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(cross posting as this seems the more appropriate place)

cross-posted from: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/3198573

I have ADHD, I think it's possible I had some other form of reading disability when I was younger, but I'm not sure. Just a hunch, my therapist has. One thing I do all the time, that really slows me down, is subvocalizing. If I'm not subvocalizing, I feel like my retention and comprehension are almost nonexistent. For easier literature, it's not a big deal, but wanting to read more theory, I find myself struggling.

I think, according to some reading tests I was taking today, I read at about 144 wpm which isn't great. That's me mostly subvocalizing. If I stop, I can get to 270, but my retention and comprehension goes down quite a bit.

Any advice, tools, websites, services, you might be aware of that can help me unlearn a lifetime of bad reading habits? Everyone wants to sell you a tool or service for STEM shit, but when you're looking for adult assistance with reading, all I seem to be finding is stuff for Elementary and Middle School level reading.

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[-] iie@hexbear.net 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

You mentioned reading theory. Some styles of text are just hard to read and it takes practice to get fast. I had to read a lot of scientific papers and immerse myself in the concepts and lingo before I could parse through them quickly. It might make sense to just read theory as slow as you need to to absorb the concepts and get comfortable.

As for subvocalizing, I think I would draw a distinction between speaking the words in your head and hearing the words in your head. When I speak the words in my head I find that it slows me down, probably because it engages the speech production part of my brain too much. But even when I stop speaking the words in my head and just scan my eyes across the text, I still hear the words in my head in a more passive way. And it's strange, because if I heard real audio at that speed it would sound weird, but when it's just in your head somehow it feels normal. You're not having to actually parse a real audio signal, your imagination is just ghosting over the sounds of the words as they enter your brain.

Maybe I would read even faster if I stopped hearing words entirely, I don't know.

[-] Poogona@hexbear.net 1 points 10 months ago

I will say that subvocalization literally is reading aloud to yourself. Your larynx flutters when you subvocalize and so iirc the current theory is that it's a way of promoting comprehension and retention because you are processing it through both audio and visual centers of the brain

this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2024
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