Imagine being 6 years old and trying really hard to read from your school readers and also trying to show Mum and Dad that you can read (but in fact cannot achieve what is expected of you). I met such a child yesterday, and she was accompanied by her Dad who is a teacher.
During our discussions, it became apparent that Dad also had problems with schoolwork and even now, only reads what he has to read! He does try from time to time to read a novel, but after only a short time, the words become unclear, and he has to work too hard to keep reading. He did not know that he had Irlen, but does now! This is because Irlen Syndrome is highly hereditary and runs in families and also extended families.
Unfortunately most adults do not know they have Irlen Syndrome until they bring their children in to be tested. This is often because they did not have reading or learning difficulties at school due to the different lighting conditions and also the use of chalkboards. Other adults had Irlen lenses as children themselves but do not realise it is hereditary and so do not consider it when trying to help their children.
Thankfully this dad bought his daughter in and was able to find some coloured lenses that helped reduce the distortions to the printed page and also reduce the amount of glare in her eyes which made it hard for her to concentrate without getting sore eyes.
The coloured Irlen lenses are specific to each individual and chosen by the individual with the assistance of a fully certified Irlen clinician. There is often a colour preference or commonality between family members such as tones of blue/green or pink/orange. Identical twins will often have the exact colour or very similar and we have even seen parent and child who come for assessments at different times end up with the exact same colour combination in their lenses.
Thankfully she will now be able to start to catch-up to her peers and learn to read and write and study to the same success as everyone else.
Take the self test to determine if you or a loved one will benefit from Irlen lenses
