boy suddenly dislikes reading

[dragons in the flower bed]

My 11yo, who loved reading one year ago, now hates it and can't or won't concentrate. I am scared. This is the one who read 365 books in 365 days, mostly YA fantasy. A year ago he proclaimed reading was his favorite hobby.

 

Educating him via a book is suddenly difficult. His eyes scan the page but he can't tell me what happened.

 

Could it already be pubescent fog brain? His year at school? Too much pressure? Burn out?

 

What do I do now?

[Matryoshka]

Educating him via a book is suddenly difficult. His eyes scan the page but he can't tell me what happened.

 

Could it already be pubescent fog brain? His year at school? Too much pressure? Burn out?

 

 

Have you had his eyes tested lately?

[claire up north]

I just read something about this type of thing being a sign that perhaps the kid needs glasses.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Have you had his eyes tested lately?

 

Only at the pediatrician. They test for nearsightedness but not farsightedness. Hm. He does manage to make the most intricate drawings of circuitry, and piece together itty bit components of electronics. It's worth a check, though. Isn't there something you have to ask specially for, that sometimes trips kids up? Something not standardly done?

[dragons in the flower bed]

Could ADD be a factor? Perhaps formerly he hyperfocused on reading and now, with a new lack of interest finds it impossible to concentrate?

 

He was looked at for that awhile back, but they said he only had some auditory processing issues. At what age do kids usually learn to concentrate even when they're not interested in doing so?

[Matryoshka]

Only at the pediatrician. They test for nearsightedness but not farsightedness. Hm. He does manage to make the most intricate drawings of circuitry, and piece together itty bit components of electronics. It's worth a check, though. Isn't there something you have to ask specially for, that sometimes trips kids up? Something not standardly done?

 

 

I'd go to a developmental optometrist and get a full workup.

[Chris in VA]

Trying not to just throw things out there, but is there any chance he's an Aspie or almost-Aspie? I ask because of the intense interest thing. It can be hard to re-interest (for lack of a better word) an Aspie in something he's given up.

 

But==usually it's not a process, it's a subject, so I'm probably just blowing smoke. :001_smile:

[KS_]

Only at the pediatrician. They test for nearsightedness but not farsightedness. Hm. He does manage to make the most intricate drawings of circuitry, and piece together itty bit components of electronics. It's worth a check, though. Isn't there something you have to ask specially for, that sometimes trips kids up? Something not standardly done?

 

I'd have him tested again - we took my ds in for glasses when he was about that age and the first dr gave us a prescription that we filled and ds wore the glasses for awhile and then suddenly didn't want to anymore. We found a different dr (actually a pair of drs. who work at Sam's Club) who spent *a lot* of time with him and diagnosed that he has one near sighted eye and one far sighted eye. The first dr totally missed it. And ds has loved having glasses since he now has the correct ones.

 

So there could be something going on w/ his vision that isn't common and needs a dr who will look into it farther.

[Lizzie in Ma]

My 11yo, who loved reading one year ago, now hates it and can't or won't concentrate. I am scared. This is the one who read 365 books in 365 days, mostly YA fantasy. A year ago he proclaimed reading was his favorite hobby.

 

Educating him via a book is suddenly difficult. His eyes scan the page but he can't tell me what happened.

 

Could it already be pubescent fog brain? His year at school? Too much pressure? Burn out?

 

What do I do now?

 

Throwing this out there, Lyme disease? DD lives for reading but it is such a chore and a challenge now. She can't focus and has blurred vision.

[TKDmom]

Has he lost interest in all types of reading, or only in fiction?

 

My oldest ds is only 7, but I his reading interests have recently shifted. When he first became a fluent reader, he loved fantasies, but all of a sudden he is bored with fantasy and has an intense interest in non-fiction, especially books about how things are made.

[abbeyej]

Definitely have his eyes checked. I wouldn't worry about a developmental optometrist at this point -- any competent optometrist should be just fine. ... But definitely take him in.

 

It could well be pre-adolescent brain fog, but it's also a common age for eye changes to occur (quickly and without either of you really noticing) -- and yet also so simple to deal with.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Trying not to just throw things out there, but is there any chance he's an Aspie or almost-Aspie?

 

The auditory processing stuff he deals with can mimic Asperger's because it inhibits social growth. Hm.

[dragons in the flower bed]

Has he lost interest in all types of reading, or only in fiction?

 

He was the kind of kid who would read anything put in front of him just because it was made out of words.

 

He does still reliably read anything graphic, pretty much. He's been saying he hates history, but I find him perusing the UILHE.

[jjins]

Try a different venue of reading to get his interest in written word back up. I would recommend magazines in a subject his is interested, blogs, comic books (honestly there are some VERY good graphic novels out too), even recipes, maybe funny poems or a joke book. Anything and everything with writing... let him read it. Follow his interest and then if you find something he is interested in RUN with it.

 

For getting the books you want him exposed to, audio books or read aloud.

[yslek]

My 11yo, who loved reading one year ago, now hates it and can't or won't concentrate. I am scared. This is the one who read 365 books in 365 days, mostly YA fantasy. A year ago he proclaimed reading was his favorite hobby.

 

Educating him via a book is suddenly difficult. His eyes scan the page but he can't tell me what happened.

 

Could it already be pubescent fog brain? His year at school? Too much pressure? Burn out?

 

What do I do now?

 

Could be the brain fog thing. The author of "How to Make a Good Brain Great" says that age 11 is when the brain-synapse-pruning begins. I'd rule out the eyes/other issues before assuming this is the case, though.