Son is hyperlexic and loves learning-tutor?

[user28288]

Just turned 5yo is hyperlexic and loves to read/do maths/learn about English and animals. Is there a tutor service that would come and spend an hour a week teaching him things additional to the school curriculum?:)

Have googled and can only seem to find tutors for struggling students who are older

Let him enjoy learning at his own pace. If you overdo it you might kill his joy for learning. Research things he asks you about together, you don't need a tutor for that

If he's hyperlexic, is he neuro-diverse?
Is this why you need external support?

I think a tutor would risk making him even further ahead and likely to get bored at school.

If he can read I suggest National Geographic Kids magazine and maths puzzle books. Maybe let him onto Nat Geo kids website and other kid safe websites like BBC Bitesize.

He's only just turned 5.

What on earth could a tutor teach him at this point that you couldn't teach yourself?

If he has an advanced reading age just be mindful that he may not understand everything he is reading. I wouldn't go for a tutor at his age, just keep reading with him and check his understanding as you go. Also fact books are just as fun for children his age so pick the subjects he's interested in.

Most young hyperlexic kids struggle with comprehension so perhaps work on that.

You could try things like thinkers meetup and out school, I don't know if they start from age 5 but they do some good "off curriculum stuff".

My son is older and loves learning so has a science tutor and they just go into random topics for fun. He looks forward to it every week and I think the science tutor enjoys himself too

It's also good to just have lots of books around . DH and I were both hyperlexic and loved reading history books and encyclopedias etc

And make sure he is developing other skills too, sports , socialising (beavers etc) are all good

By 5 my son definitely knew way more about space and marine biology than I did (and I got top grades in science GCSE)

He doesn’t need a tutor. He needs fun activities that stimulate his brain.

Some children enjoy learning though. I always found learning fun. There's plenty to learn that isn't on the curriculum

I'm hyperlexic (or was?) before we knew it was a thing; my parents got me encyclopedias in my favourite interests (horses, dogs, plants, birds, etc) and I read all the Reader's Digest books they could buy. School did for me, unfortunately! He'll be fine if he has the tools (books) available to him, just make sure his school runs with him not holds him back!

This is reading, maths and animals for a 5 year old.

The internet is the OP's friend.

But she'll more than likely have to spend time working on his comprehension skills.

Yeah he’s autistic, don’t need external support per se but he loves school and learning 1-1. His younger brother is neurodiverse and disabled so requires a lot of attention, we think he might enjoy yo do more extra learning with an adult 1-1 than we can provide atm

I guess so! That’s a good idea, we do bbc bite size, haven’t looked at Nat geo

Yes exactly, the fantasy tutor I have made up in my head could work on that 🤣 perhaps there is not such a thing

I'd reach out to some local tutors, explain the situation and see if anyone can offer this (or recommend someone). Just because they cater mainly for older kids/kids who are struggling doesn't mean they can't also do this. If they're a tutor, they're a tutor after all!

His favourite activity is reading :) and it’s very stimulating for his brain

You’re right! They could tell me if it’s appropriate I guess

Let him read, read, read, read, read.

Books, magazines, graphic novels/non-fiction.

Take him to the library, take him to book shops.

Put on kid-friendly podcasts.

Take him to museums, take him on nature walks with relevant books and guides.

Take him to national trust properties and let him read each and every plaque and description.

Make sure he remains physically active as well as mentally active.

Let him be a child who can freely explore his interests in whatever direction he wants to take them in, in whatever sized chunks he wants, at whatever time he wants, however he's feeling.

There's plenty of time for tutoring (he doesn't need a one to one teacher at this age, that will almost certainly backfire).

It might be worth asking if any teachers at his school tutor. There's a couple of ECTs at our school with a particular interest in neurodiversity who also tutor. If you were clear the focus had to be fun with a little comprehension he could both benefit and enjoy it.

I’ll have a look thank you, he does drama club too which he adores. Tried football last year but was not a hit, perhaps will try a sport in the next couple of years

Look for things that spark his interest rather than a tutor. There are monthly subscriptions to engineering kits. He might enjoy learning to write simple computer programs. Maybe he wants a bunch of nice art supplies. Every child has different passions, but a hyperlexic child is likely to find one and dive into it once they do.

also, just make sure you have a steady stream of books ready. It gets very difficult to find things that are age appropriate and still interesting reading. It can become impossible to screen every book by reading it thoroughly as they get older so mistakes can happen. We once let 8yo dd read a “wonderful piece of historical fiction”. “Award winning”. “Young adult”. We missed the human sacrifice and horror elements to the story. That made for a very interesting book report in year 3.

What you’ve listed is all we do already! I’m talking about an hour every 1-2weeks to do something he enjoys🤣 not chaining him to a desk and making him join Mensa

Haha that’s funny

good idea about the kits, the trouble we have is his younger brother is disabled and requires a lot of time that we would otherwise dedicate to doing stuff like this with him