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The children who benefit may be good readers, but more often they have difficulty reading. They usually suffer visual discomfort when reading and, when questioned, will often report perceptual distortions of the text. These distortions usually include apparent movement or blurring of the letters and words. Often there is a family history of migraine.
Sixty-one schoolchildren (aged 7–12 years) with reading difficulties were assessed by an Irlen diagnostician. A within-subject study design was used to examine differences in reading rate across 3 conditions: using an overlay of a prescribed color; using an overlay of a nonprescribed color; and using no overlay. In a subset of 44 children, all of whom had a diagnosis of Irlen syndrome, a between-group design was also used to test the effects of Irlen colored overlays on a global reading measure. The Irlen diagnostician diagnosed Irlen syndrome in 77% of the poor readers. To make matters worse English is littered with exceptions to the letter-sound rules. Compare bough, dough, lough, cough, enough! After all that effort on reading each word, many children can't remember the words they read at the beginning of a sentence to understand the whole thing.Another factor to consider is the age of the child. It is often difficult to assess a child for coloured glasses below the age of 8. Symptoms such as these have a variety of different causes, some of which may be due to disease or abnormality, so they must be investigated by a professional who is qualified to diagnose them correctly and give appropriate treatment. Anyone who experiences such difficulties associated with reading should consult a registered optometrist for a full assessment of eye health and visual function. Essilor: Essilor is a well-known eyewear company that offers a range of lenses, including those designed for dyslexia. They have developed specific lens technologies, such as Eyezen lenses, which are designed to reduce visual fatigue and improve comfort during prolonged reading or computer use. Irlen: Irlen lenses, also known as Irlen Spectral Filters, are coloured overlays or lenses that aim to reduce perceptual distortions and visual stress experienced by some people with dyslexia. The specific colours are customised for each individual based on their symptoms. No evidence was found for any immediate benefit of Irlen colored overlays as measured by the reading-rate test or the global reading measure. The data suggests that Irlen colored overlays do not have any demonstrable immediate effect on reading in children with reading difficulties.
First you should obtain an optometric examination. You should find an optometrist who has an interest in reading difficulties (see below). The optometrist should assess binocular(orthoptic) function. Alternatively you can be assessed by an orthoptist who has an interest in reading difficulties. Orthoptists are specialists in the assessment of binocular function and usually work in NFIS Hospital Eye Departments alongside ophthalmologists (eye doctors). According to a teenager mentioned in ‘Reading Through Colour’ (2003) by Professor Arnold Wilkins, using a coloured overlay when reading “made all the difference.” The teenager quoted his experience as “the most important moment of [his] life” and he could “see text clear as glass.” Should children with binocular difficulties who are undergoing orthoptic eye exercises or other medical treatment continue to use overlays? Yes. Although some people seem to 'grow out' of the condition, many do not. The distortions may be less pronounced when reading becomes fluent and text ceases to be a meaningless collection of confusing shapes. Sadly, visual perceptual distortion is often not recognised in children and many sufferers enter adulthood without ever having been treated.Many papers have covered the topic, including one by Della Sala. In fact, a study by Wilkins et al. investigated how effective colored overlays are on reading problems associated with dyslexia, but controversial results were found. Participants, both with and without dyslexia, were asked to select their preferred colored overlay to place over text for reading tests.
If, on the other hand, the response to overlays is less marked, it seems sensible to see whether the child continues to use overlays without prompting for, say, a school term or longer, before considering coloured glasses. Coloured glasses are more expensive than overlays, and it may be wise to wait before incurring the cost. It is often the case that one person will benefit from overlays of one colour, and lenses of another colour. If lenses are to be worn, it is important that a separate professional assessment is carried out. There are two widespread approaches to testing for coloured lenses. One is carried out by a specialist optometrist using the "Intuitive colorimeter", a piece of equipment designed by Professor Arnold Wilkins in conjunction with the Medical Research Council and marketed by Cerium Visual Technologies, which will identify precisely the chromaticity of the illumination of a piece of text most effective in increasing reading speed, giving a measurement that is then used in prescribing tinted lenses. A list of recommended optometrists who test for coloured lenses with the Intuitive Colorimeter can be found hereThe effectiveness of dyslexia glasses and lenses can vary from person to person, as dyslexia is a complex condition with individual differences.
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