Lonnie Said:

As a 33 year old adult with ADD, how can I improve my reading comprehension?

We Answered:

If you are having difficulty reading find another form of the book, like an audible version. I work for disability services at my college and the texts that we can't find audible versions for, I have to electronically scan and provide an audible copy. Read the book out loud into a recorder and play it back for yourself and don't stress about your reading, if you have time use the other suggestions as well.

Betty Said:

Is there a legitimate program that teaches speed reading and comprehension? Is it really possible?

We Answered:

From what I know, reading at 3,000 words per minute is not impossible, but that will be the top speed readers in the world.

I've learned speed reading together with comprehension a few months ago. Originally I'm only reading at 230 words per minute, and now it is much improved. It is still under 1000 words per minute right now, but I'm already very impressed by my improvement. It has saved me lots of time on my reading and study.

In case you're finding a good course to start with, I've mentioned the course I used in another answer here:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?…

Hope this helps.

Louis Said:

how do you teach yourself to read with better comprehension?

We Answered:

If there is, I'm unaware of it. I have found that you can read at a deliberate pace and cover substantial amounts of material without sacrificing comprehension. But it requires a focus commensurate with the degree of difficulty posed by the material.

If you are reading an essay on Shakespeare's use of symbolism in his sonnets, then you will find it easier to comprehend and retain the author's main points if the TV is turned off and the Zune or the IPod is not in your ears.

You may find that creating an appropriate study space where you can study with a minimum of distractions will improve your powers of concentration more than any speed-reading gimmick ever will.

Good luck.

Aaron Said:

Is reading comprehension taught in American schools anymore?

We Answered:

Not particularly well.

When I was in school, we were taught phonics, sentence structure, etc. The current way of teaching is called whole language learning. They throw out the basics and try to teach kids by making them read then using what they read to teach them about the language.

It's not working. You can't build a structure without a firm foundation and the schools are trying to hang diplomas on walls that are barely upright because they have no base.