How fast do you read?

[Tyrantus1212]

I'm a very slow reader (to be honest I don't even read much). I have to grasp every single word and often reread some portions to make sense of what's going on. As for talking, I either talk very fast (when I'm excited) or kind of monotone (when I'm bored or nervous). I'm also slow at learning some things (that's what made a bully call me stupid during my very first computer science course), and I've always been the last one to finish a test in school. Whoever sat in front of me would sometimes turn around to see where I'm at because no one was allowed to talk until the whole class was done. I have to carefully grasp everything and then go over my work to check for careless mistakes. Same with reading, must make sure I didn't miss anything crucial. I just have to do everything cautiously and carefully.

 

[Karen S.]

My mind would like to read quickly, (it's seems to operate on hyper-drive) but my eyes are uncooperative! I have Astigmatism and I've battled with Double-Vision my entire life. * I think I learned to read very easily and young, but my teachers didn't give me credit because reading out loud is extremely difficult for me! In addition to the stated vision difficulties, I also have a stammer. Due to the vision difficulties, I had to use a ruler to mark the line I was reading or I would lose my place, and there was the hyper-sensitivities to contend with as well! The teachers didn't believe the standardized test scores that said I read at an advanced level or that my comprehension was also high! They assumed my math scores (horrible) told the whole story! So I was stuck in the lower reading group with the insufferably dull stories!

* I can't remember a time that I couldn't read, and I remember reading just about everything in the house! I was reading the Encyclopedia before I was ten!

I'm Forty-six, so no one was aware of Asperger's at the time. My difficulties were blamed on my Congenital Hypothyroidism, that wasn't diagnosed until I was three months old.

 

[Ylva]

It varies greatly. I can absorb text relatively fast, but then it takes me a while to process – depending on what it is, of course. You'd think I'd slow down on parts I find difficult, but I actually have to speed up to not lose the thread. If I don't understand it by the end of it I can always read it again.

I don't talk in my head. Well, I do if there is distracting noise and sensory input that I have to ignore, just to concentrate. But I prefer being silent inside, and have found that inner talk is a sign I'm stressed and just trying to ignore that fact.

 

[wight]

From here:

Audiobooks are recommended to be 150–160 words per minute, which is the range that people comfortably hear and vocalize words.

Research done in 2012 measured the speed at which subjects read a text aloud, and found the average speed across 17 different languages to be 184±29 WPM ... the number of WPM varied, as low as 161±18 for Finnish and as high as 228±30 for English.

From here:
Optimal fluency reading rate for 12th grade: 250 words per minute.
8th grade reading aloud rate: 151 wpm.

reading at a quick pace (an "appropriate rate") without comprehending what is being read is not fluent reading. Additionally, reading super slowly and understanding everything being read ("adequate comprehension") likewise is not fluent reading. The balance between the two--reading rate and comprehension--is important to fluency... when we read aloud, we generally do not read faster than what we can read at an 8th grade reading level.

In short: reading at the rate you would speak is completely normal.
What is normal? OK, smarty-pants: reading at speaking rate is statistically within the 2 sigma deviation of the mean across grades, languages and populations.

 

[142857]

I struggled to learn to read. When it finally clicked I went from not being able to read to reading at an adult level within a few months when I was 6 or 7 years old.

My son did precisely the same thing.

I stayed at pretty much the same level of reading skill and speed for the next 10 years. When I hit the final year of high school I had a lot of reading to do and I realised I was reading slower than others so I trained myself to read faster. With a stopwatch. I went from reading a page of a novel in about 2.5 minutes to 45 seconds.

My son reads super fast already, and with strong retention. He is a diagnosed aspie.

 

[SomeRandomAspie]

I agree with the conversations with myself to sort of get different viewpoints. Reading wise I'd say I read at a normal pace. I think it's based more off of environmental factors than aspie traits. Everyone's different.

 

[dragonwolf]

I read like I'm talking, too. It's also how I think in general. It feels like I can't process anything without first "saying" it in my head.

Like some others, I don't remember a time when I couldn't read. My mom swears I was reading at something like a year and a half old. It never affected my speed, though, nor could I ever really read out loud very well. The simultaneous in and out always tripped me up.

 

[S-Head]

I read very slowly, at talking pace and I'm wondering if this is an aspie trait or just a me reading slowly trait.

I hold conversations in my head all the time. Whether it is composing an email, or having a practice argument (that I never end up actually having in real life, or just generally talking to myself.

But the conversations are the same speed as actually talking, which is exactly how I read. As I read a book or a newspaper, I effectively read it silently to myself. So is this an aspie thing?

My normal reading is just like you. The bonus thing about reading is that it totally takes my mind off my problems, or the stress of the day, or anything! Fiction, non-fiction, a good story, or a business book, they are all good. To get this effect, I read slow, which is just like you're saying, a conversation to myself.

It may be a thing common to Aspies, yes. Although I think others read like this as well.

I've tried reading really fast a few times. I can do it, but it takes a lot of effort and leaves me stressed, so it's really no worth it. I'd rather enjoy the reading.

 

[S-Head]

Having thought about it for a moment... I learned great language and sentence structure from reading slowly. It's almost like I'm analyzing the English writing patterns and picking up all the possibilities. I found the perfect magazines with a topic that really interests me, and written by top notch writers. I soaked it all up from them. Now I can write emails with whichever tone I need, and it's all perfectly formed. (Do I sound like an Aspie?!)

I didn't realize how hard it is to learn all the nuances of English until I saw people who have it as a second language, and I learned a second language myself. I believe reading helped learning all the subtle things about English.

 

[SusanLR]

I read very slowly and often have to re-read a paragraph to remember the meaning. When composing messages like on here, I am slow and often stop, think, re-read, and change. But, I am very analytical and want it right.
I can type fast. My mind runs away on various things every waking moment. I talk fast when excited or upset. Rather monotone and slow when relaxed.
The only thing I can skim quickly and retain is anytype of article on medical subjects. Guess that comes from a life time of study and experience in that field.
When talking, I may suddenly I find it difficult to keep the converstation going and will look up and away with a hesitation that people must be aware of because they will step in with something to try to keep the train of thought going. They are usually polite, but, I can tell when this happens. The rude ones will say something like "do you have to go all around the world to answer a simple question?" or " Don't you understand what I just said? Seems simple enough to answer to me."
Well, maybe I need more processing time on certain things and they don't understand that.

 

[Meila]

I read very slowly, at talking pace and I'm wondering if this is an aspie trait or just a me reading slowly trait.

I hold conversations in my head all the time. Whether it is composing an email, or having a practice argument (that I never end up actually having in real life, or just generally talking to myself.

But the conversations are the same speed as actually talking, which is exactly how I read. As I read a book or a newspaper, I effectively read it silently to myself. So is this an aspie thing?

I don't know if these are aspie things, but I'm also an aspie and do all of these things in very much detail too!

 

[Aurellia]

I read a 1.7 million word story over the course of three weeks. This ruined any emotional impact the story may have had. (That's the equivalent of reading all the Harry Potter books and then some.)
I plan on reading it a third time at a much slower pace.

 

[Bella Pines]

Haven't tried Latin yet. Is something I'm curious about but can't fit an obsession in at the moment, don't have the time.

Yes, I now queue up my obsessions! I have a job and kids so only get so much time per week, I have a list on upcoming obsessions that I want to ... well obsess over. Mandarin, Latin and Shakespeare are on the list!

 

[Gracey]

Yes, I now queue up my obsessions! I have a job and kids so only get so much time per week, I have a list on upcoming obsessions that I want to ... well obsess over. Mandarin, Latin and Shakespeare are on the list!

All my children are grown up and making their own way in the world so in theory I ought to have all the time I need but it doesn't seem to be working that way.
(Life being what happens when we make other plans )

I hope you enjoy the language used when you get around to looking at Shakespeare.

 

[Bella Pines]

Okay, so I would say that there some definite themes, based on a small sample set, a hypothesis would be that

1. Some aspies (not me!) read very vast and absorb vast quantities of information like a sponge.
2. Other aspies read slower, probably for comprehension sake.

When I hit the final year of high school I had a lot of reading to do and I realised I was reading slower than others so I trained myself to read faster. With a stopwatch. I went from reading a page of a novel in about 2.5 minutes to 45 seconds.

Also, I think an aspie trait is to analyse the study aspects of life, so therefore it is within our abilities to notice a trend and adapt accordingly. So perhaps I can train myself to read fast...

 

[Jenisautistic]

To me my reading speed doesn't matter that much because reading at times it is very difficult to grasp books and to Focus and get into the world of reading.

When I read I really want to get into the story and understand it well but it usually doesn't happen so I get frustrated from reading sometimes.