline-intervention method found higher scores during intervention as compared to the baseline conditions. A second dependent measure using standardized instruments for pre-/post-test found an improvement in the comprehension age with no corresponding increase in reading age for all the subjects. Moreover, the gap between the two variables was reduced to a level below the operationalized criteria of hyperlexia for them. Hence, the SIM is recommended as an intervention for use in withdrawal sessions in school and home tutoring as it can be applied on a one-to-one or small group instruction basis.