Irlen syndrome/ Scotopic sensitivity syndrome

Ktllc

New Member
I'm currently reading a book about it : "reading in color" written by Helen Irlen.
I first was super enthusastic about it but then discovered through a brief internet research that it is a controversial topic.
Basically: using colored lenses or overlay to be able to "see" the words better and read better.
I remember Susiestar mentioned colored lenses with one of her student in some post a while back.
Has anyone heard about Irlen syndrome or better yet, experienced it themselves or through a close friend/relative?
V and husband could maybe be both be helped according to the book. But a book written by the person who discovered a controversial syndrome is a bit biais obviously.
But it is so tempted to buy into it and head to te closest Irlen clinic: a simple fix to such a complex issue.
V is still a bit young to really draw any conclusion on his learning, but husband still struggles to this days with reading.
It's ironic, we had a discussion about it ast weekend and we both concluded that he was a functional reader but not a fluent reader. He has accepted it and worked around it. But I know it is still a sensitive subject and always choose my words carefully. He tells me how the words move around or "run away" from him.
I have yet to finish the book but I'm highly interested in the board's opinion on the matter!
 

buddy

New Member
TEDO' s son has to use an overlay. He can't read black on white. I can't do well due to eye floaties so an electronic ereader that lets me change the page to white on black makes it perfect. I think ereaders can be a huge help. you can get colored transparent gels to lat on pages to see. they sell inch wide by about 8 inch strips in educational catalogs to use to read too.
 

TeDo

CD Hall of Fame
Yep, difficult child 1 has issues with letters moving when black on white. Our GOOD Occupational Therapist (OT) is actually the one that tested him (she's been trained) and figured this out. His not wanting to read was one of the things the school got "hung up" on and determined it was just him being obstinant. difficult child 1 has to have the blue overlays and needs to use 2 of them for the clearest reading. His reading has improve HUGELY since we started using them. If V says that the letters move, believe him. It might even be worthwhile to get the whole kit and figure out yourself which one(s) work for V, if at all. difficult child 1 hated to read (started because he couldn't) but when we got the overlays, having something cool and special made him want to read just to use the overlays. They are even slightly static so he can put it on the desktop monitor and it stays. It made a big difference in difficult child 1's confidence when reading.
 

Hound dog

Nana's are Beautiful
Travis used these while in school for quite a while. They never said why they were using them except that they seemed to help him. They were using other methods as well because due to his brain injury if there is too much information on a page he gets "lost" and is constantly trying to find his place. So I'm not sure if it was part of that or something else. However he did say it seemed to help some and was upset when they stopped.
 

buddy

New Member
Yep, difficult child 1 has issues with letters moving when black on white. Our GOOD Occupational Therapist (OT) is actually the one that tested him (she's been trained) and figured this out. His not wanting to read was one of the things the school got "hung up" on and determined it was just him being obstinant. difficult child 1 has to have the blue overlays and needs to use 2 of them for the clearest reading. His reading has improve HUGELY since we started using them. If V says that the letters move, believe him. It might even be worthwhile to get the whole kit and figure out yourself which one(s) work for V, if at all. difficult child 1 hated to read (started because he couldn't) but when we got the overlays, having something cool and special made him want to read just to use the overlays. They are even slightly static so he can put it on the desktop monitor and it stays. It made a big difference in difficult child 1's confidence when reading.

I'm gonna do that for web sites! floaties are more visible when you look at light things. driving when everything is light stinks, I need sunglasses even in winter. but mine are rx, I can't wear my glasses for reading (old eyes-!) so maybe I'll buy plain sunglasses to try. I don't need special colors like kids with this need, just a dark background.

THANKS!!!!!!
 

DammitJanet

Well-Known Member
I really wonder what issue Tony has with reading. I know he is extremely slow and now his eyesight has become worse. He cannot see much of anything up close. He uses drugstore reading glasses. He also has low comprehension but it could be because there is some form of learning disability behind all that.
 

Ktllc

New Member
I have a school meeting on Friday and I will ask them if they can test him and/or have overlays they can experiment with. I'm curious to see if they see it as a legetimate method or not.
husband is a slow reader but he is able to do it when he has to. For example, he read several books on lectrical wiring when he build our bathroom in the basement and had to pass inspection. Not bad for someone who is not an electrician. But to make it easier, in the everyday life, I read things to him and he has then no comprehension problem.
But I don't want to get hung up on the whole controversy... sensory processing disorder (SPD) is also somewhat controversial. Anything medical is, or almost everything!
 

buddy

New Member
True. Our school Occupational Therapist (OT)'s were the only ones who checked and it was always with readers not pre readers. Heck, at his age I'd think they could print out sheets on colored paper to see if it makes a difference.
 

TeDo

CD Hall of Fame
Ktllc, don't be surprised if they have no clue what you're talking about or pooh-pooh the whole idea. That's just what school personnel tend to do. Our Occupational Therapist (OT) was an independent one we found and paid for ourselves. She was associated with a hospital so they made sure ALL issues possible were covered through staff trainings.

Buddy, That would not necessarily produce the same result. The overlays REALLY bold the letters out and the more overlays you use, the bolder the letters get and they seem to get bigger. One overlay is like using 14 point font in bold on dark paper ..... maybe.

Good luck with the school Ktllc. If I hadn't seen it first hand, I might not have believed it existed either.
 

Ktllc

New Member
I would say it is worth trying. One thing I've learned is to keep an open mind. And it is easier to be open minded since husband has a lot of the same issues as V. As an adult he can explain it to me better and I for sure know he not making it up. It took years of being married with me to really being to open up on such topics. I know it can scare an individual and why not try everything reasonable to make life easier. Without my glasses I cannot read facial expression unless the person is real close to me. But my "problem" is recognized and accepted. No one would think of saying that I make it up.
Tedo, does your son uses specially made Irlen overlays? Or an other kind?
 

JJJ

Active Member
Our school tests to see if overlays will help.Tigger is suppose to use blue and my niece is suppose to use yellow. Neither do cause they lost their "cool" factor. Our school has 9x11 full page overlays as well as guides (they look like rulers).
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
My nephew used these for dyslexia... Interestingly, though, something just popped into my head. husband highlights whatever he is reading in a post or article if it is more than a couple of lines long - so instead of black text on a white background, it turns into white text on blue. sister in law is dyslexic too... I wonder.
 
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