During my second visit, when we were getting to a point Ann Bonvallet,my Irlen diagnostician, felt was close to helping, she would have me hold up plain tinted lenses and look at her nose (about 8 feet away) and she would ask “What do you see?” We kept repeating this with various closely related tints until after about ten tries something happened. I looked at her nose, and unlike my previous answers of “I see your nose” I suddenly realized to my astonishment that I saw her whole face. I mean I saw her whole face as one image. I then realized that, of course, I had always had to scan anything I looked at to try to see the whole image. I had always had a history of finding it so difficult to connect people’s faces with their names. This was very troublesome when I operated a pharmacy for about 6,000 people. Ann didn’t have to say much as I digested this experience. I realized that shortly prior to this visit I had been at Huron Metro Park and had to scan the trees to try to form an image, but I could not. I had all these pieces of an image. And as I looked out the door of her home I was amazed at how clear everything was across the Huron River. It was mind boggling to me as I took in the detail of the scene that was elusive to me moments before. I had looked across the river, but couldn’t distinguish any detail; I saw weeds and some trees. Now I could have seen a small deer with ease. Who would think that a tint could clarify your vision. But that was not all. The bush outside the window was suddenly 3-dimensional. Yes, I suddenly realized I would have 3-D vision. The immediate benefit of depth perception was obvious.

I was so anxious to get my newly tinted lenses that I insisted on sending and receiving them overnight. There is no need to wait 2 to 3 weeks for your lenses. Just opt to pay for overnight each way and they will be returned very promptly. I was at my pharmacy, Wheaton Pharmacy, in Dundee, Michigan, when my lenses arrived with the prescribed “rose” tint. The first thing I did after I placed the lenses into their frame was to put the glasses on and look at my wife, Karen’s, face. For the first time, although we had been married for 32 years, I was able to see her whole face as one image. It all seemed so subtle yet so profound. I am not saying that everyone will have such an experience. But successful resolution of Irlen Syndrome often corrects more than just reading. The reason I said that I have resisted explaining what really happened is that I did not want to spoil the experience for the next Irlen person when they might undergo the same experience. I guess this depends on the diagnostician’s promptings as the visit progresses.

Irlen filter lenses or tinted contact lenses will resolve Irlen Syndrome issues if the patient selects the tint correctly. Other issues may remain to be dealt with. There can be what Helen Irlen refers to as layers of things to address or pieces of the puzzle. But the result of successfully resolving Irlen Syndrome is powerful. I believe successful resolution of Irlen Syndrome can enable the patient to perceive other issues that need to be resolved. At any rate the relief from the stress of dealing with Irlen Syndrome provides the energy to deal with any remaining issues.

As you read my postings to this blog the entries may seem to be unrelated, but they in fact do weave a scenario that can be resolved if you look further. When I was very young my dentist allowed me to keep a National Geographic with a story about famous caves; I believe it was about Mammoth Cave. Later I would subscribe to this wonderful magazine and save them for many years figuring that someday I could deal with reading them instead of just focusing on the pictures. I didn’t know that I had a problem because I was trying to read high contrast black print on shiny bright white paper. I also bought books, lots of books. They got stored in boxes because there were so many. Once again I hoped the day would come when I could get through them.I didn’t read our magazines and newspapers either. This is interesting because I earned most of my college money by being a pressman’s apprentice at The Toledo Blade Newspaper in Toledo, Ohio from May, 1960, through December, 1965.

I am reminded of a quote attributed to Cicero: “A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

If you have Irlen Syndrome or prefer white print on a black background you are going to love this option on your MAC computer. Just click on the Apple button at the top left of the screen. Single click on Universal Access. Choose display white on black. That’s it. You can adjust contrast if you like, but I found it to be just right. The shortcut to accomplish this is to hold down control, option, command and hit the 8 key. I have been trying to figure out how to do this on my old PC for years! The only downside to this feature is that images and videos have distorted colors. I must thank Anthony Bach, a senior from Dexter High School, for reading my blog as suggested as a coworker, for his suggestion that the Mac operating system allows viewing the screen in reverse. I also thank Noah at the Apple Store in Ann Arbor for the instruction of how to use the shortcut to accomplish this.For me, even after correction with tinted lenses, using this feature feels like I am using a translator feature to read the printed word.

There was a long pause followed by a reply “Yes.” My point was that I had always fallen asleep when I sat down to read. Always. I remember struggling to stay awake when I tried to read Steinbeck novels in the late 1950′s when I was in highschool in Dundee, Michigan. I even had to read the most exciting book of all, The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells in bits and pieces even though it was outwardly easy to read and not that long. I find no humor when people talk about reading books to fall asleep! And this is correctable by treating the responsible Irlen Syndrome with a specific tint applied to eyeglass lenses or contacts which is unique just for you!