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Videos

My Dyslexia Reading Glasses

Understanding Irlen Syndrome and the Irlen Method

Superintendent Acquires Irlen Syndrome from Head Injury

My Irlen Story: they said it was all in my head

Irlen Syndrome

Books

Reading by the Colours

book1 »

The Story-Snatchers

book2 »

The Picture
Pinchers

book 3 »

The Word Gobblers

book3 »

FAQs

How can I support my child with Irlen™ syndrome with school work?

– Be positive and acknowledge and work with your child’s strengths.
– Help your child recognise his / her strengths.
– Use strategies like visualisation when working with your child on school tasks like spelling.
– Modification of the environment is often very useful, eg. dimmer lighting, coloured paper, coloured overheard transparencies, avoiding whiteboards, use of a visor or cap in glary situations. Suggest this to the teacher.
– Talk to your child about the language to use when others comment on their glasses.
– Talk to teachers about Irlen™ Syndrome, mention the websites as well, and how it affects your child.
– Take along a copy of the report for the child’s file at school.
Books that may be helpful

Irlen Helen. Reading by the Colors: Overcoming Dyslexia and Other Reading Disabilities through the Irlen Method. (1991) Avery, NY.

Freed, Jeffrey & Parsons, Laurie: Right Brained Children in a Left Brained World. Simon and Schuster NY 1997.

How many children (and adults) are helped by the Irlen™ method in Australia each year?
Approximately 4,000 clients were fitted with Irlen™ lenses in 2006.
Will it help me?

Check the observation form. Not all the symptoms described need be present for Irlen™ Filter Lenses to be helpful. If several symptoms persist despite eye checks, then an Irlen™ Diagnostic Assessment is recommended.

All clients should be seen by an optometrist (or ophthalmologist) before attending and Irlen™ clinic.

Is there any research to support Irlen™?

There are many research articles. Check the websites www.aaic.org.au and www.irlen.com.

Much of the earlier research is educational in nature. In later years, it has been linked to biochemical studies, and currently research is being conducted using SPECT scans. This technology enables the brain to be studied. The scans of clients using Irlen™ lenses show remarkable differences in brain activity.

Can I use glasses I already have?
Prescription lenses can be tinted provided they are made out of CR39 plastic, with no coatings or tints.
Will my health fund cover the cost?
As yet, Medicare does not cover any of the costs, although several private health funds are giving some rebate on the tinted lenses and the frames. Our Optometric lab can supply a provider number and an item number. Check with your Health Fund to see if they will provide some rebate.
My child has been screened for Irlen™ and the results are positive. What do I do next?
Contact a qualified Irlen™ diagnostician to make an appointment for a tint assessment.
What is the process involved?
There are two assessments. The first one determines whether the client has Irlen™ Syndrome. The second assessment determines which specific tint is the one that will work for the client. If needed, lenses are ordered by the diagnostician from an optical lab in Perth. The lenses take from three to four weeks to manufacture and return. Lenses are returned to the diagnostician, packed with a report and card and posted out to the client.
What is Irlen™?

Helen Irlen called this disorder “Scotopic Sensitivity”. It is most frequently referred to as Irlen™ Syndrome. Essentially it is a specific sensitivity of the visual / perceptual system to certain frequencies within the white light spectrum.

Prominent educators in the field of Special Education, including Dr Greg Robinson, University of Newcastle, consider this to be the biggest breakthrough in learning disabilities for more than twenty years.

Research indicates that over half of the people, both children and adults, who find reading difficult, fatiguing or stressful, can be helped considerably with Irlen™ Filter Lenses.

Research

There are many research articles about the Irlen Filter Lenses and overcoming reading difficulties. Most of them show steady or dramatic gains in reading ages after the lenses were prescribed. Copies are available if required. A recent major breakthrough in research on dyslexia at Harvard University clearly links disorders in a person’s visual system as a major cause of dyslexia. A team of neuroscientists led by Dr Margaret Livingstone reported their research in the prestigious research journal Proceedings of the American Academy of Science. Their findings show that visual dyslexia is a result of the failure of the visual perception system’s neuro-circuits to keep proper timing, and that colour filters can correct this imbalance.

Even though there has been plenty of research to show that coloured lenses do make a difference, this has been the first major research to show why. Even more recently, Dr Jeff Lewine, neuroscientist and scientific director of the Center for Advanced Medical Technologies, of Utah University, using sophisticated instrumentation such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Magnetoencephalography has reinforced these findings. He says, “The data clearly demonstrated that most individuals diagnosed with SSS had a fundamentally abnormal pattern of information processing in which stationary stimuli caused abnormal activitation in brain regions involved in the processing of visual information. Even more intriguing was the observation that individually tailored coloured glasses suppressed the abnormal activity. The data also clearly indicate the ability of coloured glasses to remediate the relevant information processing handicap.” If you are interested in the research articles, please let me know.

Contrary to opinions often espoused, there is a lot of good scientific research into Irlen Syndrome, most of which is very positive. IT IS EVIDENCE BASED. Quite a few of the studies are double masked, randomised, placebo controlled and many are published in the peer reviewed (refereed) sections of reputable journals.

Many show improvements in Reading Ages. Here are a couple of examples. 

Noble, J., Orton, M., Irlen, S., & Robinson, G. (2004) A controlled field study of the use of coloured overlays on reading achievement . Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities. 9(2) 14-22. Shows improvements of between 1 year and 2 months and 2 years and 8 months after using overlays for 3 months.

O’Connor, P.D., Sofo, F., Kendall, L., & Olsen, G. (1990). Reading disabilities and the effects of coloured filters. Journal of Learning Disabilities. 23(10): 597-603, 620. Shows improvements of 6.6 months in rate, 6.9 months in accuracy, and 19 months in comprehension after a 2 week period of using the correct overlays.

Other studies concentrate on the brain and what happens when Irlen Syndrome is present.

An American neuro-psychiatrist, Daniel Amen has performed before and after brain scans of people with Irlen Syndrome while reading. He found that when wearing their Irlen Spectral Filters (coloured lenses), their brain was more balanced and more like normal readers.

Click brain scans to view these images.

 

Visual Evoked Magnetic Fields in Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome . Jeffery Lewine Ph.D., John Davis, Ph.D., Sherri Provencal, M.A., James Edgar, M.A., and William Orrison, Jr., M.D. This study shows that there is a timing imbalance in visual processing present in those with Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome (Irlen Syndrome) that is not present in those without the condition.

 

Dobrin, Robert, M.D., F.A.A.P. Toward an authentic diagnostic impression using clinical composites and Functional Brain Imaging for an improved understanding of Irlen Syndrome . One of the conclusions … was that Irlen Syndrome, … contributed to an altered state of consciousness related to anxiety, with a resulting spectrum of fatigue, irritability, and vulnerability with a diminished cognitive reserve.

Jie Huang, Xiaopeng Zong, Arnold Wilkins, Brian Jenkins, Andrea Bozoki, and Yue Cao. fMRI evidence that precision ophthalmic tints reduce cortical hyperactivation in migraine. 2011, Cephalagia. 31(8). 925-936.

More recent studies include the following:

Stephen J. Loew*, Estrella Fernández** and Kenneth Watson* *University of New England (Australia), * *University of Oviedo (Spain)
Incidence of Meares-Irlen/visual stress syndrome in reading and learning disorders: does fluorescent lighting in classrooms affect literacy and numeracy?  Aula Abierta. 2013. Vol 41(3). 23-32.

This study draws on many sources to link the spread of fluorescent lighting to the decline of literacy and numeracy standards.

Loew, S., Marsh, N., Watson, K. Symptoms of Meares-Irlen/Visual Stress Syndrome in subjects diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome . 2014. International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology. 14. 87-92. Fatigue is a big factor in people with Irlen Syndrome; in some cases it can lead onto Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

Boyle, Christopher and Jindal-Snape, Divya. Visual-perceptual difficulties and the impact on children’s learning: are teachers missing the page? British Journal of Support for Learning. 2012. 27(4), 166-171. These authors ask teachers to take notice of the proven advantages that can occur when Irlen Syndrome is identified and treated.

Other studies identify genetic links and biochemical markers.

Loew, S., Watson, K. A prospective genetic marker of the visual perceptual disorder Meares-Irlen Syndrome. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2012, 114, 3, 870-882.

G.L. Robinson, D.L. Sparkes, T.K. Roberts, H. Dunstan. Biochemical anomalies in people with irlen syndrome. Eighth International Irlen Conference Brugge, Belgium 7-11 July, 2004.

Some studies make links to other medical conditions.

Loew, S., Watson, K. The prevalence of symptoms of Scotopic Sensitivity/Meares-Irlen Syndrome in subjects diagnosed wirh ADHD: – does misdiagnosis play a significant role? (2013) Hrvatska revija za rehabilitacijska istrazvanja 49, 50-58. Are some Irlen Syndrome people misdiagnosed with ADHD?

Wilkins, A.J., Baker, A., Amin, D., Smith, S., Bradford, J., Ziawalla, Z., Besag, F., Binnie, C.D., Fish, D.  Treatment of photosensitive epilepsy using coloured glasses. 1999. Seizure: 8. 444-449. Some epileptics who react badly to lights (flashing, strobe, flickering) can gain relief from Irlen Spectral Filters.

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