Hi,
I am 42 and I read 150 to 200 wpm.
As a child, I thought I was normal. I learned to read fairly easily, considering my parents never read to me or got involved in my education. Their hands were full with 5 children including my brother who is mentally retarded.
The problem was I hated reading, probably because I was always a very slow reader. I understood what I read and understood grammer. Based on what I have read lately, I do not believe that it is dislexia. As I grew up through elementry and junior high school and the reading assignments got larger, I was overwhelmed and avoided it. Many of my classmates finished the reading in class, but for me, there was not enough time to do the reading and consequently I had average to below average grades. I went to one year of college and I could not keep up. I never sought help for my problem. I guess I just thought it was the way I was and did the best I could with the abilities I had. In the last 10 years, I have done alot more reading than I ever did growing up, but I have seen very little, if any improvement in my reading speed. I read primarily for information, since it takes so long. The only pleasure reading I do is reading to my kids.
Maybe I am just slow, but this has hindered me all my life and if I have a problem that can be accurately diagnosed and treated, I would like to do it. Alot of organizations on the web appear to me to deal primarily in basic literacy, dislexia and speed reading. Perhaps one of these is exactly what I need, but before I start making calls, I would like some input here.
I am in Baltimore and I do not mind doing some driving to get the necessary help. Any input from those of you who have had similar problems and experts who monitor and visit this message board will be greatly appreciated.
[%sig%]
Do you experience any of these problems?
Rubbing your eyes.
Eyes too close to the page.
Tilting your head to look out of one eye.
Do the letters come together after you have been reading awhile?
Are your eyes sensitive to light or glare.
Do you get headaches when you read?
If the answer is yes you may have a vision problem. You would need to see a developmental optometrist. I believe there is a major optometry school in Baltamore. Sometimes you can be seen through the school at a reduced cost.
www.babousa.org
They also sell a CD called vision builder that is pretty inexpensive $45 that improves the speed with which your eyes scan the page. I use it for my son.
My son had an ocular motor problem and hated to read. Once we dealt with his vision issues through vision therapy he became an avid reader.