I like your statistics here. I always learn something. We can't know for sure, but it was probably hyperlexia (new term for me, so I looked it up to be sure). My children's father and I both grew up in the 1950s when parents were discouraged from pushing their children to read lest they interfere with waht the teachers do when the child starts school. So, neither of us knew how to read (we thought) and were bombing out in learning to read until 2nd grade. As it turns out, both of us were reading when there was something around us to read, but because the standard was flashcards and phonics, we weren't good at that and so educators and parents used what worked for the 95% but not most gifted children. Gifted children read from context, not phonics. I didn't teach my kids to read but provided them with piles of books and often read to them. On average, girls learn to read earlier than boys, but among the highly + gifted, it's fairly even, I've found. Thanks for writing. Now I have to get back to finishing writing my new book! Almost done. Struggling with the Epilogue.