Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Twice Exceptional Compulsive Reader - Odd Behavior

Brief history - DS8 remains an enigma. We are getting ready to undergo another round of testing to try to understand his strengths and weaknesses so we can best help him.
In short - he has tested as gifted verbally, other domains pretty average. His achievement scores were much higher across the board. He has a diagnosis of ADHD, visual processing issues and possibly SPD. We thought maybe dysgraphia but his writing is good and fast when he is interested (which is rare) in writing.

To my question - his reading behavior is obsessive and I am wondering if anyone else has experienced this kind of behavior. Perhaps this can give us a clue which 2E direction to go in.

Some habits:
- Need to read constantly - at the dinner table, brushing his teeth, in the car, while tying his shoes... it's like he can't tolerate the world without a book or his e books.
- fast reading - he can read a 400 page book in a day. Obviously he is not reading every word but he comprehends the material.
- rereads books and will very often read random books around the house and car.

Is this behavior normal? Is this his ADHD? His giftedness?

I know I am grasping at straws here but I am desperately trying to understand my son.

Thank you in advance for any input.

Neither I nor any of my sibs have a known second exceptionality, but were all pretty much compulsive readers--I think, in most cases, as a reflection of the thirst for knowledge. Actually, we all still are. It is known in our family that if any of the sibs is visiting, don't leave any documents out that you don't want read, as we will all read anything in print that is accessible (and we all read upside down and backward pretty well, too!).

My non-LD, (but possibly ADHD, for one of them), children read nonstop. My dyslexic/dysgraphic does not, but begs constantly to be read to, and will devour high interest books (e.g., Secret Coders, anything else by Gene Luen Yang).

I was a constant reader as a kid too. It seems totally normal to me to try to read while brushing your teeth or while tying your shoes. Heck sometimes I still do

I would say that my DS9 is an obsessive reader. I haven't yet met any other moms who make weekly trips to the library to feed their child's passion (but I'm sure that there are some on this forum!) I take big shopping sacks and fill my bags with books. And DS also downloads books onto his ipad using the Overdrive app. I'm not sure many other parents have to monitor the 99 item limit on their library card, but I do.

I would say that I feed into it. If he gets something in his mind that he just has to read, I will drive over to the library to get it for him. As an example, he read something about the ivory billed woodpecker and became obsessed by it. He found a book that he wanted called, "The Lord God Bird." So I went and got it for him that same day. I know there are other moms who think I'm crazy. I guess I figure that he could be spending 10 hours a day playing video games, so this seems like a better option.

My son has been diagnosed with being gifted through his school, but hasn't been diagnosed with anything else, such as ADHD.

These days, I typically don't worry about how late he is staying up to read, unless he starts to seem really grumpy and tired during the day. I do monitor what he is reading.

When you say, "Is this behavior normal?" I have resigned myself to the fact that DS just isn't normal, so I shouldn't expect him to be.

My DD12 has autism, and she is the type of obsessive reader you describe. But I am not on the spectrum, and I was too. I still sometimes read while brushing my teeth and riding in the car (although not driving!). When I was about four, I read part of a medical textbook belonging to the mother of one of my friends, and told her it was "silly". I wouldn't worry about it unless you feel like it is interfering with other parts of his life.

Thank you all for your thoughtful replies.
I am not worried about this behavior (except when it seems like he will have a meltdown if he can't read his book) but I was hoping his reading style would give me a window into what is going on with him since we are so dizzied up with diagnoses.

JessicaJune - I too am exhausted keeping up with his reading. I was buying used books on Amazon for a while and maxing out my library card. I finally got him Kindle unlimited so that helps.

I am just so dizzy trying to understand him. He can read a 400 page, adult level book (high interest football book about the Mannings) but he can't get himself to do basic school type responsibilities. He races through tests too. He can't wait to be done. He is always first. And he is by no means acing these tests.

Hoping neuropsych testing will give us answers.

DS switches back and forth between his books and his computer games. He used to bring multiple books to school each day and read them there whenever the teachers would let him. He brings them in the car, even quick trips, to stores, to waiting rooms even if we're just going to have to wait 2 min. etc. I always saw it as a way to try to stimulate himself when he's bored. There are times when I would rather he do something else, for instance play with the other kids rather than reading a book at recess. I think he was doing that because he found the books more rewarding than whatever was going on with the kids. (usually they would be doing some sort of physical game that DS was just not interested in because he has motor issues). I am mildly worried about DS using it as an avoidance techinique but would worry more, however, if he was having meltdowns if he couldn't have books for a short period of time. That sounds more abnormal to me. People need to be able to cope in a world when they can't have whatever they want at all times, KWIM? I would definitely bring that up to the psych.

It's tough when you're in that spot where you don't understand what's driving behaviors - I hope the neuropsych testing will help - it may not give you a "complete" answer but it will at least give you more data to help you understand what's up with your ds.

Re the reading - I have a dd who reads extremely super-fast. She easily reads novels in a few hours... and retains the details. When she describes how she reads, it's a little bit like how I was taught to speed-read but not exactly. She looks at blocks of words at a time (similar to speed reading) but also says that she sees the words as a movie. She's also my daughter who had visual processing challenges when she was young and trying to learn how to read. She says she's never learned how to read one word at a time, and I've wondered if perhaps it was due to her vision issues.


The thing about my fast-reading daughter that's different from what you described is that even though she loves, loves, loves books, she can put them down without anxiety when she has something else to do. It sounds like there's something else going on with your ds that's causing stress. While you're waiting for the neuropsych, I'd suggest thinking through the things he can't seem to get himself to do - what type of basic school responsibilities does he seem to not want to do or is unwilling to do? What does he rush through? Looking at those things might also provide a hint of what's up, and even though it's unlikely you'll be able to solve the puzzle on your own while waiting, being able to describe these things will give insight to the neuropsych when he/she reviews your child's history and current functioning with you.

Best wishes,

polarbear

If he has a meltdown because he is being asked to put down a book when he is deeply engrossed and/or at a critical point that is understandable (think how you feel when woken up to an unexpected demand). If he shows signs on anxiety when he doesn't have a book in hand then mention it to the neurophysh. I read anything that is there to be read (I am more controlled now) although if it is something not mine I am able to look at it as a whole to see if my name is there - one of my lecturers didn't believe this though. It is more effiecient to put the book down while you put on your shoes and clean your teeth though then go back to it

Wait- reading while brushing your teeth is odd?