My child can read really quickly. Is this normal?

[OneBusyPinkRaven]

I’m not meaning this to be a braggy post. I’m just curious. I’ve been noticing how quickly my youngest reads books and the lack of stumbling over some long words that I’d have expected at her age (just turned 9). Her understanding is probably age appropriate, but I was curious about the speed.

I did a little test out of interest and we both read the same page of her novel at the same time. She was finished in about 2/3 of the time it took me, and then was able to accurately tell me about the text. The speed was such that it doesn’t make sense in my brain. Is this normal? How is she doing this? Sorry I know I sound ridiculous and appreciate reading doesn’t come easy for many kids, so I don’t mean to offend anyone. I’m just curious about how she is able to do this, and at only age 9.

Ooh this is the first time I’ve heard of someone else that’s a speed reader and super recogniser! I’m the same. I’m off the google aphantasic now.

Snap. Teachers did t believe me when I said I’d finished reading something. However op , why is it her that’s fast rather than you who is slow!

I am a very fast reader too - some people are. So yes I would say it’s normal but not something everyone can do.

I've always been able to speed read. I do take in all the content & am able to picture things in my mind, always have been like this since a similar age. Did well at school, went to uni although deliberately chose not to do english as i preferred to continue reading for pleasure.
I prefer to read a book 1st as I get my own pictures in my head, if see a film 1st it disrupts this & somehow I can't see my own pictures, slightly ruins the reading experience for me .

So am I.

This is the best thread I have ever read on here and I think you are all a bit a-fantastic.😂

Im absolutely amazed with this information. my sister DEFINITELY has this and I can’t wait to tell her!!

can I just ask though, if you are this fast at reading, do you think you spot errors too?

Can I just thank you for this post.

Until I read it, (just now) I didn’t realise
that I read at speaking pace.

I actually read everything as if I’m reading it out to an audience.

I’m amazed by this fact. Thanks so much for bringing my attention to this. I could be reading a lot faster than I do.

I speed read always have part of one of my autism traits

Interesting all these fast aphantastic speed readers. perhaps mumsnet had uncovered a link!
I used to speed read. Could finish an 800+ page book in hours over days. But I have slowed down substantially. I think mostly because kids and life, and reading very light materials currently (meaning am not as interested) However I am highly imaginative (see all the sceneries and characters, time periods) but I have adhd and suspected autism. Have no sense of direction or coordination. Very interesting how our brains work.

Autistic, aphantastic, speed reader here.

I read twice as fast as DH and am accurate in my recall. I never linked it to Aphantasia. Interesting.

I read really fast, I skim read most things , always have !

Ohhh this is interesting. I’m also a very quick reader and I had no idea picturing it like a TV show is something that other people do… off to google aphantasia now…

yes

but only in English.

i can’t speed read in French my French reading is quite slow. No chance of spotting errors in it.

What sounds normal though? She said her daughter can read much much faster than her, but we don’t know how fast the OP is reading at?

What are you saying is normal?

I was always a fast reader(not speed reading), I read every word and always had excellent comprehension skills. But I do picture everything I read. In fact if I can't picture something I either go back and read it, getting a bit obsessive about it, or give it up. Many a book I've abandoned because I just can't visualise a character or setting.

Some ppl are very quick readers . I used to read quicker but now read much slower, and 'hear' the words in my head.

Very useful if she's ever on the Booker Prize judging team.

@Ohwhatfuckeryitistoride
Im exactly the same. I over visualise things, I see them shiny and rotating and loads of detail. I would drop a book too if I wasn’t seeing it

Aphantasic speed reader who is prosapagnosic (cannot recognise faces).

Oh I do that! (reading from both sides towards the middle) - I've never had it described to me before but that nails it.
I should probably take more time though as I only got 67% on the reading speed comprehension test 😀

Typos, spelling mistakes, punctuation, bad grammar - yes, I spot all of it. Sticks out like a sore thumb and practically jumps off the page at me.

Me too! I'm not completely face blind, but I don't recognise faces out of context. So if I've met them in a meeting hall, I'm unlikely to recognise them in the street. I never recognise who actors are if they're in different films. But I'm the same with music. I recognise that I quite like this song, and that song, and that song..but it takes a long while to realise they are all sung by the same person/group.

It’s weird how brains work isn’t it? I like tv shows and films where one actor has blonde hair and one dark so I can remember who is who. I found summer I turned pretty very easy for this and was thankful.
I also have amazing rat style navigation brain for semi grid like systems- can follow rules and work out where things should connect (useful in cities with mega underground malls etc.) but cannot visualise routes at all.

I had to slow myself down to do that test. I got 672wpm but only 50% comprehension so I obviously should have slowed down quite a bit more - either that, or read it twice.
I might leave it a week and then try it again. In my defence, I have to go through a lot of contracts and financial reports at work, sometimes hundreds of pages long, and have to skim a lot of it until I find the relevant bits.

Speed reader here but not autistic and don't have aphantasia! I do have a really good memory for facts, dates etc - almost photographic (I know photographic memory is debunked but I don't know how else to describe it!). I did the speed reading test and came out at 840 wpm, 100% comprehension.

I struggle to visualise concepts - routes etc, and DH will have all these ideas for projects and I have to tell him to draw them because I can't visualise them 🤣 - but if I have a concrete point of reference I can visualise things (e.g. I've seen apples, I know what they look like, if I'm reading about an apple I'll visualise an apple).

DD is like me and a speed reader, DH reads very slowly. We're all keen readers and have been since early childhood so I don't think there's any rhyme or reason to why DD and I are speed readers and DH isn't; we've never done anything to encourage it.

I am a speed reader too, always have been, often challenged on comprehension at school, no problem with my comprehension. I have learned to pretend to read something slower when in a group or at work or people get incredulous about it.

I don't have aphantasia, I am neurodivergent though. I used to read the dictionary for fun. However I have no sense of direction and struggle with left and right to an extent that is noticeable!