Hyperlexia, Hacking & Bilingual Brains: Parenting a Neurodivergent Child with Unique Strengths

Parenting a neurodivergent child means recognizing unique strengths that don’t follow traditional milestone charts. For us, such early strengths included hyperlexia, a love of languages, and special interests in geography and technology.

When I became a parent, I thought I was prepared — books read, milestones memorized, charts followed.

Then real life stepped in and said, “Nice try. We’re doing this our own way.”

Family Photo of Konrad, Mom, and Cannon. We gave up trying for the "perfect" family portrait.

Parenting neurodivergent children has taught me that the best guide is your child. Various advice wasn’t necessarily wrong (well, some of it was!) — it just didn’t fit our path. It often overlooked the many unique roads that people can take.

The more I honor my children’s — and my own — pace, strengths, and perspective, the more grounded and authentic I feel. (Still a work in progress, of course.)

Here are five unforgettable moments with my son Konrad. None came from a manual, but each reshaped my perspective.

1. He Taught Himself To Read at Three

At three, Konrad sat beside me and read words off note cards I had written. I hadn’t taught him—he just could. It was hyperlexia: early reading, often without instruction.

Yet, with a speech delay and an autism diagnosis, most people focused on what he wasn’t doing.

But we were communicating—through typed words and written notes, not spoken sentences. I spent years worrying about delays and trying to fit his growth into someone else’s timeline.

Now I see it differently:

His timeline. His pace. His way. And it was pretty cool!

(A full story on what hyperlexia looked like for Konrad can be found here.)

Konrad

2. He Hacked a Tablet at Four and Launched His Own YouTube Channel

At four years old, Konrad bypassed the parental controls on his tablet. He got the Wi-Fi password from the fridge, connected online, and created a full YouTube channel – all by himself.

What did he post? Videos of our toilet flushing. (Naturally).

And he made comments on other people’s videos, such as:

“Digitally mastered for optimal video and audio performance.”

“The audience is listening.”

Yes, he was really into the THX brand. He loved that deep sound from the THX audio trademark that we often hear before a movie starts.

So, my kid wasn’t playing kids’ games on the tablet, as it was set up for him. He was producing content. (Don’t worry, I took it all down once I caught on).

But it was a clear signal. This kid was teaching himself tech. And he’s still doing it.

3. When He Started Talking More, He was Bilingual

By five, Konrad was speaking more — and some words were in Spanish.

Wait a second... We only spoke English at home.

A toy tablet with English and Spanish vocabulary had quietly made him bilingual in the basics: colors, numbers, food, clothing.

I’d taken Spanish in college, but never expected to need it to understand my own child.

By nine, he was inventing alphabets and fictional languages. Now? He wants to be a linguist.

4. He Memorized All 50 States At Age Six

While kindergarten focused on letter sounds and numbers, Konrad was deep into geography.

He became fascinated with maps, so we hung laminated ones—U.S. and world—on the hallway wall. He studied them like treasure maps.

By six, he had memorized all 50 states. We found an online game that showed state shapes, and he could name every state—instantly and accurately—just by their shape.

I hadn’t taught him. He learned because he wanted to.

5. The Dictionary and the Word “Swing”

One day when Konrad was nine, a school staff shared a story.

Apparently, Konrad had said this to her:

“Did you know swing has another meaning?”

She asked what meaning that might be.

And he whispered an adult meaning of the word "swing," one that involves couples sharing partners.

My jaw. Hit. The. Floor.

Turns out, he had taken my old college dictionary into his room and was reading it for fun. That’s where he learned it from – not from the Internet, not from peers. From Merriam-Webster.

Yes, I monitor screen time (especially after the four-year-old YouTube fiasco). But it never occurred to me that I’d need to watch out for dictionaries.

Still, I admire the curiosity.

Parenting a Neurodivergent Child: Real Growth Isn’t Standardized

No parenting book prepared me for these cool moments in Konrad’s development.

These weren’t in any milestone chart. But they were real. Raising my children, who both don't fit into any "standard," has completely changed how I see growth, learning, success, and parenting itself.

(For another cool difference, check out this kid's awesome spinning skills in this post or his expression of what sensory overload sounds like to him here.)

What I've learned is this: Growth isn’t linear. And it’s definitely not standardized. The best roadmap is the one your child writes with you — at their pace, in their style.

Following this path has been way more meaningful than anything I expected.

What unexpected things have your kids done in their own cool way?

Share your story — we’d love to celebrate it with you.

Jen with Cool Wiring