Gifted Kids Is My Child Gifted? How Your Kid Can Be a Self-Taught Reader By Carol Bainbridge facebook twitter linkedin Carol Bainbridge has provided advice to parents of gifted children for decades, and was a member of the Indiana Association for the Gifted. Learn about our editorial process Carol Bainbridge Fact checked by Fact checked by Emily Swaim on January 07, 2021 linkedin Emily is a fact checker, editor, and writer who has expertise in psychology, health and lifestyle content. Learn about our editorial process Emily Swaim Updated on January 07, 2021 Print JGI/Jamie Grill / Getty Images A self-taught reader, also known as a spontaneous reader, is a child who has figured out how to read without any formal reading instruction, thereby breaking the code. The code is the alphabet as a symbol system of sounds and words. A child first realizes that letters represent sounds and that together letters represent words. Self-taught readers figure out this symbol system on their own, sometimes with little more to go on than a videotape about the alphabet or simply being read to frequently. Encourage Reading by Reading to Your Child The fact that some children are able to learn to read on their own is a strong motivation for parents to read to their children beginning at an early age. Becoming familiar with books and comfortable with the practice of reading is a key factor in encouraging children to read themselves. However, some potentially self-taught readers may not enjoy being read to until they have started to break the code. That is, they realize that letters on a page represent language, and then they want to be read to in order to learn more about that symbol system. These children may ask whoever is reading to them to point to words as they are being read, or if they aren't yet talking, may grab the reader's finger and move it to each word as it's being read. Pay attention to these signs in your young child, and try to encourage that curiosity about reading and books. Gifted Children and Advanced Language Skills While it's not always a sign of giftedness, early reading is one indicator that a child may have advanced language skills. Learning to speak is a natural skill for most children, but learning to read usually has to be taught. That's why children who learn the relationship between letters, words, and communication very early are regarded as remarkable. This doesn't mean, however, that children should be required to memorize the alphabet and certain words. While memory plays a role in learning, in reading it's less about rote memorization and more about short-term and working memory. A reader must be able to remember what they read at the beginning of a sentence before reaching the end of a sentence, what they read at the beginning of a paragraph before reaching the end, and so on. So unless a child's brain is mature enough, they won't be able to read fluently, since it requires an ability to comprehend the meanings of the words and their context. Early readers who lack these comprehension skills may have hyperlexia. However, if a child is reading fluently before the age of 5, it suggests they are advanced, since their brain has reached a sufficient level of maturity for that age range. If a child has taught themself how to read before receiving formal instruction, the chances are strong that that child is gifted. No matter what the outcome, giving children an interest in books and reading at an early age will prepare them for future success. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Get diet and wellness tips to help your kids stay healthy and happy. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Family uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Ehri LC. Orthographic mapping in the acquisition of sight word reading, spelling memory, and vocabulary learning. Sci Stud Read. 2014;18(1):5-21. doi:10.1080/10888438.2013.819356 Price J, Kalil A. The effect of mother-child reading time on children's reading skills: evidence from natural within-family variation. Child Dev. 2019;90(6):e688-e702. doi:10.1111/cdev.13137 Piasta SB, Justice LM, McGinty A, Kaderavek JN. Increasing young children’s contact with print during shared reading: longitudinal effects on literacy achievement. Child Dev. 2012;83(3):810-820. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01754.x Vaivre-Douret L. Developmental and cognitive characteristics of "high-level potentialities" (highly gifted) children. Int J Pediatr. 2011;2011:420297. doi:10.1155/2011/420297 Pham AV, Hasson RM. Verbal and visuospatial working memory as predictors of children's reading ability. Arch Clin Neuropsychol. 2014;29(5):467-477. doi:10.1093/arclin/acu024 Ostrolenk A, Forgeot d'Arc B, Jelenic P, Samson F, Mottron L. Hyperlexia: systematic review, neurocognitive modelling, and outcome. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2017;79:134-149. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.04.029