On Reading
and not absorbing.
A client recently asked me if it is an ADHD thing to not absorb stuff while you're reading- in other words to read a whole bunch but then have to keep starting over because you realize you don't know what you just read.
YES this is totally an ADHD thing.
Here's the counterpart: reading quickly, and absorbing easily, things that interest you right now, the shiny/new stuff as it were.
Typical ADHD thing: newly diagnosed or in process of diagnosis ADHD adult reads a dozen books on ADHD super quickly even though they don't seem to be able to get through books normally (that's hyperfocus, by the way).
Another typical ADHD thing: to find the bits you're interested in of a book, feel like you got the gist of it, and then lose interest, lose focus and then it just sits around.
Classic self-critical thing: to then get down on yourself for "never finishing" a book or "reading a bunch of books at once."
Coach's request/challenge: Accept that this is how you read. Graze to get the bits you want- or really- hunt for the meat you want. It's ok to leave the rest.
Harder challenge: Give yourself permission to put aside books that don't catch your interest enough to pull you through them. Let go of the idea that you "should" finish books– unless you need to for school/exam/etc (and then I could coach you through the process- that's still no excuse to just keep trying harder and harder and getting upset about it!)
Believe in your own hunter-like reading process. You ARE finding the juicy bits, and maybe you don't WANT the rest.
Look for formats/material that suit you. Try: essays. short stories. poetry. magazines. things you are interested in rather than things you think you should read or things you think you should be interested in.
My current state: sleep-deprived parent of two young children with very few minutes in a row to myself– I don't really read much at all right now. I read some stuff online. I read science and news magazines with short articles. That's ok. It will change again.
Nov 19, 2010 @ 11:30:10
I have loved reading since I was young. I read all the time. However, on standardized tests I would always struggle with reading comprehension. I never understood why until I made the ADHD connection the past couple years.
More recently, I noticed my inability to retain information when I noticed how I could not retain information from all the ADHD books I have read. I would pick it up for the second time and it was like a brand new book!
Now I TRY to read one book at a time (though I check out too many from library). My excessive reading takes place online, but I am aware of this and trying to cut back.
Your challenges are simple yet powerful. We need to stop trying to meet the standards that others set and discover (and embrace) our own learning styles!
Jun 07, 2011 @ 10:17:35
I still don’t have an official diagnosis of ADHD (I’m in the UK where recognition of the condition is pretty low and trying to get refered via my GP to one of the few people who could diagnose me is like hitting my head against a brick wall!!) but I do have one for dyslexia, despite the fact that I’ve always been quite a prolific reader & am pretty good at spelling (provided I’m concentrating fully and I’m doing it on paper rather verbally); it was mostly based on these reading challenges, combined with my poor working memory & my very uneven profile of abilities. I knew even while I was being assessed for dyslexia that it almost certainly wasn’t the correct diagnosis but as I saw it at the time any diagnosis was better than none! There are quite a lot of overlaps between the symptoms of both, so at least being able to say “I’m dyslexic” went some way towards explaining some of the problems I had (especially important while I was studying). I can’t help but wonder how many other people have been diagnosed as dyslexic when ADHD is a more appropriate label.