As a child, Marilyn Kariel had an advanced interest in letters and numbers. "When she was only 14 months old," her mother remembers, "Marilyn sat glued to the television set for hours at a time watching shows like Jeopardy, Scrabble, and Wheel of Fortune. She was never interested in Sesame Street or other shows aimed at children her age. By the time she was 26 months, she knew the alphabet and could identify letters backwards, forwards, upside down, and in a mirror." Somehow, Marilyn had learned how to read on her own.

But despite her advanced reading ability, Marilyn didn't seem to understand her parents when they spoke to her. Gradually, it became clear that there was a gap between what Marilyn understood when she was reading, and what she understood when she listened to others.

Her parents, Heather and Doug, knew that their daughter needed help. Marilyn only expressed her absolute basic needs, she didn't make eye contact, she was hyperactive and had tantrums, and she didn't play with other kids. So the Kariels began to visit experts.

In Heather's words, "Marilyn's developmental delays didn't 'fit' any particular category. Her autistic tendencies seemed mild, and the term 'developmental disability' didn't explain why she had more language problems than behaviour problems. Even the experts were baffled. One psychologist actually told us that Marilyn was mentally retarded, schizophrenic or autistic - we could take our pick."

Needless to say, the Kariels were frustrated. But it wasn't until after Marilyn's 10th birthday that they found the piece of the puzzle they were missing.

"We were in Edmonton for an appointment," Heather remembers, "and I walked into a bookstore and picked up a book called Reading Too Soon. At the time, I was actually concerned that my second daughter was learning to read too quickly, but when I looked inside the book I found a perfect description of Marilyn's behaviour as a child - poor eye contact, an inability to answer who/what/where questions, and poor verbal interactions despite a knowledge of letters, numbers and colours from early infancy."

The information in the book helped a psychologist diagnose Marilyn with hyperlexia, a communication disorder in which her first language was reading and her second language was talking. "Suddenly everything made sense," Heather said. "When reading, Marilyn excelled. But when speaking or being spoken to, she had difficulties understanding."

Marilyn is now a teenager. Currently in grade eight, she is integrated into a regular classroom setting and has had the help of a classroom aid since grade two. With few exceptions, Marilyn does most of what the other students do.

When not in school, Marilyn pursues a number of interests. "One morning at breakfast," Heather remembers, "Marilyn suddenly announced that she wanted to learn Ukrainian dancing. And when Marilyn wants to learn something," Heather adds proudly, "she finds a way of learning it! So we got her into some lessons. She was much older than the other kids starting out, but she kept at it and she learned."

In addition to dance, Marilyn plays the clarinet and enjoys singing. With her beautiful voice, she has won bronze and silver medals, and she plans to pursue her love of singing in future music festivals.

"Marilyn's needs and wants are simple," Heather says. "She is happy with what she has, and she takes pleasure in life on life's terms. When we think of her future, Doug and I hope that she'll one day live an independent life and that she'll be as integrated in the community as she desires. We believe that's possible. Like most parents, we just want Marilyn to be happy."

Update, November 2001 -- Marilyn has just received one of two Grade 8 Proficiency Awards for her work last year at Edwin Parr Composite Community School.

The award criteria is as follows:

"Presented to a student who is a diligent worker and must show continuous improvement in scholastic achievement. The recipient does not necessarily have to achieve honors standing. The recipient should show a co-operative attitude towards all school activities. A consistently positive manner should be exhibited by the recipient on all occasions."