As you'll know, Hughes Syndrome shares quite a few symptoms with other conditions. While reading the posts on this site, I have my radar switched on for people with reading difficulties, as it crops up quite a lot. I'm coming to a few conclusions as to how people may be helped.
Would you help me to possibly help others? Which of the following symptoms do you suffer with, if any? Please use the numbers if it helps.
1. Misreading words.
2. Skipping words and lines.
3. Slow reading rate.
4. Confusing letters and words that look similar.
5. Putting words in the wrong order.
6. Needing to reread for information.
7. Poor comprehension.
8. Losing place.
9. Needing to take frequent breaks from the page.
10. Avoiding reading.
11. Needing to read in dim light.
12. Problems copying from a board especially the interactive whiteboard.
13. General reluctance to read.
Thanks for replying to this. Specific techniques and coping strategies may follow soon if there's a demand and you want to try some of the tested ideas. (Other people's, not mine!)
Best, John.
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My trouble reading is due to words blurring and moving around the page (dizziness). If I blink, it clears momentarily, but it feels like it takes a ton of energy to concentrate. I get frustrated, skim for facts, and eventually give up.
Hi, thought you might be interested in a few tips for this. Can you avoid bright white paper? If not, try tinted glasses. Experiment with fonts - are some easier than others? If you work out what is worse for you (for me small plain capital letters on forms are impossible- comic style fonts that mimic handwriting are best) at least you can relax a little when you see something easier and make sure you make extra time for harder stuff. For some reason (I have theories but there long) I find chewing gum or toffee helps. It doesn't stop things swimming, but it will reduce tension - especially if you clench your teeth trying to consent rate. Also, its NOT childish to use your finger to keep your place, its sensible if it stops you getting tired. Good luck
I am a teacher who knows a lot about how we read etc but it is miserable when I find myself having to use my finger to track along the page just like my five year old pupils had to. I have worked with dyslexic children and many of my problems are similar to their problems yet I know I am not dyslexic. I was undiagnosed for many years and I think Hughes has just chipped away at a lot of my cognitive abilities.
My problems began last year after stroke like symptoms. I couldn't speak at all for 6 days and, among other symptoms, was my inability to read after having been an avid reader. I tried large print books but still really struggled and only read one book in 6 months. I just use my laptop now to look at websites and I also play games on there which is definitely helping me.
I had a stroke last August and since then I have not read a book or a journal article, I can read magazines and things that don't need a lot of effort/thought - I am a university lecturer so it is a nightmare. I have found that I can do audiobooks and it is just like reading, I don't know why it is easier but it is. Work has now got me lots of software and gadgets to read stuff to me and also that I can speak to and it will type it for me, so I can think in my head and say it and I don't have to concentrate on how it has to look so much. It feels that my visual processing is just not right - not sure if it is the APS or the stroke but I think it is most likely a mixture of both.
For me it's 1, 4, 6, 8, & 9...as I read all the time, (one of my favorite past times), of late I have notice that I am having problems with the preceding symptoms. At first, I blamed my glasses, but it doesn't happen all the time and it seems to be happening more often. I do have an appointment scheduled with an opthamologist, (I'm diabetic), with hopes of getting to the bottom of this problem. Keep us posted as to your findings.
1, 6, and 9 (I think as I have forgotten the list by the time I got to the end of the page!) For optimum reading I find using my kindle a godsend - however hard I try I cannot cope with large amounts of text on a page, especially with small print which most modern paperbacks are guilty of. I also find audio books wonderful. I listen to one that is easy to follow and another one where I listen to it and follow the text. I am nuts on crime fiction and so usually have one on the go on my kindle. But I do so miss reading more complex books - I have some fascinating non-fiction and biographies in my library but I know that it is unlikely that I will ever get through any of them.
I do read too fast though and think I always did. Just found myself reading a good thriller and then halfway through realised I had read it before, but couldn't remember whodunnit!
Hello
As requested, 6, 8, 9 & 10.
Since the headaches reached a peak, I avoided reading altogether. However, more recently they have gotten mostly under control but I still strugle to read my Kindle with words jumping snd jiggling around on the page. I guess the mild Sjogrens could be an issue as eyes dry easily.
My first retention problem came in college. At the time I just assumed I kept getting mono over and over and over again. But with (according to my jumbled memory -- it would cost me $90. to get the records) I had a positive ANA so I do believe I had lupus. The semester I took 19th Century British novels was very, very difficult. I got all those Dickens and Eliot characters all mixed up and had to cart around legal pads with notes to try and keep track of who was married to whom, and so on.
Then after the strokes which lead to my Hughes diagnosis I had trouble getting my eyes to track from one line to another. To this day this has left me with a useful tell that my INR is too low -- if while singing hymns in church I go from verse 2 on one line to verse 1 or 3 on another that means my blood is too thick!
And the numbers? Most recently, when INR is low: 1. 2. 3. 8.
College "mono:". 3. 6. 7.
( By the end of 2nd grade I was fastest reader in class. But it took me a while to learn to cope with a mini dyslexia. Initially it was 4 and 5. I only include them because my tendency to confuse opposites--particularly opposite directions -- has stayed with me all my life.).
I also have problems reading. Not because I can't but because when I look at the page it's as if the words disappear and I have to really squint to see the words therefore causing me a headache. I have to read back everything 4-5 times before I get what it says. And sometimes it's like the words are jumping around. So this is all normal for APS??
You may by interested in the trends shown in this blog so far. The numbers in brackets are the number of people who have flagged-up that particular issue as a challenge for them.
1. Misreading words. (5)
2. Skipping words and lines. (3)
3. Slow reading rate. (4)
4. Confusing letters and words that look similar. (3)
5. Putting words in the wrong order. (2)
6. Needing to reread for information. (12)
7. Poor comprehension. (5)
8. Losing place. (5)
9. Needing to take frequent breaks from the page. (7)
10. Avoiding reading. (8)
11. Needing to read in dim light. (0)
12. Problems copying from a board especially the interactive whiteboard. (1)
I have trouble hanging on to information, it just flows in and out of my brain without sticking. Not just while reading, I also cannot follow a movie. Sometimes I cannot follow a conversation.
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I have worked with dyslexic children and many of my problems are similar to their problems yet I know I am not dyslexic. I was undiagnosed for many years and I think Hughes has just chipped away at a lot of my cognitive abilities. 
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