Invisible reading problem, easy solution
Tinted glasses, overlays aid students in focusing on what’s written on page

Paula AbromovitzSpecial for The Republic Apr. 7, 2008 12:00 AM

Editor’s note: This article was submitted by Paula Abromovitz. Send your education news to lori.baker@arizonarepublic.com.

Irlen Syndrome is a possible explanation for the average to gifted student who avoids reading or cannot read and for the learning-disabled student who struggles with reading.Helen Irlen, a school psychologist, worked with college students with reading difficulties. The students had average to above-average intelligence.
They reported symptoms that occurred when reading that no one had identified before such as: migraines and headaches, falling asleep, words switching around, print moving or vibrating, the text becoming 3D, the brightness of the page hurting their eyes. Print becoming blurry causing them to constantly re-focus, words blending into each other, patterns in the dense text that resembled rivers of white going down the page. Some felt dizzy or sick to their stomach when they read.Irlen found that placing colored overlays over the reading material improved the student’s comprehension, fluency, comfort, and attention. She developed a technology of tinting lenses and contacts that filter specific lightwaves. The students reported that their symptoms were eliminated when wearing the lenses, which also helped with handwriting, copying and depth perception. Both the overlays and lenses are specific for each individual.This method worked for my client, Millie Hudson Libby, who experienced headaches and eyestrain and could read for only a short time. By using a colored overlay, Libby’s reading time doubled. After tinting her prescription contacts, her eyestrain and fatigue under fluorescent lights were eliminated.Visual stress not related to a visual problem is a primary complaint. Strain and fatigue within the first 10 to 30 minutes is normal for these individuals.My advice to parents is to ask their child to describe what the print looks like when they read for a long time. Sometimes five minutes of reading seems like five hours.When a parent or teacher observes a child having trouble sounding out words or rereading the same sentence, they ask, “What’s wrong, why can’t you do this?” The answer generally is, “I don’t know.” When the appropriate questions are asked they have no trouble describing what they see.Many children receive reprimands for not sitting still. When I ask these children how it helps them to move around when they read, their answer is, “If I move I can keep up with the words moving,” and “If I move I can keep the print in focus.” These individuals have no other frame of reference for what they see on a page; therefore, the distortions appear normal and their body responds in a manner necessary to complete the required task.Once we identify the problem and provide a remedy, frustration and anger are eliminated for both the parents and the child. The student for the first time in their life may realize they are not dumb or lazy, the parent gains the knowledge that their child is trying hard and what they have been looking at is an invisible problem that can be solved with a simple non-invasive solution.Parents call to report that their child no longer complains of stomachaches before school, grades improving to A’s and B’s, children now able to play sports because they can hit and catch a ball accurately.A screening for Irlen Syndrome could be your child’s answer to their low reading level, learning problems, ADD/ ADHD, discipline problems, lack of motivation with schoolwork, headaches, dyslexia and other physical complaints.Paula Abromovitz, an Irlen diagnostician, may be reached at paulaabromo@yahoo.com.