| Irlen Lenses
Definition In 1980 Olive Meares, a teacher in New Zealand, reported that some dyslexic individuals
experience difficulty with glare from the page when reading . A few years later
the term Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome was coined by Helen Irlen, an American
educational psychologist. It refers to the visual distortions individuals with
learning difficulties experience in the way they perceive their environment. The
Syndrome is also known as Meares-Irlen syndrome or Irlen Syndrome.
Irlen's theory is based on the assumption that some children with learning difficulties
are sensory hypersensitive. Like sound, light can overload the brain by bombarding
it with information, which will affect the central nervous system. According to
Irlen, individualised tinted lenses or tinted overlays made of sheets of transparent
coloured plastic and placed over the page while reading can filter out light frequencies
to which these children are sensitive and alleviate the symptoms of inadequate
visual processing.
Symptoms of Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome
· Poor reading: words or lines are skipped, they appear blurry, they are re-read
over and over.
· Poor comprehension.
· Sensitivity to high contrasts: bright light, glare, sunlight or light at night.
· Difficulty in judging distances.
· Eyestrain.
· Fatigue.
· Headaches.
· Poor attention span.
· Poor listening.
· Hyperactivity.
Children who suffer from SSS must constantly adapt themselves and compensate which
drains their energy.
Diagnosis of the Irlen syndrome There are usually two assessments.
· The Symptom Assessment to identify whether individuals have the Irlen
syndrome and if so, which symptoms they have.
· The Tinting Assessment indicates which tint combination removes these
symptoms.
The Irlen Centres listed in the Resources section offer assessment and advice.
Conditions that may respond to the Irlen lenses The lenses may help individuals who suffer from the following disorders providing
they have the Irlen Syndrome:
ADD/ADHD
Autism
Dyslexia
Learning difficulties
Photosensitive epilepsy
Helen Irlen states that the Irlen therapy is not a cure for these conditions but
it can improve posture, co-ordination, eye contact and motor activities.
Research Research suggests that Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome may be a genetically-based
deficit in visual processing . The cause of the syndrome and why colours help
is not well understood and generally it is not widely recognised by the scientific
community. Several studies have been conducted since the eighties but whilst findings
of a study by Evans and Patel suggest that children with specific learning difficulties,
including binocular instability, low amplitude of accommodation, and Meares-Irlen
Syndrome, benefited form the uses of tinted lenses other studies were inconclusive:
Scientific studies on the Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome and Irlen lenses can be
viewed on the internet at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi
Resources/Organisations There are several therapy centres in the UK:
Irlen Centre London
137 Bishop's Mansions
Stevenage Road
London
SW6 6DX
Tel: 020 7736 5752
http://www.irlen.co.uk/centers.htm
Irlen Centre Kent
17 Ashford Drive
Kingswood
Maidstone
Kent
ME17 3PA
Tel: 01622 842764
Irlen Centre East
4 Park Farm Business Centre
Fornham St Genevieve
Bury St. Edmunds
Suffolk IP28 6TS
Tel: 01284 724301
Irlen South West
123 High Street
Chard
Somerset
TA20 1QT
Tel: 01460 65555
Central England
Brenda Sharp
Unit 8
Visitors Centre
Heart of the National Forest
Bath Lane
Moira
Derbyshire
DE12 6BD
Tel: 01283 819200
Irlen North West
Beacon Lodge
Macclesfield Road
Over Alderley
Macclesfield
Cheshire
SK10 4UB
Tel: 01625 583841
Irlen North East
97 Silverdale Ave
Guiseley
Leeds
LS20 8BG
Tel: 01943 871189
The Institute of Optometry Marketing
56-62 Newington Causeway
London
SE1 6DS
The Irlen Institute
5380 Village Road
Long Beach CA
90808
USA
Tel: (001) 562 496 2550
http:// www.irlen.com
The Light and Sound Therapy Centre
90 Queen Elizabeth Walk
London N16 5UQ
Tel: 020 8880 1269
http://www.ldb.co.uk/autism.htm
Books These are some of the references that have been passed to us. We have not necessarily
read the books, and cannot say how easy it will be to get them.
- Irlen H. (1991) Reading by the colours: overcoming dyslexia and other reading
disabilities through the Irlen method. Avery Press. ISBN: 0-89529-476-1
- Wilkins A. (1995) Visual Stress Oxford Publications. ISBN: 0-19-852174-X
<<
Back |
|
