How Irlen differs from Opticians & the Colorimeter

Why Irlen?

Irlen is the only system to use the conventional ophthalmic system of the comparison of matched pairs of lenses for colour choice in natural light.

Colorimeter Research from the University of Modena shows that Irlen lenses are 3x less dark than other lenses claiming to treat Irlen Syndrome.

Irlen lenses do not cause discomfort and can be worn continuously throughout the day in all lighting condtitions, working to redirect and stabilize messages within the brain.

Irlen clients describe their experiences with Cerium

Trudy is studying Music Technology at University.  After Trudy reads for 15 minutes:

“It doesn't take me long to stop reading. My eyes automatically jump to things that stand out, for instance symbols and bold things. I get tired very fast, and if other people are around I end up reading the same thing about 10 times because I get distracted. It is easier when I am on my own so long as it is quiet. 

Before University Trudy had Cerium lenses, she found that:

“I can wear them (Cerium lnses) for a two-hour block. When I take them off everything has a green tint to it. When I am wearing them the page is a pink red, like a sunset. My color sense is distorted, everything goes to a reddy pink, which is the reason I only wear them when I am reading, but my eyes jump around and there is this peach effect. I do try to wear them as sunglasses as it makes me more comfortable and stops me from squinting. The lenses reduce the symptoms but I am unable to see a white board  presentation with them ,  so if I am in a lecture or a classroom I have to keep pushing them off my eyes and onto the top of my head to be able to see things. Then I wonder where they are. The optician said that the were so dark I should not drive in them.

The  Irlen lens evaluation first helped Trudy identify what was going wrong.

Trudy sees  white circles around text, words and letters flicker and move.  Trudy was able to see 3cm only of text clearly at one time"It is like viewing a page through water."

At the end of the two hour evaluation with the correct combination of Irlen filters, Trudy found that:

• Trudy's sense of colour is not affected, the page remains white
• The span of recognition is  increased to 7cm
• Trudy is not bothered by fluorescent lighting
• Trudy is able to look across the classroom and see the  whiteboard clearly

and finally...

"I can see the leaves on the trees much clearer now, wow!'

Amanda's experience of the colorimeter is that:

"I never really noticed the difference with them, I don't think that they are right to be fair.  The University sent me there. I don't think the optician knew what they were doing really. I wasn't in there very long, I was only there about 10 minutes." Amanda  does not wear the Cerium lenses

For  Amanda "all of the words are muddle into one where I concentrate my eyes, after a few lines they all merge. I am alright with bits and pieces"

The Irlen lens evaluation eliminated or significantly reduced the symptoms.

Independent assessment of research  into the Colorimeter

Nb. The Irlen Method is quite different to colorimeter assessments and should not be confused as the same thing. Opticians and organisations other than Irlen Clinics have no connection with Helen Irlen or the Irlen Institute and do not use the Irlen Method.

Helen Whitley,  Journal of Research in Reading Volume 24 Page 30 - February 2001

‘An increasing number of optometrists are offering assessments using the Intuitive Colorimeter , 1992) to determine whether children who have reading difficulties might benefit from the use of tinted lenses. Suggestions have been made in the media that tinted lenses may provide a 'cure' for developmental dyslexia, and there have been many anecdotal accounts of improvements in reading following their use (e.g. Brace, 1993). However, such extreme claims are not typical of the scientific literature supporting the use of tinted lenses’

Mason A.J.S., Fowler M.S., Stein J.S. , Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science March 15 1994 Vol. 35, No 4  

EVALUATION OF ‘THE INTUITIVE COLORIMETER’ Physiology Department, University of Oxford

Purpose:   Coloured filters have become popular to treat a variety of visual symptoms e.g. photophobia and reading problems. The ‘Intuitive Colorimeter’ (IC) (Wilkins et al; Othphal & Physiol Opt 12:3; 386 1992.) is a simple optical method for mixing coloured light. It has been designed to allow subjects to choose which colour illuminant is best to alleviate their symptoms.

Method: We evaluated the reliability of the IC in a group of 23 orthoptic patients (aged 8-27) referred by the Royal Berkshire Hospital. All reported photophobia and distortions of text when reading. Pilot testing suggested that a coloured filter could alleviate their symptoms. The IC was adjusted using the suggested protocol to find the colour setting at which the distortions were minimal. The test was repeated 4 times

Results:

• Subjects reported distortions whatever the colour. As two different colours could no be presented in quick succession it was hard to establish which colour was best.
• The within test reliability was poor.
• The majority of subjects did not choose the same colour twice.

Conclusion: The major drawback of this method is that subjects find it difficult to maintain a stable criteria as different colours are presented. A better procedure would be to present two colours simultaneously or successively. The instrument design makes this difficult  Support by the Medical Research Council – None.

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.