Published on 12, July, 2020
Afternoon,
Thank you for the continued support in my journey of understanding me as opposed to the expected autism diagnosis some time in the future.
I did a search on reading and the first few pages were all topics about what books is being read, enjoyment, support to help read better etc.. but...
I have a sever dislike of reading, anxiety kicks in, can't follow the text and often have to repeat pages and often going back a couple of nights so I gave up many years ago and have never tried... I can list the books I have read 1990-2023 as:
6no. Dargonlance books.
Eartquake (my aged 16 English Literature choice. It had 84 pages as opposed to other pupils reading One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Pride and Prejudice and so on.
Charles Bronson autobiography.
I enjoy comics (still) and read books with illustrations and punchy points of info.
I wonder if it is a me thing, ADHD (didn;t realise it was in connection with autism) or autism or perhaps something completely different.
Around 8no. books in 32 years always has friends and people rise an eyebrow and open mouthed when I say I hate reading.
Thanks.
It's okay not to like reading. People often act as if reading is uniquely special and being a big reader makes you better or smarter than others, but that's not necessarily true. It's fine if you prefer to learn in other ways or you only feel comfortable reading things that are presented in an eye-catching way.
If you feel like you're missing out though, have you tried audiobooks? I find I get on quite well with those as long as I've got something to keep my hands busy and help me focus.
You have summed it up really well, I often feel inferior for not reading so much. Audiobooks have opened up the world of books to me. I can read a paragraph 5 times and it’s just a collection of words, just can’t process it. Audiobooks seem to blockout other thoughts.
Having read books all be it badly before and now using audiobooks I think it is a better experience having audiobooks. Lately it's been raining here and I've been lying on my bed, hot chocolate in my hands listening to my audiobooks. It's peaceful.