FAQ Irlen Syndrome Questions
What is Irlen Syndrome?
Do you skip words or lines when reading?
* Do you reread lines?
* Do you lose your place?
* Are you easily distracted
when reading?
* Do you need to take breaks often?
* Do you find it harder to read over time?
* Do you get headaches when you read?
* Do your eyes get red and watery?
* Does reading make you tired?
* Do you blink or squint?
* Do you prefer to read in dim light?
* Problems with fluorescent lights?
* Do you get restless or fidgety when reading?
* Do you avoid reading?
* Do you have problems with depth perception?
If you or your child answered yes to three or more questions, an Irlen Screening test and possibly Irlen Spectral Filters worn as glasses or contacts are recommended. A screening is to determine if there is the presence of Irlen Syndrome, to what degree, and which colored overlay(s) help the symptoms. The screening may rule out Irlen Syndrome, and other recommendations will be offered. The tested individual with moderate to severe symptoms becomes a very good candidate to be helped by Irlen Spectral Filters. A second Diagnostician appointment would be the recommendation. Please note that the color of a person’s Irlen glasses will be different than the colored overlay(s) by a precision process in the Irlen International labs.
How Common is Irlen Syndrome?
Irlen Syndrome is a perceptual disorder that effects an estimated 15% of the general population, 45% of those with a learning disability, and a much higher documented percentage in correctional facilities. It is a type of light sensitivity that can cause any number of symptoms.
What are the possible symptoms?
They can include any of, but not limited to, the following symptoms: sensitivity to fluorescent lights, losing one’s place while reading, eye aches, headaches, migraines, poor attention span, distractibility, preferring dim light, eye strain from computer glare, poor depth perception, clumsiness, and difficulty with night-driving glare. For some, the written page becomes distorted and words seem to move.
Those affected by Irlen Syndrome can have very different personalities, functioning levels, and sets of symptoms. Some may be slower readers, often losing place, not understanding or remembering well what was read, and usually not liking reading. Some may have attention and distractibility difficulties, may have Attention Deficit Disorder (AD/HD), Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Depression or other diagnoses (with or without reading difficulties). Somemay be higher functioning and have none of the above (or may have milder versions of them) but experience eye aches, headaches or migraines, reading fatigue, or discomfort from computer glare. This group sometimes can graduate from college and do well, often by working in dim lighting and working harder than the unaffected person.
What is the Irlen Treatment Method?
Worldwide, people are now finding relief of these symptoms by the use of the Irlen Method. For many people, the use of colored overlays on the page helps with reading. However, many have environmental symptoms, such as headaches or difficulty driving due to glare, that cannot be addressed simply with colored overlays on the page. For those who are identified as being able to benefit from the Irlen Method, most often the use of custom Irlen Spectral Filters worn as glasses or contacts will make an even more significant difference. The filters often minimize or even eliminate the discomforts experienced from glare in the environment, in addition to improved reading. The results are often life-changing. The second step, a diagnostic Tint Evaluation, determines the individual’s precision color layers that reduce or eliminate perceptual distortions and headaches, eye strain, or other discomforts of light sensitivity