Gift ideas for kids with hyperlexia or hypernumeracy.
With Christmas quickly approaching, I'm seeing lots of discussion about what gifts to buy the hyperlexic child. And more than a few people have specifically begged me to write a gift list this year.
So here it is.
This hyperlexia gift guide is probably suited more towards older kids with hyperlexia as it is based on a lot of my son's interests at the moment (and he's 10), but I did include some ideas that would work well for a variety of ages. And it is primarily focused on letters, numbers, and words (the main fascinations of hyperlexic kids).
Gifts for Kids with Hyperlexia & Hypernumeracy: Some of My Son J's Faves!
Most of these ideas are geared towards older hyperlexic children so if your hyperlexic kid is younger, scroll down for the next section.
1. Boogie Board Writing Tablet
We put off buying one of these for the longest time because we already had whiteboards of various sizes, chalkboards, magna-doodles, etc. over the years. But when we found one of the dashboard style ones (comes with a protective case and looks like this) on sale at Costco, we took the plunge. And it has been one of the best things we've purchased for my hyperlexic son. He absolutely loves it and uses it every single day. It's also great for car rides.
2. Sentence Building Dominoes
J got these as a Christmas or birthday gift when he was like two. At age 10, they are still one of the most played with thing in our house. Every morning, I hear him dump out the container of dominoes to play with. He doesn't necessarily make sentences with them, but he does enjoy playing and creating things with them.
3. Sudoku Board Game
J loves to do sudoku puzzles every single day and usually does one right before bedtime. I'm not even sure where we got a Sudoku board game from, but it has a standard board game style board that folds, a book of sudoku puzzles, and little wooden numbers tiles and my son absolutely loves it. I kind of wish we had a wooden board game like this one though.
4. Sudoku Puzzle Books
Obviously we need to have something more travel friendly than a sudoku board game, right? My son adores doing these puzzles on the go.
5. Word Search Books
I usually find amazing ones at Costco to be honest, but my son loves word searches. He'll take his big coil book of word searches when we travel or go watch K's basketball games, for instance.
6. 100 Things to Know About Food Book
My son loves all the books in this series and we just picked up the newest one (Planet Earth), but this food one is easily one of his favorites. Costco usually carries these books for under $10.
7. NMBR 9 Board Game
Imagine Tetris combined with number shaped tiles...that's what you've got with this game! The game requires zero set up and is quick to play. My son also enjoys just playing with the tiles themselves.
8. Ozobot Coding Robot
J did a whole unit at school with these coding robots when he was in grade four. I must admit they are tons of fun too. I may or may not have made the ozobot sing Twinkle, Twinkle...
9. Garfield Books
Both of my boys are obsessed with Garfield books! We managed to score them a huge lot off Kijiji for super cheap for Christmas. Shhh, don't tell them though!
10. Whiteboard
I know at first glance that a whiteboard doesn't seem that exciting, but when your kid spends hours doodling and goes through tons of paper, a whiteboard is a lifesaver. Seriously, putting a whiteboard in both of my boys' bedrooms was like the best decision evvvvvvvvvvvvver. It gets so much use. We also have smaller ones (like 12 x 18) that we take on road trips.
11. Learning Resources Code & Go Robot Mouse Activity Kit
J is really into coding and has been for awhile and while this kit was a gift for K initially, J has also fallen in love with it. Basically, build a course for the mouse and then program the mouse to navigate the course. Super fun!
12. All things Mario & Nintendo
J loves Mario things so much that I already wrote a separate Mario gift guide, tailored to that particular interest of his.More Gift Ideas for Hyperlexic Kids: Toys!
Here are some toys that come up as popular in the hyperlexia support groups. We haven't personally tried these particular toys out ourselves, but I know my son would have loved them.
1. Alphabet Robots
They're alphabet blocks combined with Transformers! So cool!
2. Number Robots
Like the idea above, but with numbers instead.
3. SumBlox
I think these are just so beautiful. I know my son would have loved these as a toddler!
4. Uncle Goose Periodic Table Blocks
My son never really got into the periodic table - or at least he hasn't yet. But these blocks are amazing for little ones who love the periodic table.Board Game Ideas for Hyperlexic Kids
We are huge board gamers. I collect board games like I do books, which is a lot hahaha.
1. Word on the Street Junior
This game involves spelling words and working as a team to beat the other team. So it's a great cooperative game. The junior version has all 26 letters, whereas the regular version does not. So keep that in mind because I know many hyperlexic kids might get upset if some of the letters are missing. We personally own the regular version since J is older.
2. Prime Climb
A math game. I get my butt kicked every single time.
3. Pathwords Jr.
A word search game with Tetris style pieces. It's a great game for road trips too! There is also a regular version.
4. Sumoku
We are getting this for our boys for Christmas this year. It should be a hit considering how much J loves numbers and math.Other games that look appealing to hyperlexic kids that we haven't personally tried yet.
Books for Hyperlexic Kids
I could go on and on about books, but I already compiled an amazing list of hyperlexic kid-approved books awhile ago with the help of other hyperlexia parents like yourself. Check out the book list here or click the image below.
Stocking Stuffers for Kids with Hyperlexia & Hypernumeracy
A couple of years ago I put together a massive list of stocking stuffer ideas. It was a lot of work so I'm not going to do it again this year - ha! But it's still worth checking out as it covers tons of the common interests of hyperlexic kids. Check out the stocking stuffers gift guide or click the image below.
Need More Ideas? Check Out these (Older) Gift Guides
Books for Kids who Love Numbers50+ ABC Gift Ideas for Kids
Gift Ideas for Kids who Love to Draw, Doodle, & Write
