dyslexia ???

[loosinas]

further to my post about my sons constant tiredness i took him for an eye test to rule out that being a reason for his reluctance to practice reading. hes slightly long sighted but will be re checked in 3 months rather than rushing into a prescription. the optomitrist mentioned maybe get a test for dyslexia... at 5 ?? due to how he was reading on different colours and something else which now slips my mind.... i really dont know whether to talk to class teacher... i didnt think dyslexia could present so early ? what are the signs at this age does anyone know ?

[IndigoBell]

Dyslexia can be diagnosed at 5 - but not by an optometrist.

Sounds like you should get him a more thorough eye test by a Behaviour Optometrist. They will give you absolutely the best eye test you can get.

Don't worry about whether he does or doesn't have dyslexia. It's not really relevant at this age. But do try and get any vision problems sorted that can be......

[sarahfreck]

I think the optician was referring to Irlen Syndrome, also known as scotopic sensitivity. It isn't dyslexia, but it seems to affect dyslexic children more than others and can be a cause of problems with reading and writing. If you google those terms you will find out all about it.
Indigobell is correct. An optometrist trained in diagnosing for Irlen Syndrome would be able to advise. The symptoms of Irlen syndrome can often be improved by putting print on a different colour than white ( but different children with the syndrome benefit from different colours!)

[IndigoBell]

If a child's vision is improved substantially by using different colours paper or coloured overlays what they reall need is tinted lenses.

Colored overlays should generally only be used to see if tinted glasses are needed.

[maizieD]

I have tried out coloured overlays with all sorts of people, children and colleagues, just for interest. Just about everyone (including me) says that some colours make the writing on the page stand out more and improve in clarity. I understand that black print on bright white paper is the very worst combination for ease of reading for anybody.

I suspect that 'scotopic sensitivity' is, like 'dyslexia' a very overused term...

[sarahfreck]

The real test with older children is to time them reading passages of text. If their times dramatically increase when they have an overlay, it is probably more than just a bit of an improvement in clarity. I had one student for whom yellow overlays increased her reading speed by about 30% but as she was a teenager, she refused to use overlays or consider tinted lenses!! Did not want to stand out from the crowd!!

[IndigoBell]

Maizie - which is why you need a proper test done by a qualified person.

I agree coloured overlays help most people to some degree. Irlen syndrome is nothing like that, and is as you state fairly rare.