Speed Reading for dyslexics.
Less distraction due to speed reading!
Many dyslexics read slow, some of them never read books, others can't read the subtitles when they watch a movie. Many of them have had lots of help or support in reading in childhood. Now that that you are an adult, is it possible for you to read faster? The answer is YES!
Why would you want to read faster?
Let's talk about some facts on reading:
- Many dyslexics read at an average of 50 to 150 words per minute.
- The average reading speed (of non-dyslexics) is 250 words per minute.
- Dyslexics are generally picture thinkers who get distracted even faster by their own images during reading than non-dyslexics. When you read, your mind forms all sorts of images or pictures due to the text you read. It is also possible that certain words or sentences evoke associations or memories coming from yourself. These processes often slows the speed of reading a lot!
- At a reading speed of 600 words per minute, your mind STOPS with producing associations, images or memories that arise during reading. At this speed (or when you read faster) you only read the words and you can record all the information you read. Then you can also concentrate better! Then reading becomes much more fun because you learn something new or experience a whole adventure in a short time.
What is the record speed reading?
Many people claim to be world record holder in speed reading:
- Sean Adam (from whom Sjan learned it): 3850 words per minute.
- Anne Jones (read part 7 of Harry Potter in 47 minutes): 4251 words per minute.
- Howard Berg (in the Guinness Book of Records): 25,000 words per minute.
- Maria Theresa Calderon (tested at an American university with 100% memory for the content of the text): 80,000 words per minute
- We are already very proud of the record of a customer of ours: 3460 words per minute.
This client of ours did one session of 1.5 hours of practice (counseling "Working effectively with dyslexia") He is a 54-year-old director of an intermational company and he has broken our latest record. His initial speed was 288 words per minute. This is just above the average reading speed. His final speed after 1.5 hours was 3460 words per minute. That is 13 times faster! He could tell 4 times as much of the text he read as in the beginning. So you see that even when you're older, the brain is still very flexible.
The clue of speed reading
The clue of speed reading is not that you learn a new way of reading, but that you start to read from what you know and from the knowledge that "you can do it". This requires an awareness of how you read and is not easy for everyone. It is possible for everyone to make that turn in your mind set.
Many dyslexics have learned to read in a spelling manner - letter by letter - and that makes them slow readers. In speed reading we assume that you are able to read and that reading in a spelling manner is no longer necessary. We teach you to read in a "guessing" way. That is a much faster way of reading and still you won't miss anything in reading. Many dyslexics cannot imagine this, but once they have stepped over the threshold, they no longer want to do anything else.
Read more about the difference between spelling readers and guessing readers in Chapter 3 of our book "Dyslexia: Disorder or Intelligence".
Maybe you detect some English mistakes on this page. Know that our book is translated by a professional translator.