Dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome

To help individuals struggling with glare and visual processing difficulties

2013-03-09T20:29:00.000+11:00

If you would like to change the background colour on your PC fir free, which is so much better for anyone really, visit the following link for the how to:

http://www.adultdyslexiasupport.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/How-to-make-your-PC-more-dyslexia-f

www.adultdyslexiasupport.co.uk

Dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome: How wearing Irlen Lenses Can Change Your World

2012-10-06T10:55:00.001+10:00

Dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome: How wearing Irlen Lenses Can Change Your World: View the clip here I have posted a great clip of an artist talking about how her life has changed for the better once she got her Irlen l...

How wearing Irlen Lenses Can Change Your World

2012-10-06T10:53:00.000+10:00

View the clip here

I have posted a great clip of an artist talking about how her life has changed for the better once she got her Irlen lenses. It is worth noting, that she takes the glasses off toward the end of the clip and holds them up to the camera. For us, everything has a shade of purple, but for the person with the tinted lenses, in this case, Debra the artist, sees the world as normal- not purple as we do. Cheers
christine

Dyslexia, Hyperlexia and Perceptual Dyslexia

2012-07-13T19:20:00.000+10:00

So what is the difference between Dyslexia, Hyperlexia and Perceptual Dyslexia? Dr Whiting explains in the YouTube clip.

Thousands wearing coloured filters for SSS

2012-06-16T22:41:00.002+10:00

Did you know that more than 25,000 people are wearing coloured filters around the world as a specific treatment for Irlen Syndrome, otherwise known as SSS? And many thousands more people are using coloured overlays to reduce the impact of SSS.

Wider-Spaced Text May Boost Reading Skills in Children with Dyslexia

2012-06-09T12:52:00.000+10:00

Thanks once again to the Irlen Institute for the latest research on Dyslexia. Let's do everything we can to help our students/adults read!

"Widening the space between letters in words increased the reading speed and average accuracy of 74 Italian and French children with dyslexia, according to a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers said the strategy is not a cure for dyslexia, which causes the brain to process information differently, but the spaced-out text may assist some children with dyslexia to read more easily." (Irlen Institute Newsletter 2012)

I know that when I'm doing the review sessions with our Year 3/4 students for the ERIK program, many of them choose to read the texts with the larger, more spaced out font. Interesting. I think I will be more mindful of this from now on with all students.

Let's try it and see what happens.

Have a great day everyone,
Christine

Teaching our students to become web literate

2012-05-29T20:52:00.001+10:00

On his blog 'The November Learning Blog, Alan November wrote about
Web Literacy.
He says, that just teaching students how to search for information is not enough.
He proposes that schools should start teaching students about web literacy.
What is web literacy? It's basically becoming more Internet savvy.
For example, understanding the importance of punctuation in the domain name.
To view this article go to
http://novemberlearning.com/blog/

Cheers,
Chris

Autism and visual processing difficulties

2012-05-13T16:47:00.002+10:00

Here's an article from the Irlen Institute Newsalert newsletter.

"Sensory processing deficits can be part of a composite of difficulties for those on the autism spectrum. Visual processing deficits, in particular, are experienced by many with ASD. There are many different side effects to living in a visually distorted world, including using inappropriate behaviors as coping strategies, poor social skills and language, and large and small motor difficulties. As these deficits become part of the definition of autism spectrum disorders and more parents become aware of these silent difficulties, treatments that address sensory and visual processing issues need to factor into parents’ and professionals’ goals. Minimizing sensory bombardment should be an essential intervention and part of the treatment program for many on the autism spectrum …" ( Helen L. Irlen, MA, BCPC, LMFT. Autism Science Digest: The Journal of AutismOne. Issue 04)

Raising money for Breast Cancer Research

2012-04-09T12:11:00.002+10:00

I am taking part in the Mother's Day Classic and raising funds for breast cancer research. Every extra dollar I raise through fundraising goes towards vital research into the prevention and cure of breast cancer. I will be participating or volunteering along with 120,000 Australians nationwide who are making a difference on Mother's Day and taking steps to save lives by helping fund the best breast cancer research. You can help us too by donating online here...
https://register.eventarc.com/sponsor/view/110221/christine-hawkins

Irlen Syndrome - a visual stress syndrome

2012-04-06T23:59:00.000+10:00

According to Wikipedia,
"Scotopic sensitivity syndrome, also known as Irlen Syndrome and Visual Stress Syndrome, approximating in some ways to Meares Irlen syndrome, and 'Visual Stress', refers to visual perceptual disorder(s) affecting primarily reading and writing based activities.

Scotopic sensitivity syndrome is based on the theory that some individuals have hypersensitive photoreceptors, visual pathways, and/or brain systems that react inappropriately to some wavelengths of light.

In simple terms, the theory is that some signals from the eye are not getting to the brain intact and / or on time. Although the eye might be functioning correctly, the brain receives what is like a double exposed picture where the location of items is confused. The brain tries to filter out the bad information and so the conscious mind receives a reconstructed image. That image may be of the items moving (the brain constantly changing its best guess of what is there), blurred outcomes (inability to form a view of what is there), gaps in wrong spots, and a variety of other minor errors. There may also be exhaustion (from the mental effort to unscramble) and sore eyes (from the eyes constantly seeking extra data to aid the process) The problem is worst where different colours do not all give a similar outcome. In nature you get a lot of consistent data but on a man made item (e.g. paper) there might only be limited colour sets. i.e. The condition does not generate practical problems where there is lots of redundant data for the brain to use. The pragmatic response by Irlen was not to try to fix the problem but to avoid it. By filtering out the light most likely to generate problem signals to the brain, she was able to improve the likelihood that the brain will correctly distinguish between good and bad information. It also seems likely that in some individuals, over time the brain learns which colours are the problem items and improves its ability to reconstruct an accurate image."

Smartboards in the Classroom

2012-04-06T11:37:00.000+10:00

Thank you to the Irlen Institute for posting this message on Facebook about Smartboards. I know we have installed a Smartboard in most of our classrooms.
"Since the introduction of bright white Smart boards to classrooms, there has been an increase in the numbers of children who report headaches and visual distortions when looking at these boards. We are now advising teachers to set the default background to a buff colour - then to consult their pupils about what background colour suits them best."

Have a safe and relaxing Easter break everyone.

Cheers,
Christine

Dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome: What age can you screen for Irlen Syndrome?

2012-03-04T11:01:00.000+11:00

Dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome: What age can you screen for Irlen Syndrome?: Dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome I am currently working with a student who is 6 years + 5 months. Last year, (he would have been 6 years old th...

What age can you screen for Irlen Syndrome?

2012-03-04T11:00:00.000+11:00

Dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome

I am currently working with a student who is 6 years + 5 months. Last year, (he would have been 6 years old then), he came to the 'reading lesson' and when he went to get his book out of his pencil case (that's what we use to take the books home), a pair of toy cardboard glasses with blue cellophane fell out. How interesting I thought. When I asked him why he was using those glasses, he replied because it "stops the words moving around on the page". Well, immediately I was on alert. When I was training to be an Irlen Screener, it was recommended to wait until children were around 8 years old. I'm not so sure about this now. I think it probably depends on each individual student. This particular student, was able to articulate quite clearly the difficulties he was having.

This year, I have had to turn the lights off because the glare is too much for him. He is constantly rubbing his eyes whilst reading and it looks so uncomfortable for him. He is not reading with fluency and he is having difficulty concentrating. He says that the words "look diagonal". When I asked him to write down what the words looked like, they were not written in a straight line. I took a photo, and this is what he wrote.

So, with Mums' permission, we are going to screen him for Irlen.
Stay posted for updates.
Cheers
Christine

Dyslexia and making progress in learning to read

2012-02-26T10:58:00.000+11:00

Yesterday I attended the Learning Difficulties Australia conference here in Melbourne. The focus for the conference was the discussion around the effectiveness of the Reading Recovery Program. Three highly respected academics presented: Tom Nicholson (Professor at the University of Tasmania, John Hattie and Dr Kerry Hempenstell.
John Hattie presented some research that showed what the most effective programs are. The program that has the most effect on student learning outcomes is the teaching of vocabulay programs and repeated reading programs. It was also suggested that students with dyslexia, will require more intensive instruction for longer periods of time.

"...we are not suggesting that children diagnosed as having dyslexia cannot make progress in learning to read. Rather, our claim is that these children require more intensive instruction of longer duration of the kind provided in the third tier of RTI models" (Tunmer & Greaney, 2010).
I will talk about the 3 Tiers next time, but basically, this means 1:1 individual programs with the teacher and one student. This may be programs such as Reading Recovery, Bridges etc.

Until next time,
Cheers,
Christine

Irlen Screener update course

2012-01-13T10:49:00.000+11:00

Hello Everyone,
I'm excited to report that next week I will be attending the Irlen Screener's qualification update course. As with anything, it is important to keep up to date with the latest research, findings, methods and processes. So, I'm looking forward to reporting back to you the information I receive on the day.
Stay tuned and please email me any questions or wonderings you might have about Irlen Syndrome, Dyslexia or reading difficulties in general.
Take care
Christine

Can coloured lenses help those who suffer from migraines?

2011-12-20T22:26:00.000+11:00

Thanks to The Irlen Institute for posting this reminder about the relationship between migraines and Irlen Lenses.

An article on colored lenses for migraines mentioning Irlen to be published Jan 2 in Daily Health News.

Have a lovely day everyone!

Christine

Head Injuries and the Irlen Method

2011-12-18T16:48:00.000+11:00

In this YouTube clip, Helen Irlen talks about head injuries. She highlights the fact that head injuries can create a variety of physical symptoms such as headaches and dizziness, which can affect depth perception. This therefore, will create reading problems.
Helen explains how the Irlen Method can get rid of these symptoms that are a result of a head injury.
It's a great summary of the Irlen Method.

Have a great day.
Christine

A Youtube clip that shows the benefits of using Irlen lenses.

2011-11-26T22:25:00.002+11:00

What things can help overcome Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome?

2011-11-18T19:18:00.000+11:00

The following excerpt is taken from the book 'My World is not your World' written by Alison Hale. It is her autobiography that aims to tell her story from her point of view. Alison has Dyslexia, Aspergers and Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome. The book gives a very good insight into what it is like to live with these conditions. The book traces her life from her early childhood experiences to the present.
"I looked out into the world through my distorted senses unable to make coherent meaning of all the mesmerising fragments of noise, light, words and sensations.... "

Alison also talks about the things that helped her overcome Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome.

These include the following:

	Reducing glare: using dull coloured paper for reading and writing. Never reading in bright light, fluorescent or sunlight.
	Wearing tinted lenses in my glasses to reduce some of the visual distortions and make my eyes feel calmer.
	Always wearing sunglasses when outside on sunny days.
	Using LCD computer screens as opposed to CRT screens (CRT screens flicker).
	Setting up Computer Screen to suit me - Optimise Computer Screen.
	Adjusting website text size using my Internet Browser settings (In IE in top menu bar go to 'View' then select 'Text Size'). This works on my website but not on all websites!
	Using a bookmark when reading so that I do not lose my place.
	Reading for short periods with breaks rather than trying to read continuously over a long period.
	To ensure I do not become too tired I limit the time I spend in busy crowded places (eg. supermarkets, shopping centres, pubs!, etc...) where there are lots of visual stimuli. Her book is available from Amazon and is called 'My World is not Your World'.

Can frequent headaches be associated with Irlen Syndrome?

2011-11-17T10:12:00.001+11:00

Can frequent headaches be associated with Irlen Syndrome and what is Visual Stress?

One of my readers emailed me the above question yesterday and I thought I would share this with you.
The answer to this great question is yes. Yes, headaches can be associated with Irlen Syndrome and this can be due to a condition we call, visual stress. How do you get visual stress? Visual stress can be caused by something known as light sensitivity. An individual who suffers from light sensitivity is basically very sensitive to sunlight and/or inside lights. E.g. fluorescent lights. You would find a person with light sensitivity wearing sunglasses on a cloudy day for example. This is because the glare is too bright for them, even though there is no direct sun light.

Visual stress can also be a result of reading, looking at your computer monitor or laptop for long periods of time, watching movies or TV, sensory overload, allergies, brain injury and visual distortions. There may be other causes for visual stress as well that I have not mentioned here.

This is where using the Irlen overlays or wearing Irlen lenses can provide relief for individuals in some cases. I believe that there is currently some research happening in this area at the moment, and this is very exciting for all of us interested in this area.

Please forward any questions and I will endeavour to answer them for you.

Have a great day!
Christine

Irlen Syndrome and research into the area of Irlen Syndrome

2011-11-12T17:31:00.001+11:00

There is a lot of documented research in the area of Irlen Syndrome. I found this study that was conducted by the University of Newcastle here in Australia. The study links levels of cholesterol in individuals with Irlen Syndrome and neurotransmission. Interesting. Here is the summary page from that study.
"

PLASMA CHOLESTEROL LEVELS AND IRLEN SYNDROME:

PRELIMINARY STUDY OF 10- TO 17-YR.-OLD STUDENTS

D. L. SPARKES, G.L. ROBINSON, H.DUNSTAN, AND T.K. ROBERTS

University of Newcastle

Summary.--The preliminary study investigated metabolic anomalies in children and teenagers with Irlen Syndrome, particularly in relation to the levels of n-3 and n-6 essential fatty acids, plasma cholesterol levels, and the relative abundance of plasma saturated fatty acids. The experimental group involved 13 subjects with Irlen Syndrome (M=13.3 yr., SD= 2.5 yr.), with a comparison group of 16 age- and sex-matched controls (M + 13.8 yr., SD = 2.4 yr.). The Irlen Syndrome groups were selected from people referred for help with reading and writing problems. The control group were primarily recruited from the general public. All subjects were screened for symptoms of the syndrome using the Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome Screening Manual. Samples of whole blood were collected and plasma extracted. Metabolites were compared using the Student t test. There were no differences in n-3 and n-6 essential fatty acids between Irlen Syndrome and control groups, although the former group had lower mean levels in most of these essential fatty acids. Total plasma cholesterol level was significantly decreased for the Irlen Syndrome group, and there was a significant increase in the relative abundance of the odd-chain fatty acid, heptadecanoic acid. The difference in heptadecanoic acid may have implications for altered membrane function and neurotransmission. The differences in plasma cholesterol levels, as well as heptadecanoic acid, may also point to the presence of viral or bacterial infection."
(Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2003, 97, 743-752)

Parenting- are you a passive or assertive parent?

2011-11-12T13:19:00.001+11:00

Parenting is a daily challenge, and is often even more difficult for parents of children with Aspergers. How you react to every little incident, request or behaviour is often that little bit harder. It can be so exhausting. So as a parent, we are often tired and sometimes, we give in. Knowing the most effective words to say at these times can be tricky. For example, a passive parent will not set boundaries or limitations. The assertive parent will handle the same situation differently. IE The misbehaviour is handled with an appropriate consequence or by working with the child to find an acceptable way to get desires met.

Remember the importance of using humour in difficult situations. Modeling humor is one of the most effective methods for parenting assertively.

Dyslexia and assistive technology

2011-11-10T18:59:00.002+11:00

Assistive technology is becoming more common, especially for individuals with Dyslexia and special needs. Google Scribe is a great tool that is free to download from Google. It suggests words or phrases as you write. The other great tool is the Livescribe smart pen, which allows students to record classroom lectures while they take notes. After class, students can touch the pen to paper specifically designed for the pen and listen to the audio that went along with that portion of the lesson. <http://r.smartbrief.com/resp/dmjeCdoWpUebdYdUfDcUbEfCcCoJ?format=standard>

Dyslexia and common characteristics

2011-10-30T22:39:00.002+11:00

Does your child exhibit some of the following characteristics? If so, they may be Dyslexic.

Complains of dizziness, headaches or stomach aches while reading.
Confused by letters, numbers, words, sequences, or verbal explanations.
Reading or writing shows repetitions, additions, transpositions, omissions, substitutions, and reversals in letters, numbers and/or words.
Complains of feeling or seeing non-existent movement while reading, writing, or copying.
Seems to have difficulty with vision, yet eye exams don't reveal a problem.
Extremely keen sighted and observant, or lacks depth perception and peripheral vision.
Reads and rereads with little comprehension.
Spells phonetically and inconsistently.
Excellent long-term memory for experiences, locations, and faces.
Poor memory for sequences, facts and information that has not been experienced.
Thinks primarily with images and feeling, not sounds or words (little internal dialogue).

When is Irlen Syndrome mostly diagnosed?

2011-10-30T16:12:00.000+11:00

Here is something to think about. While most children with Irlen Syndrome can be identified in elementary school, in some cases the problem will not be evident until students face the increased pressure of middle or high school.