Reading comprehension

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Just wondering... does anyone else have reading comprehension issues or is this just an ADHD thing? I know most Aspies tend to be hyperlexic, but I am certainly not. I am a slow reader at best.

I sometimes will read and re-read the same sentence and not derive any meaning from it. I can sound out the words, say the words in my head, know what all of the individual words mean... but still be unable to figure out what the sentence is saying.

I suspect it may be a concentration-related issue and also related to the complexity of the information. More dense = more difficult. My comprehension seems to improve a bit with medication, but it doesn't solve the problem. They just help me persist and not lose interest right away.

Does anyone else deal with this? If so, have you found any ways to work around it?

Last edited by syrella on 14 Jul 2011, 11:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I am actually an excelent reader. Started reading The Lord of The Rings in the fourth grade. I found all the detail engrossing, and it made my life a little less hell-ish.

I really enjoyed the Lord of the Rings and I somehow managed to get through it despite the details, but I was a very poor reader and any Tolkien fan would not approve of my reading style. xD I was guilty of skipping most of the songs, for example. Also, the first time I read it, I completely quit reading after the ring got destroyed. That was all I cared about and once that plot ended, I didn't see a point in continuing.

To help make up for my very poor past habits, I've made an effort to re-read LoTR several times and I think I've gotten through most of the songs by now. At least no one can say that I didn't try. Also, to my credit, I read the entire series (The Hobbit included) well before the movies ever were released.

Unortunately, I was in the fourth grade after the movies were released. But I didn't see them until 2008 in the sixth grade.

When I was 10 years old I tested at a post college reading level. But due to my ADD and possible Dyslexia (I am being tested next week) sometimes reading is nearly impossible. I may re-read a sentence 10 times and still not remember what it is saying, but sometimes I can read very complex books with very little problem. It is not uncommon for me to go months without reading because at times it just becomes too frustrating and feels more like a chore than pleasure. Then again there are times where I can finish 8 200+page novels in a month.

My concentration typically works this way: If I'm interested in what I'm reading, I can focus with laser precision. If I'm not interested in it, I can't focus on it at all. But even if it's something I'm interested in, I sometimes have a problem where I can focus on a sentence and read it clearly and it still doesn't get through, like I'm reading Chinese or something. I see the words and understand them clearly but they just don't stick to my brain. I've never been diagnosed with ADD or dyslexia, but something is clearly wrong.

It depends. a lot of times I can't concentrate enough to read. I listen well though. If I read out loud or outline it, that extends my attention span. And if I read it out loud in different accents, I am pretty good. But considering you can't do that during a test... I usually whisper the question to myself. If I am reading for pleasure than I don't have to reread or read something out loud as much because I don't have to concentrate as much.

When it comes to reading I have a very short attention span and no patience! Words and sentences make no sense to me, and big words are are a struggle! I HATE reading!

I'd say my problems with reading are mainly caused by concentration difficulties. Before AS became a consideration, I would say ADD (ADHD as a young child) was a likely explanation and I do have traits still. If I'm able to concentrate, I have no difficulty whatsoever with reading. I was reading at a particularly young age (3yrs). I'm also intelligent, did very well at school and have a degree - comprehension has never been a concern. But, I can't concentrate on anything that's long or less than absorbing. It's the only thing I ever struggled with at school and completely confused my teachers. As for Tolkein, I couldn't get past page 1 of 'The Hobbit'. I read and reread it and still never took it in and I wasn't a child. I'm reading a book of short stories by Truman Capote just now and I'm doing well, as the stories are easy to visualise and short enough to keep my interest. But, I'm failing to get the point of them. Don't know if it's just me.

I'm a good reader I think. But I face two difficulties that I know of.

The first is the hyperlexia. It's not a used diagnosis where I am, so bear with my mere guess that I have it.

I learnt to read early but I lacked reading comprehension for about 3 more years though. Today I like to read and I'm good with it, I think. Especially with fiction since that creates mental imagery for me.

However, I hate to admit that complicated texts give me trouble.

If I know something about it, I enjoy reading supposedly difficult texts. Kant gave some classmates trouble back then and I enjoy various aspects of neurobiology – I'm good with these, because I already know some background information about them.

Yesterday, I tried to wrap my head around the bachelor/master system needed for studying and I failed. I don't know a thing about it and reading the university's explanations didn't stick with me at all. It feels so complicated.

The other thing is ADHD which can also make reading difficult.

The ADHD shows that when I “read”, I see the letters, the words and think of their meaning - and then an association distracts me.

Even if I suppress that distraction, it still leads to that I end up having read a sentence that I can't quite remember and didn't quite understand. Reading out loud slowly and stopping after every sentence (if you're as distractable as me, pausing mid-sentence is usually better), then drawing it or taking notes helped in the past.

It's different for me today because that very focussed way of reading is natural now.

I don't read out loud anymore or need to take notes during the first read. Gladly, for I cannot see how that would work out for an adult in some situations. I am still slow with important texts if there's no rush though, because I don't want to risk skipping facts or misunderstanding something.

Motivation is important too. Motivation is a major aspect in ADHD that usually means you will not be able to do what you are not truly motivated to do. If I weren't motivated to read something, I wouldn't be able to.

My reading comprehension is very low and in fact its so low that I can't read even simple novels. I am able to read all the words as I started reading at age 3 but I can't understand what I read. When I am under stress, I can't even read the words either as it looks like a different language and I just can't process the words or the information. When I am depressed I can't concentrate on reading long things but a sentence here and there is fine. I just can't read paragraphs. I think my lack of reading comprehension is due to my intelligence level being rather low. I have an IQ of 82 and can't figure simple things out. So in a way I am a Hyperlexic Dyslexic (if that makes any sense whatsoever).

My reading isn't very good. I am good at spelling, but I'm not so good at reading. I've always been behind in the class with reading, and when I get to hard words, I never know what they mean, and so can't get the gist of the story very well. I wish I could use harder words, two random examples, ''adherence'' and ''element''. Using these sorts of words at the top of your head makes you sound much more intelligent, and people even tend to listen to you more, and understand how you really feel. OK, I've gone off-topic now.

I have a very hard time with reading comprehension.

It's not too off-topic.

I like saying fancy words too, though I can't say I've ever been that great at learning them. I'm better at learning foreign languages, I think, which sounds odd. And I'm also better at writing and using fancy words than I am at reading them. For some reason, using and recognizing them in a different context is hard.

In regards to sounding more intelligent, I will say that sometimes it is possible to use too many fancy words, so much so that nobody can understand you. I guess there's a happy "medium" somewhere... sounding smart to people but also using language simple enough so that people can understand you.

I am the mom of an 8 year old daughter with AS. My daughter can read a list of difficult words quite easily but she cannot read a sentence or a paragraph. I have tried working with her-even blocking the words one by one but she cannot make the words relate to one another to form a cohesive statement. Just as you have stated-she knows each word but cannot make them relate to each other. I am looking for ideas on how to help her with this. If any of you have found something that helps please let me know.

My daughter is profoundly gifted with numbers but she tells me they are real while words are not. I don't know how to help her make the words "real". Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I have thought about getting a reading tutor but I don't know if they would understand these specific issues.

Thanks!

Hyperlexia=ability to read words with a fair amount of ease, but without comprehension.

I started reading classic novels at nine (Jules Verne, Tolkein, H. G. Wells, etc......I liked the big words and the idea of classic novels) but I understood nothing of what I read.

If I read without trying to understand the material, I can read quickly. If I try to understand the text, I'm very slow.

If I'm reading something about say, oak trees, and I understand none of what I'm reading, my strategy is to start reading everything I can get my hands on about oak trees (or trees in general). When I do this, I start cross-referencing (consciously and, I think, unconsciously)--something clicks in my head after enough exposure to the similar vocabulary and syntax that seems to run through books/articles about the same subjects, and when this happens the words start to make more sense. I don't think this would work for everyone though.....