<p>To cut to the chase: I can't read. I don't know how this happened. When I was younger, I was practically prodigious. I could read hundreds of pages in a sitting and retain everything just fine. I could get so absorbed in a book that everyone could leave the room and I wouldn't notice. Books and I were completely inseparable. But sometime around eighth grade, I stopped reading much and didn't really try to pick any novels back up.</p>
<p>My school is hardly rigorous, so it took me until junior year to realize that I essentially couldn't read. APUSH was the first class I had to study for in high school, and it was borderline impossible. It took me hours to read a few pages of notes because I would read the same bullet over and over and over... I managed to read and retain the knowledge well, but it took such an insane and frustrating amount of time. I started joking that I had self-diagnosed late-onset ADD, and I was beginning to give this theory some credence until I gave a quick glance at a self-questionnaire regarding ADD and realized that I really fit none of the "symptoms".</p>
<p>So here I am - senior year, and I actually have a lot of classes I have to study for. I just came back from reading twelve pages of AP Euro. It took me two hours and I have 20 more pages to go. It's just impossible. Not only can I not focus - I get distracted by nothing, even if I'm reading in complete silence; I read lines multiple times; I read sentences completely out of order and scattered across the page - but it almost seems as if I've forgotten how to read. I can't skim because I don't retain, I can't read it out loud in my head because I can't comprehend it at all, and I can't do what's "natural" because I can't focus long enough to do it.</p>
<p>And... I haven't read a novel of my own accord in about a year and a half, even though I've definitely tried. Fiction is pretty much undoable.</p>
<p>So, yeah. If you're still reading this, thanks for paying attention to my rambling. I guess what I'm asking is: anyone else in this boat? Have you found anything that helps? I'm about five months away from jumping into college with 18 hours, and I'd like to be able to be able to read my textbooks...</p>
<p>You should see your doctor. It’s possible that you may have something wrong with your eyes. If you don’t have ADD, that could be a factor. I heard of a condition where students have problems reading because they can’t see all of the letters, and they have no idea they are unable to see them. So yeah, go see your doctor. </p>
<p>If that isn’t the case, it may be stress. Anxiety plays a big part in distraction.</p>
<p>If you were a kid who was always a very slow reader due to a diagnosed LD, I would be suggesting various technologies that could help you including books on tape, RFBD, and Kurzweil, which shows you the page on your computer screen with the words highlighted, while reading you the page out loud. But if this is something relatively new and you once could read very quickly with good comprehension, listen to Reya! Get to an MD to find out if there is a physical basis for this, including a good opthamologic work-up. If nothing turns up there, hit a really good educational or neuropsychologist asap! Good luck getting to the bottom of this.</p>
<p>I agree with the active reading. Everyone around me exults about how fast they read. Only then I realized something, they are not reading it. I read slower than most people, but that is because I’m doing something closer to active reading. I may be reading slower but I am processing everything I read.</p>
<p>As opposed to putting them on note cards, which takes much time, I usually type up all information deemed vital. Then I print it out or study it on the computer if I have no available printer. I will sort of study by trying to read aloud what is on the sheet of paper, and check down if I can’t get it. </p>
<p>Sometimes I’ve found it very helpful to go back to my computer and start typing what I just studied. I type it as if I’m saying it to people. With all of this done, its sometimes hard to not know the information. </p>
<p>Also, I don’t think you have any serious problems. Such things have happened to me before. I’ve spent ridiculous amounts of time on just a couple problems on a worksheet (2 hours, though the last one was spent freaking out!). Every now and then it is like my mind stops. I just need to find the switch and turn it back on, Its all in your head. Right now you have a mindset that things are not going to work out, change that. Think brighter about the day and say you can’t be bothered with bad reading. I think all of this is just in your head, at least it was for me. </p>
<p>Is there any possibility you may have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder? Symptoms can include having to count words, looking for patterns in letters, having to re-read passages, etc. I’m sure though, you would have other symptoms that manifest in additional ways.</p>
<p>hello5- that may be a possibility for the OP, but there is a difference between having to read something over an over because you have to(like a compulsive thing) and having to read it over and over because you did not understand, comprehend or process what you just read.</p>
<p>Get a physical and blood work done first of all. Sometimes, low iron can mimic ADD symptoms. You may just be stressed out, which can also affect concentration. Are you feeling depressed at all? If your school has a psychologist, see if you can get an appointment to discuss your situation. You might need either a time management/study skills class or cognitive behavioral therapy to help you learn how to be a good student. Another idea you can try is hypnotherapy, if you can find a very reputable person to work with. Good luck.</p>
<p>Smart kids develop fabulous coping mechanism to get them through classes that focus on thier lesser talents. The fact that you are not totally brillant in one area, does not negate your brilliance in others. If tested, it is the rare rocket scientist that is brilliant across the board. I love how educator sometime get bent out of shape becuase a very smart student is “just” above average in a particular area. They act like you are a basket case, just becuase you are only above average. Give your self a break; love yourself for who your are; a flawed, uneven, complex smart person, with talents in some areas and flaws in others.</p>
<p>That said, if reading issue is new, and physically based, seeing a doctor is a good idea.</p>
<p>Ditto the comment on low iron. In young women the low iron issue is extremely common and hits reading. Take an iron or multivitamin supplement. It couldn’t hurt.</p>
<p>Also a surprising number of very smart young women seem to neurologically crumble in their teen years (just when they are trying to get in to college. ARGH) Non-pain migraine symtoms such as recall and memory problems, decreases in sight or distorted sight, tingling of extremities, light sensitivity, or a general fogginess, are due to misfiring synopsis in a teens growing and changing brain . It definitely hits reading. It is treated with low-dose anti-depressants, which can fix the symptoms, but turn a teen into a raging maniac. Generally teens out grow it, but it may return when pregnant.</p>
<p>On the other hand, what were you reading that took 2 hours? My D’s prep school classmates are needing two hours to read 10 to 12 pages of dense poetry or colonial-era sermons. A 5-page Chemistry text can easily take 40-minutes to read. Reading (really reading, not skimming) hard material takes time.</p>
<p>Heh I have the same problem… But so does my mother - so its probably genetic… ITs why i screwed up on the Critical Reading part of the SAT and only got an 580… after prepping since 7th grade…</p>
<p>What I find helps is if you read and look at everything as a whole instead of paying attention to specific words. I think for certain people, reading isn’t so much the problem as it is formatted, which is the problem. If you get it on the computer, you can double space and enlarge it - this always helps and i can read at a decent speed.</p>
<p>There are many reasons reading can be difficult, and many that don’t have anything to do with VISION. Google “Mind Eye Connection” website for information, and links for more information.</p>
<p>My wild guess is that you aren’t getting enough sleep (like 98% of the high school seniors taking AP courses). Plus, if you have the same Euro text that my DD had, it is DENSE. </p>
<p>But then, you should also start taking iron and a multivitamin and get a complete physical- to check for anemia, hypothyroid and even Lyme disease.</p>