What Are the Major Causes of Poor

Reading Ability?
. 1. Dyslexia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
(ADHD)
People with dyslexia or ADHD have difficulty focusing on tasks, including
reading. If you can’t focus, you won’t understand what you read. It’s more of an
inability to stay still and focus long enough to complete a story.

People with ADHD can improve their reading ability with a few tricks. Start by
eliminating distractions when reading. Sign off on social media, turn off the TV, and
lower the music’s volume. Make your study environment a distraction-free zone to help
keep you focused.

Dyslexia and ADHD lower your attention span, which means you will likely lose focus
when reading for long periods. Don’t force yourself to stay focused. Instead, break the
text you’re reading down into smaller pieces.

It will make reading less overwhelming or frustrating. Practice this every time you read
to improve your reading and comprehension skills. Make sure you preview the material
before diving in.

Always follow along with the text with an object (like your finger) to help guide your eyes
when reading. It will help you prevent occasional stops to reread words or sentences.

2. Difficult text
When you’re reading material with too many unfamiliar words, you’ll focus on
decoding the words instead of understanding. This slows down your reading
speed and causes poor reading comprehension. Many people will give up trying
to read when this happens.

But you can learn to read faster without sacrificing comprehension. Firstly, you must
familiarize yourself with the material. Don’t say the words in your head when reading.
Subvocalization slows down your reading and hurts comprehension.

You can avoid saying the words you’re reading by using your finger to guide your eyes
when reading. Also, you can listen to music to distract yourself or force yourself to read
faster than normal. If you’re having trouble balancing speed reading and
comprehension, you should take our speed reading mastery course.

Iris Reading offers speed reading and memory courses to teach you techniques to
improve your reading ability. 

You can also use the AccelaReader application to train yourself to read faster. Using the
speed reading tool, you can set the speed you want to read the words and the number
of words (chunks) that should flash on your screen. Try it to see your current reading
speed. The tool can also help minimize subvocalization.

3. Disinterest and boredom

When people are disinterested or bored with what they are reading, they tend to
pay no attention to the text. It could be because the story does not relate to
anything they know or care about. Sometimes, you may find the material you’re
reading boring because it is too simple.

Fun and exciting stories keep people with poor reading abilities engaged. And you’re
more likely to understand a story or material if it’s interesting.

There are many ways to improve reading ability when dealing with boring materials.
Look for supplementary materials (such as YouTube videos, blog posts, etc.) on the
topic you’re reading. It will help you get through the boring stuff more quickly.

It also helps to inspect the material before reading. Take note of the structure and
discover areas on which the author emphasized. This way, you will calibrate your brain
to encode the information easily.

Don’t forget to take occasional breaks. Reading for long without taking a break is not
good for you. A 10-minute break after reading for 50 minutes will go a long way to
improve your mental agility.

4. Oral language deficit

People with limited vocabulary will encounter challenges when reading. Oral
reading fluency is one of the major factors that affect a person’s understanding of
a written text. 

Don’t be shy to read aloud to yourself. This way, you will hear the words you’re reading
and get a sense of how good your pronunciation is. Reading out loud also improves
your ability to remember the information. 

Additionally, listening to audiobooks to hear how the narrator pronounces words can
help improve your reading skills.
A reading partner can help improve your reading ability. After all, two heads are better
than one. While reading aloud is beneficial, you can improve it by asking your friend to
practice with you.

5. Executive Function Disorder (EFD)

Executive functioning skills help you plan, organize, manage time, stay focused,
and complete tasks. People with EFD may have trouble remembering details.
When reading, such people may not understand the organization or timeline of
the story.

Executive Function Disorder is associated with poor self-monitoring skills, so it won’t be

easy to discover strategies for reading comprehension. But you can do it with a few tips.

Firstly, you should make a reading schedule and look at it multiple times a day. When
reading, scan the material first. Look out for headings, bullet points, lists, and other
recurring patterns.

This way, you will know areas the author wants you to focus on when reading. Paying
attention to the material structure will make processing the information easier.

6. Working memory deficit

Some people have trouble remembering what they’ve read long enough to
discuss it immediately after reading. This is a common problem for people with
ADHD. There are many ways to maximize your memory and, in turn, improve your
reading ability.

Research has shown that relaxation training, including meditation and breathing

practices, can increase working memory. Yoga is an excellent way to get started.

Eating right will also help improve your brain function. Many people are moving toward a
ketogenic diet. But you must not make any drastic changes to your diet to eat better.

You need to add or remove a few things from your diet. Drink coffee, eat anti-
inflammatory foods like broccoli, fatty fish, berries, green tea, avocado, and more. Cut
down on alcohol, whole grains, and other complex carbohydrates.

Exercise regularly and make sure you maintain a healthy body weight. Don’t forget to
get enough sleep. 

You can also get an expert’s help to learn the techniques for improving your working
memory. Many students and professionals have successfully maximized their memories
by taking our video-based maximizing memory course. It’s only 90 minutes long and a
sure way to boost your memorization skills.
Conclusion
Improving your reading ability will only be possible if you figure out what is causing the
problem. Once you do this, you will know the appropriate remediation strategies to use.

Some major causes of poor reading ability are difficult text, ADHD, dyslexia,
limited vocabulary, working memory deficit, and more. People may also have
trouble with comprehension due to boredom or disinterest in what they are
reading.

Speed reading has proven to help deal with poor reading and comprehension skills. If
you have trouble staying focused, eliminate all distractions during study time. 

You should also practice good habits like eating healthy and getting enough sleep,
which are good for your memory.

Finally, you can take an online course to master the reading, comprehension, and
memorization techniques.

Iris Reading teaches speed reading and memorization to many professionals and
students worldwide.