Why I've always been a slow reader

 Greetings and welcome to my third blog on this subject. Last time I looked at why I prefer to write and today I'm looking at reading - the flip side of writing. It's assumed that most authors are voracious readers. I do love to immerse myself in a good book but I have an ambivalent relationship to books. It takes me a long time to read a book and the longer the book, the longer the sentences and the smaller the print, the longer it takes me. I need to take it in. Skimming doesn't make sense to me. I might miss a crucial part of the plot, plus I like the sensuality of words which is maybe why I like literary fiction and poetry.  It’s also about quality and not quantity. I probably read about twelve books a year on average, about one a month, give or take, and so I always have a reading backlog. This is why you’ll never see me anywhere near things like Goodreads challenges. Ever seen those? To read so many books in a year? They scare me senseless! 

(Video post mostly the same, plus discussing three books still to read from my birthday.)

Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PzbXB5VUKSQ

I dread being given long books to read because I know it'll take me ages and if it's part of a series I will get a rising panic although I have overcome that a bit more in the last decade from reading a couple of series from a couple of my favourite indie authors. Book length isn't always a good indicator. Lightness or heaviness of the content can impact as can style, number of words to a page and size of print ans well as how heavy-going the writing is. If there's a lot to think about or sentences are long, while I may admire the style and like to reflect on what they've said, it still worries me how far behind I’m falling before getting on to the next book.

I’ve  always read every word and taken a long time to read even though I learned to read early.  At one point I was ahead in my class, and got more than one school prize which was always a book or books. When I was seven or eight they chose a prize book for me but I never read it. At least, I read the first few pages but I couldn't concentrate on a full length book or take it in. It wasn’t a book I'd chosen for myself. I was fine when I went to the library and if I was totally absorbed by a book I'd read it from start to finish, like a book I borrowed from the library called The Cat That Walked All Week. I also loved some stories in the girls’ comic Bunty too, two of which inspired my books many years later as I wrote about in the blog below:

http://bubbitybooks.blogspot.com/2016/10/the-taming-of-teresa-how-bunty-story.html

When I won my next school prize I was a bit older and it was deemed that we were old enough to choose our own books in the book shop. But I just couldn't find a book I wanted to read. I remember wandering around the shop with my mum but I just couldn’t find anything. Then my eyes alighted on a cookery book which my mum discouraged me from getting. This wasn't what the prize was for. It was for something to fire my imagination. She didn’t actually say this but I think this is was what I gauged from her. So, although I've spent a large part of my life living in my head and fantasy worlds, I think there are limits and difference to the autistic imagination. Mine, anyway. In the end I eventually picked out a book on how to draw animals and one on fancy lettering. My mum must have thought these would at least develop my artistic skills though I don't remember making great use of them other than to look at the pictures. 

I'll leave you with a quote from an article on neurodiversity which clicked with me:

"For some people, it is verbal (words) information whether written or oral that is processed slowly. If you have slow verbal processing, you will find it difficult to understand spoken information and reading will be slow even if there are no problems with processing visual information.

However, it is possible to find it difficult to process oral information, but still have good auditory processing abilities for other information that you hear, such as music. Others will find reading slow and difficult because of difficulty processing visual information but will have no difficulties with oral information and will therefore much prefer audio books to reading..."

You can read the full article in the link below which shows just how complex it is:

https://aspiedent.com/index.php/blog/what-slow-processing-autism-neurodiversity

That's all for this time. But please do leave any comments below - if you can't log in to your Google account or don't have one you can post anonymously but if you want to sign your name or first name then at least I'll know it's you!

Why I prefer to write than speak

Welcome to my second blog post on autism from a writer's perspective.

Today,  I'm going to talk about slower processing of information in some people with autism. This in no way denotes a lack of intelligence or ability but it just requires more effort and/or will take us longer to absorb or arrive there. 

One reason I prefer to write than speak is that I have time to think, choose my words, fine-tune, edit. I've always said that I'm much better at communicating in the written word than the spoken one. I've made a video which I'm including here although speaking on video doesn't come naturally to me!  Maybe recorded monologues are even more difficult. I'm sure they make many of us uneasy, a bit like talking into an answerphone!  But at least you can scrub it and start again or choose not to upload it. But I'm sure like me many of you have devised ways to do it such as writing down beforehand what you want to say. In fact, I know many fellow autistcs do this because I've seen such posts in forums.

Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/PuVPj6jWApg

But I've always admired and envied those who can think on their feet and come out with impressive phraseology and sentences that I could only dream about and they didn't seem at all anxious or nervous. So when I read about the slower processing that can present in some people with autism it makes perfect sense to me. I can’t take in too much at once especially if there’s a pressure to do so or if there's a time limit. It's a wonder how I was successful in exams but then everyone else was in the same boat, we weren't sharing our answers out loud with anyone else and I had a good memory. I was also writing rather than speaking. But exams apart It takes me a while to process and take in complex or fast moving information. When I watched films as a child I wasn’t  the only one in my family who’d be trying to follow a plot and irritating others (usually cousins) asking why he did this or she said that! Nowadays I’m trying to take in some witty banter from three scenes ago in Coronation Street and it’s hard to catch up with the present. Oh the wonder of the rewind button but it can disrupt the flow. 

But when I was diagnosed with autism something clicked into place as to why I prefer writing and maybe have more strength in this area as compensation for having been so tongue-tied in my youth. After all I love to communicate too. My brain is just differently wired with different strengths and weaknesses. 

I did managed to salvage the video, after all. What you won't see is anything slick! 

Well, that's all for today. Next time I hope to look at the reading side of things and taking in visual information. 

I'm attaching a link which relates both to this and the next blog which you might find interesting:

https://aspiedent.com/index.php/blog/what-slow-processing-autism-neurodiversity

So until next time...please do leave your comments below.

On autism and being an author

Welcome fellow authors, readers, spectrum people and like-minded people to my new blog 'Authistic' which has been incubating for a while now and which I'm hoping to combine with some video content! 

I decided to launch a new blog mainly about how autism relates to my writing in particular eg not just how I write but the fact that I write at all. But also focussing on writing processes, reading habits and other aspects in general.

I was recently diagnosed with autism at the grand old age of 63 along with my sister (aged 65) and suddenly it's made a lot of sense of our lives and the struggles we've had throughout life. It's very misunderstood, particularly among women, and I've learned so much in the last few months - like the fact that Asperger's is no longer used (although people already with that diagnosis hang on to it). Even the terms 'high functioning' and 'low functioning' aren't used either because a person can function well in one area but struggle in another area. But thanks to Right To Choose, a very supportive GP and invaluable advice in relevant Facebook groups we didn't have to wait the four and half years on the NHS (it had got longer than usual due to Covid backlogs) but went with a provider who offered the Right To Choose option.

On Wednesday this week, I'd been looking at the best way to do Instagram reels for visual content when I received an email from the National Autistic Society asking women and non binary people to share their own stories to raise awareness and challenge outdated stereotypes using the hashtag ‘nowiknow’ and the timing was quite uncanny especially as I was about to launch this blog. 

Here is the link to their very short video:

So  I thought I'd bite the bullet and have a go as much as I loathe speaking to the camera and hate to see myself on video! Mine is very short too!

Also on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-lxlLZ_Bne4

As I say, my sister was also diagnosed at the same time and we've heard of at least one woman in her seventies receiving a diagnosis. We’ve also been diagnosed with ADHD which often goes together with autism. I’ve yet to have it confirmed by a second assessor but I will know for sure later this month.

Anyway that’s all for now but I'm looking forward to sharing more blogs in the near future with (maybe) some more short videos, hoping it will resonate with others. I also hope to have improved my video techniques with fewer background distractions! I'm fine when filming nature or cats. But speaking and seeing myself is a hurdle I need to overcome!

Thanks for reading and viewing.

Best wishes until next time  😊