Help reading

MikeyBe

Since the stroke, I've struggled to read.  I don't see words any more, just groups of letters that don't have any meaning.

The weird (to me anyway) thing is, this is a one way thing.  I know how to spell any word, but if I see it written down won't recognise it... I once wrote a note excusing my daughter from PE at school.  There was nothing wrong with what I'd written - everyone else could read it fine, but even though I knew what every word was (I wrote it), I couldn't read it back.

I did learn that if I make the sound of each letter of a word, I can guess what the word is by the way it sounds.  And for ten years this is how I've managed to read things. If I get a letter or something similar, I tape of photo of it on my phone and have an app that'll read the letter out for me.

In my cellar though, I have a library of thousands of books.  Some I've already read, some I bought planning to read before the stroke but never got round to it.  One thing in life I truly miss is picking up a book and spending the next couple of hours having a read - These days the actual act of reading is so demanding it takes away any of the pleasure.  I'm trying audio books and not entirely given up but it just doesn't seem to fit for me.

Can anyone suggest any plans to improve my reading, or another alternative to audio books?

Cher_Alumni

Hi @MikeyBe and what an interesting impact on your reading that sounds to be, but with a cellar full of books, how frustrating. 

I've done some research and University College London have produced a few resources to help people whose reading ability has been impacted after a stroke. Apologies if these aren't helpful for your specific difficulty, however here's hoping, they include:

• the iReadMore app
• the Read-Right website

I'll do some more thinking, and would welcome any other ideas our members have. 

Poppy_

Hi, 
How are you? 

That does sound frustrating. 

I have also done some research, like @Cher_Scope, and I have found that technology based books, like Kindle, that offer audible narration, so you can follow the book while the audio is playing. The book is also highlighted, as the narration reads the book, making it easier to follow. This may fit better then audio books, as there’s the writing alongside the audio.

I hope this helps.