Irlen Symptoms
There are a number of symptoms that can occur when a person is suffering from Irlen Syndrome. These can include:
Attention Defecit
Problems concentrating while reading or doing school work. May have difficulty staying on task, take breaks, look away, become restless, fidgety, or tired.
Strain or Fatigue
Feeling strain, tension, fatigue, sleepy, or headaches with reading and other perceptual activities. Strain can interfere with the ease of reading, studying, or even listening.
Poor Depth Perception
Inability to accurately judge distance or spatial relationships. May be unsure or have difficulty with escalators, stairs, ball sports, or driving.
Light Sensitivity
Bothered by glare, fluorescent lights, bright lights, sunlight, or driving at night. Discomfort or difficulty concentrating or working under bright lights or fluorescent lights.
Inefficient Reading
Difficulty reading print, numbers, or musical notes. Problems may include print that shifts, shakes, blurs, moves, doubles, disappears, or becomes difficult to perceive.
Slow Reading Rate
Inability to read letters, numbers, musical notes, or words in groups. Problems tracking, correctly identifying words, or ability to skim/speed read.
Irlen symptoms can be found in:
- 46% of those with specific learning disabilities and reading problems
- 33% of individuals misdiagnosed with AD/HD, Dyslexia and/or behavior problems
- 12-14% of general population, gifted, and good readers
- 55% of individuals with head injury, concussion, or whip lash
- Individuals with autism, certain medical/visual conditions
Distortions
Irlen Syndrome can cause various distortions to text on a printed page. These can include problems with seeing patterns in the background or print moving, fading, disappearing, swirling, blurring, sparkling or shimmering. Text can look like the following image:
In order to to ensure the correct diagnosis or Irlen Syndrome, there are a number of tests that can be performed. Find out if Irlen is for you?
Case Study:
Jacob, 10 years old
Jacob, aged 10 years old, has Band E2M for learning difficulties and a reading skill equivalent to a 6 year old. The school advised Jacob's mother not to waste her time and money on an Irlen Screening. However, after using Irlen overlays, Jacob experienced positive results.
Contact James
Contact James with any questions you may have or for an informal chat about Irlen. You can contact him on:
t: 01536 761597
e: billettjames@hotmail.com
Online enquiry form
Further Information
Further information about Irlen Syndrome can be found at www.irlen.com
Please note that opticians and organisations other than Irlen Clinics have no connection with Helen Irlen, or the Irlen Institute and do not use the Irlen method.
