Other My Reading Disability - Cursive Writing vs Printed Text

[spinningmytires]

This might be of interest to only those struggling with a reading and writing disability, like myself. My thoughts on this topic aren’t easy to explain though I’ll try. Recently I noticed when reading my old cursive hand-written notes that my cursive writing was much easier to read than printed text. But why?

During my mid 30’s, I was diagnosed with a reading disability in forming (word) associations. Yet I’ve always struggled with word substitutions and with finding words when reading and writing though rarely when speaking. Since childhood, something has consistently slowed my reading speed which has never advanced beyond that of an 8 year old child.

Cursive writing often adds an upward curving stroke or hook at the end of most words while printed text only ends words with an empty space. This might be an oversimplification, but would seeing the upward curving stroke at the end of most cursive words be signaling my brain to stop generating new word substitutions and associations and simply move onto the next word.

Am I ignoring the empty spaces used within printed text - because when I view the printed word “the”, for example, I might read it as “then” or “there” or “their” or “these.” I’ll generate additional letters that aren’t there. Or I’ll only read half of the word while ignoring the remainder .. it only gets more complicated.

Beyond this difficulty of adding additional letters or omitting them, I will also unknowingly generate new word associations, for example - if the printed word is “more” my brain might unknowingly substitute the word “most’ or “much” or “many.” When reading the word “later” my brain might substitute the word “after.” My word substitutions are so burdensome and confusing that, I sometime lose sight of the original meaning. Worse case scenario, my mind will go blank, as it’s just too overwhelming.

I suspect that when writing down cursive words onto a sheet of paper, I’m processing some of the word’s meaning during the process of actually writing it down. For example, I generally sub-divide my cursive words into smaller abstracted parts, such as, the prefix or suffix. Here these abstracted scribbles can take on their own identity, as if, I were using a personalized short-hand.

These personalized abstractions are absent in the printed text. I’m guessing that, when I use cursive hand-writing I might also be streamlining my future reading task.

It seems to be much easier for me to comprehend the prefix and suffix of an abstracted and stylized cursive word. Conventional printed text disallows such abstractions and linking of letters. The printed text’s extreme uniformity and isolation of every letter disallows these variations.

Perhaps, my scribbled and abstracted suffix might represent the word’s ending, just as, the cursive end stroke provides the word’s ending.

Though I had neatly hand-printed art book notes onto paper, decades ago, using only capital letters, those notes are very difficult to read - perhaps because every letter maintained its uniformity in size, shape and distance while all were missing the cursive end stroke.

I would suspect that, if given a vertical list of single words using printed text and then, having made a copy of this same word list using my own cursive hand-writing that, my cursive word list would be far easier to read with fewer word substitutions than the printed text version.

Reading difficulties are a complex subject and so, I hope my post doesn’t come across as suggesting there might be a simple fix …there isn’t. There are, however, printed font styles available that simulate cursive writing. Perhaps these fonts might be of some help to those struggling with reading difficulties. I only know that my own cursive hand-writing is easier for me to read than printed text.

 

[arfie]

This might be of interest to only those struggling with a reading and writing disability, like myself. My thoughts on this topic aren’t easy to explain though I’ll try. Recently I noticed when reading my old cursive hand-written notes that my cursive writing was much easier to read than printed text. But why?

off-topic it may be to specialists, but it's of tremendous interest to this "retard" turned linguist cum volunteer adult literacy mentor. i started kindergarten in 1959 before the specialists could save much of anybody from misdiagnosis. i self-diagnosed as "dyslexic" as i tried to figure out why printed letters kept flipping on my page. the cursive writing was easier because those letters were connected. so far, nobody has fired me from my volunteer position for making a similar assumption on the majority of the literacy students i have mentored. in spanish, "es" and "se" are my two most frequent clues.

for what it's worth
my qualified specialists are still arguing over whether my ongoing obsession language is a good thing or proof that they need to up my meds. both sides have allot of big words in their debate. when **i** use big words, they accuse me of? ? ? they have lots of big words in that debate, also. i know what those words mean, but if my illiterate students can't understand it, you're just showing off your fancy pedigree. speak peoplese, doc.

or? ? ?
take yourself a spa break, my youthfully tinted professional. there is a pedigree spa right down the road.

 

[spinningmytires]

i started kindergarten in 1959 before the specialists could save much of anybody from misdiagnosis. i self-diagnosed as "dyslexic" as i tried to figure out why printed letters kept flipping on my page. the cursive writing was easier because those letters were connected.

For me as well, the reading of words are easier to understand when the letters are connected. I knew something was wrong with me in first or second grade yet, my teachers kept telling me I wasn't trying hard enough. How was I to try any harder. I wasn't officially diagnosed until age 35. Not being able to read well is so disabling.

for what it's worth
my qualified specialists are still arguing

That figures.

 

[Friday]

My son’s the opposite… he has dysgraphia (like dyslexia in reverse; when he tries to write by hand the letters all want to pile on top of each other, out of order, in something like a 3D glyph on a 2D surface).

YEARS of writing therapy & practice by hand have given him “doctors handwriting” but we’re still talking a 5 minute homework sheet would take him 4+ hours, and forget about essay questions. The only ACTUAL TREATMENT for dysgraphia? Is typing. Because it bridges the disconnect between brain/eye/hand. At 10yo he could type over 100 words per minute (really eloquently, to the point he was accused of plagiarism by teachers many, many, many times. Nope! Have him sit at a keyboard, with a proctor, and that’s the mind you’ve been treating like forest gump).

So it makes sense to me pretty much any version of a disconnect between hand-eye-brain, or brain-eye-hand, at any point in that cycle.

PERSONALLY… I’ve been dealing with an infecting effecting my nervous system for a little over a year & a half. Over the past few months? I lose the ability to read, in 3 different ways, the quirkiest of which is no longer being able to see the letters at all, and just the spaces between the letters.

Brainz Are wacky, wacky things.

 

[Tinyflame]

I think it is great you have understood what you have about yourself @spinningmytires , and what drs don't know unfortunately fills volumes. It can help you find work arounds or find people familiar with it.

Not the same at all, but I think I have a degree of- can't recall the term?- dysgraphia(?)- where I consistently reverse phone numbers (though I had a minor in math), especially if I hear the number. More so I noticed only after the last round of covid, 1st I couldn't recall words but could describe them or use my hands to. But total blanks Then I started to remember words, but out would come the wrong word, but I noticed after the ist couple of dozen times they were words that phonetically started/ sounded the same. For example, I'd say castle instead of cast, cast instead of chasm, spaceshuttle instead of spatula, there instead of they, impossible instead of important, mean instead of me, etc. But after they were out of my mouth I knew they were wrong but it still took some time to get the right one, but now I can. But I've experienced this only verbally far as I've noticed, and not life long.

I think anything life long or a version of it is a different way of your brain processing info. It takes a while to even recognize it and longer still to identify it for what it involves instead of blaming yourself for it.

Your conclusions make perfect sense to me. (It may also be a positive when you create your art).

 

[spinningmytires]

My son’s the opposite… he has dysgraphia (like dyslexia in reverse; when he tries to write by hand the letters all want to pile on top of each other, out of order, in something like a 3D glyph on a 2D surface).

YEARS of writing therapy & practice by hand have given him “doctors handwriting” but we’re still talking a 5 minute homework sheet would take him 4+ hours, and forget about essay questions. The only ACTUAL TREATMENT for dysgraphia? Is typing. Because it bridges the disconnect between brain/eye/hand. At 10yo he could type over 100 words per minute (really eloquently, to the point he was accused of plagiarism by teachers many, many, many times. Nope! Have him sit at a keyboard, with a proctor, and that’s the mind you’ve been treating like forest gump).

So it makes sense to me pretty much any version of a disconnect between hand-eye-brain, or brain-eye-hand, at any point in that cycle.

PERSONALLY… I’ve been dealing with an infecting effecting my nervous system for a little over a year & a half. Over the past few months? I lose the ability to read, in 3 different ways, the quirkiest of which is no longer being able to see the letters at all, and just the spaces between the letters.

Brainz Are wacky, wacky things.

I’m very sorry to hear about this problem with your nervous system. Losing your sight and disrupting your functions beyond your control. I hope you are receiving the best medical care available.

I think the reading and writing therapists and specialists have only scratched the tip of the iceberg in understanding language difficulties.

My hand-writing was excellent in elementary school - my drawing skills were far beyond that of my peers. I stuttered very badly when speaking until around age 8.

It makes one wonder why we can be so good at one task while failing at another. By age 12, my reading difficulties should have leveled off to what would have been considered ’normal.’ That never happened.

 

[spinningmytires]

but out would come the wrong word, but I noticed after the ist couple of dozen times they were words that phonetically started/ sounded the same. For example, I'd say castle instead of cast, cast instead of chasm, spaceshuttle instead of spatula, there instead of they, impossible instead of important, mean instead of me, etc.

These words with confusing similarities, I can relate to as well, except that my confusion more often occurs with the visual aspects of the word when viewing them on the printed page.

However, when ypu mentioned your confusion using 'im' with 'impossible' and 'important' here the 'im' suggests to me that there might be an identifying connection to the word in relation to the movement of the mouth and tongue. When I read, I make subtle tongue movements - perhaps, this is my way of grasping a better inderstanding of the word - as if to suggest that the sound of the word is secondary to the more primary movement of my mouth and tongue. If this makes any sense ...not an easy subject to understand.

But after they were out of my mouth I knew they were wrong but it still took some time to get the right one, but now I can. But I've experienced this only verbally far as I've noticed, and not life long.

Interestingly, I'm the same way. I will immediately recognize my word errors after I have spoken them. However, I will often type a word error and fail to notice it. Often I will find my word substitution errors during my proof-reading of what I had just written. Oddly, my word errors will sometimes suddenly pop into my conscious mind several hours after I had typed them. So I'm thinking, I must have been partially aware of typing my word error during the time I was typing it.

It takes a while to even recognize it and longer still to identify it for what it involves instead of blaming yourself for it.

Yes, to understand it, is to stop blaming yourself!

 

[Weemie]

I have a cortical visual impairment which means I cannot read hand writing almost at all. It looks like gibberish to me and I can't write very well either. I misspell stuff, write things backwards or illegible etc. I do however type 128 words per minute. I learned to type and read before my injury so fortunately I can read Latin letters and get by with a laptop.

I am intermediate in spoken Hebrew and transliteration but I read at like a second grade level and can't write to save my life. It takes me like ten minutes to construct a simple sentence like "I want an apple [ani rotze tapuah]" using Hebrew letters even though I know the sounds and can speak it perfectly.

But with Polish I can spell quite well and read well, even though I learned it as an adult. It uses Latin letters so that may be why.

 

[Tinyflame]

Yes @spinningmytires that makes perfect sense! I never even considered where the actual 'speech' part comes in relation to the mouth and tongue. And yes I do the same with proofreading! Wow. This is what I mean. I remember an Engineer saying the brain (alone) is more complex than every complexity within every major city combined with every other city (which I almost spelt with an S, lol). See @Weemie 's post for more proof of that!

I know my brain corrects the image on one side, however I also have strange issues with visualizing and recognition. But they are not as simple as it sounds. And highly affected by stress/ hypervigilance.

Tbh I think it's brilliant, your hypotheses on the spaces between the letters. Our brains and bodies are trying to be as efficient as possible. IMHO even ptsd seems to me as speaking an emotional language, or trying to. Which may seem odd when emotions can be the first to go underground.

 

[Tinyflame]

ETA, I'm sorry I visually 'missed' the whole post(!) and couldn't get quote to show:

My hand-writing was excellent in elementary school - my drawing skills were far beyond that of my peers. I stuttered very badly when speaking until around age 8.

It makes one wonder why we can be so good at one task while failing at another. By age 12, my reading difficulties should have leveled off to what would have been considered ’normal.’ That never happened

But this is the crux I think, if your brain/ body/ complex systems are interpreting, processing and managing the info in a different way, that is the way to work with. But that requires understanding on their part. It sounds like you are more aware than they are.

Yes I also agree infections and inflammation are beyond the scope of most dr's understanding, my heart goes out to @Friday as well. In a minor way, I just heard a few months ago arthritis is the body's way of stabilizing an injured joint. Well I'm full of arthritis, and used to have multiple dislocations. So naturally, the arthritis is the body's solution, not problem. Which makes me think only gentle stretching might help, and that and hot water are the only things that do for me.

I think it also has a lot to do with the speed of the brain's processing. I think when too much comes in too quickly too little can come out at once. Like an overflowing tap vs orderly water droplets. Or like feeling so many emotions at once leads to numbness.

 

[spinningmytires]

I have a cortical visual impairment which means I cannot read hand writing almost at all. It looks like gibberish to me and I can't write very well either. I misspell stuff, write things backwards or illegible etc. I do however type 128 words per minute. I learned to type and read before my injury so fortunately I can read Latin letters and get by with a laptop.

I am intermediate in spoken Hebrew and transliteration but I read at like a second grade level and can't write to save my life. It takes me like ten minutes to construct a simple sentence like "I want an apple [ani rotze tapuah]" using Hebrew letters even though I know the sounds and can speak it perfectly.

But with Polish I can spell quite well and read well, even though I learned it as an adult. It uses Latin letters so that may be why.

My visual perception in regards to the shape of words and letters, either printed or written, is very accurate. When I misspell a word or don’t know its spelling I often realize it immediately. My problem is that I’ll substitute one word for another. For example, I might type the word ‘made’ when I wanted to type the word ‘make.’ I never write words backwards nor scramble their letters. Sentence structure or word order sequence is difficult for me, especially, if the sentence is long. My typing is very slow - so are my motor skills unusually slow.

My reading speed remains at a second grade level with no improvements since age 8. I was told I had a talent for descriptive writing at about age 14 yet, writing is so extremely difficult and time consuming for me. Writing one simply sentence requires so much effort for me, as well.

Though I stutters badly as a child when speaking, my speech is nearly effortless now. However, I always get stuck on learning new unfamiliar words. When someone spells out a word to me, I can’t understand it. It’s sounds like a blur. Learning a second language would be impossible for me. I had to drop out of Spanish class in high school.

Using computer technology certainly does help. However, I haven’t been using dictation. The problem with having the computer read stuff back to me is that it just takes too long.

But this is the crux I think, if your brain/ body/ complex systems are interpreting, processing and managing the info in a different way, that is the way to work with. But that requires understanding on their part. It sounds like you are more aware than they are.

Yes, I would agree. During the early 1950's when I entered public school, my teachers didn't understand learning difficulties. And especially because I could perform some tasks exceedingly well.

 

[arfie]

I knew something was wrong with me in first or second grade yet, my teachers kept telling me I wasn't trying hard enough. How was I to try any harder.

mini-me still believes she is as hopelessly broken as any "retard," but since bigger me slipped that first diagnosis, i have come to think of the ways those letters keep flipping as a super power. being able to see mirror images made me a top shelf circuit designer, among other things.

i still haven't joined any of the sides on the diagnostic debate. start the debate without me, my accredited ones. i surely don't like the way you treat your unaccredited lab rats. pardon me while i go hang with the other lab rats. pass the cheese, minnie mouse.