I have never been into reading books as a child and as an adult. If I had to “read” a book it would have to have loads of pictures and as much few words as possible. This is due to my autism and dyslexia. I have a really good imagination but I would need pictures to help me imagine what is going on. Reading doesn’t help me soak in the information that I have in front of me. My brain struggles with the information I have just read.
Teachers also tried so hard to encourage me to read books at school, but I found it hard to read. I had a reading age of about 9 years when I was doing my exams at 15 years old. I had to have 1:1 support when it came to reading.
I have turned to use audiobooks but I find it hard to concentrate and my mind wonders. I can listen to something many times and I just can’t retract information. I have listened to biographies of well known people that I really like for example Peter Wright (Yorkshire Vet). I had to listen to his biography in small pieces and make sure there wasn’t any distractions around me.
This is the same with scripts. I have always been into acting and performing but when I have to learn my lines I have always struggled. If the play in based on an existing play/movie I will watch that play/movie over and over again to understand the characters background, the characters manners and also the relationship that character has with other characters. I also have to write key words or my own information on the script for future reference. I use words that I can easily understand and highlight what lines are mine. I also include the emotion that the character is feeling so i know what expression I need project through my character for example: scared, happy, excited. This is due to my autism and not understand the characters emotions and why that character is feeling that way.
I have always been into watching videos/movies to learn new things. I am what you call a visual learner. I need to see things visually in front of me to understand the who/what/how and when. I have lost count of how many times I have watched movies about historic events. I have always wanted to understand why kings and queens from the past acted the way they did and why they did the things they have done like kill other people (yes I am talking about Henry 8th and the Tudors).
I know you are wondering why did you become a blogger when you can’t read or understand what you have read. The thing is I enjoying sharing information and helping others. There is a lot of planning that goes into a blog. If I need help I always ask friends to read my blog to make sure it makes sense before I publish or schedule.
Leave a Reply