Tinted glasses for Irlen's syndrome (how much difference do they make?)

[teamcullen]

My 7 year old was diagnosed with Irlen's syndrome earlier this year, and was reccomended to use a turquoise overlay to help with his reading. However, I was wondering whether to get him further tested to see if he needs the tinted glasses.

He seems to really have to concentrate when doing his work, so dosent produce much although his teacher says the content is good. However this leaves him exhausted. He is also quite clumsy, forever tripping up and knocking things over.

Looking at the Irlen's web site, there are lots of indications that Irlen's effects my son in every day life which, before I hadnt connected to Irlen's.

So, has anybody used the tinted glasses themselves or for their children? Do they make much difference? Most importantly, do they make life easier?

[malcolmp9]

I recently sat through a 3.5 hour test with my grandson for Irlens.
As the test progressed to lens testing with 4 different coloured lenses put together I nearly cried to see my 13yr old grandsons face light up because he was able to see and read like never before.
Don't let anyone say Irlens doesn't exist I've sat and watched something I didn't think was possible,we as a family have spent several years trying to find out why he had his problems.
I'm very grateful to have a daughter who is a specialist teacher in cognition and learning who set us on the right track and to the teacher who agreed with us and got him initially tested at school.
We then decided to get the full test done which is expensive as are the glasses but worth every penny.

[bizzibee1]

irlen support group Channel Islands is an amazing place to find information on facebook or google irlen .com

[Hayes1]

I prefer the term visual dyslexia. After regular eye problems are eliminated as causal or corrected, reading problems caused by difficulty seeing words easily and without stress can usually be described by the individual. Described visual problems that make reading difficult and/or uncomfortable need a visual intervention. Dyslexics generally have no visual issues and normally report seeing text fine , no visual intervention needed. See Right Dyslexia Glasses are universal visual dyslexia glasses made from complex optical filter glass that remove described visual problems and physical discomfort from reading. Because the filtering properties are uniform in the glass rather than from a coating they stay effective over time. The reason Irlen lenses become ineffective over time is because the tint coatings fade not because of any mystical eye or brain changes.See Right Dyslexia Glasses can be purchased over the web because the need for a personal evaluation has been eliminated.

[terry2014]

Hi, I had to get involved with this. I'm a 25 year old teacher who was diagnosed with MI at university after I couldn't keep up with the reading. I was an A* student at school but was never picked up, despite teachers seeing me reading through a blue maths ruler.

The glasses make ALL the difference. I couldn't see the moss growing on rooftiles or the patterns in bark until I wore my lenses. My headaches are much less frequent and I can think more logically (strange as that may seem!). I don't drop things as much and I can read pretty much endlessly.

Dyslexic or not, those with MI suffer needlessly when there is such a simple solution. Both sisters have it, as does my dad, and it's also linked to a migraine gene.

DEFINITELY worth the money for screening and lenses. In fact when I was at university I was paying for yearly screening and lenses and colour preferences do change.

Skeptics - I haven't written this to troll you. MI is so easy to live with if you have the right support!

[smee]

Sjbew, I don't think it's just psychology at all. My son wears coloured lenses. He couldn't read the white board before and when reading text words flew all over the place. He's still wearing his 2 years on from getting them. He simply can't see black text on white without them.

I was sceptical at first, but at the first filter test they asked him to read a paragraph of random words with his chosen filter against the clock for a minute. With the filter he read 98% of the words and made just two mistakes. He then read the same words without the filter and only managed 65% of the words and made lots of mistakes, including skipping whole lines. To see that sort of evidence in front of your eyes was proof enough for me!

[biggles26]

If I may put my tuppence in, albeit five years late, the IOO is not a good organisation to go to to get Irlen filters\glasses. They still assume that Irlen Syndrome is something wrong with the eyes when it is something wrong with the brain. The only organisation that can provide the appropriate filters is Irlen UK.

[hanifah1]

Hi, can you please give the name and contact details of the person who did the irlen assesment for your son please? And educational psychologist told me yesterday that my son most likely has it.
Thanks again

[bizzibee1]

yes my daughter wears her irlen filters all the time .i would thoroughly recommend being tested the change it has made to my daughters life has been phenominal. i asked her what would happen if we couldn't get irlen filters any more and she said life wouldn't be worth living .she worrys that when she is older and has left home she might not be able to afford them .just having overlays in our experience wouldn't be enough my daughter says she loves looking out the window in the car she can now see patterns in the clouds and leaves on the trees !we go to the librairy weekly now where as before diagnoses she had never read a complete book .

[baznsam]

hello it seems there is alot of information about irlens here but hope u dont mind me asking on this page .please could anyone tell me do irlen glasses have to be worn all the time when you get them

[Sjbew]

...ask your self this question....
If this condition did really exist.....why do 96% of those who get the lenses stop wearing them within three years.....you might not like this but the use of these lenses is simply one of pandering and the Irlen lenses supply is a rip-off bearing in mind that the cost of tinting a lens to a specific tint is about £8 a lens.....if they work for your kids it is all psychology....they will not do damage but ask yourself how many thousands of these 'wonder-tinted-spectacles' are lying in drawers.....millions!

[Mitzi50]

Muffy - I think there is some recognition by the NHS. I recently took my daughter to the Vision Training Clinic at Colchester Hospital. We had to pay as she is 17 but it is free for under 14s. Your GP can refer you - it seems to be a well kept secret so I wonder if there are similar clinics in other parts of the country.

[wasuup3000]

Test is £25 here and £35 for tinted lenses and free frames as for a child. He could read 20 words a minute without the right overlay colour when being assessed and 40 words a minute with. To him words dance about without them and stay still with them.

[loobyloo63]

My son (now 14) was only diagnosed 18 months ago. After struggling through primary school with his reading and writing, his secondary school quickly realised there was a problem and he was tested for Irlen syndrome. We started with overlays but went on to get him the glasses (green tints) as he already wore prescription ones and the difference is amazing. His eyesight has also settled down and he now only needs yearly eye tests and not every 3 months. His confidence and his grades have improved dramatically and he is now on track to get a grade C in his English GCSE, something we never thought possible.!!
He gets some strange looks but he doesn't care as, in his words, ''I can now read and write like my mates''. He said his primary school made him feel thick.
Get the glasses, they are well worth it.

[CJDodo71]

My 5 year old son was tested for dyslexia at the end of year R and we were told he was no risk (it runs in the family and his older brother has already been diagnosed) but I still knew there was something not right with his progress in reading and writing. He recently said the letters kept moving on the page and the school tried using coloured overlays with him. In a week his confidence has grown and he is reading much better.

Thank you for all the encouraging comments on this page as I will now investigate the lenses for him. Not enough is known about the different forms of dyslexia in this country and I now wonder if this is why many of the children I have taught and had the gut feel something was not right came back negative on dyslexia tests.

Let's keep raising awareness.

[nonicknameseemsavailable]

we went to a local opticians with a vision therapy department.

a colorimetry test with a machine cost us either £35 or £45 I can't remember which.

coloured glasses then cost us under £150 but I can't remember the actual amounts.

My daughter says they make a huge difference. She can read without them but will get tired more easily and her eyes get sore and water. She makes sure she wears them and has done for a year and I think if they didn't work then she would have stopped wearing them.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

Lynette.

I've just been quoted nearly £460 for one of my kids to be assessed and glasses (that I have to get new) coated.

[aciddrops]

Thank you Mariscall. He had an Irlen's test which cost about £80. It told me nothing that I did not know - it was basically a questionnaire and a few pictures which he could have easily completed at home. Then he chose a coloured overlay. TBH I felt quite ripped off as we could have tried the overlays at home as I had already bought a packet for £20. He's supposed to go back for a review soon but I really can't be bothered! I know that the words come off the page when he is tired. He uses an orange reading ruler which helps.

[MariscallRoad]

aciddrops my DS wears aqua and mint tinted lenses since last spring when he reads and writes. He says his reading has been more comfortable as a result. The specialist say the tinted lenses have increased his speed of reading. He did use coloured overlays before but it is the tinted glasses that had better effect.

[tinytalker]

Interesting how Maverick has not added further comment!
S/He says anecdotal reports are not evidence of effectiveness but these stories are pretty convincing and if my struggling child says they help and their self confidence is boosted and they are performing better than they were without them then I don't care what the professors say!!!!

[aciddrops]

Interested in this as my DS has Meares Irlens so if anyone else can comment on tinted glasses I would appreciate it too.

[sashh]

Tinted overlay guru Wilkins himself, '(W)ent on to conclude that the wearing of tinted lenses is unlikely to have a direct effect on the child's level of reading skill'

And? This has nothing to do with reading skill, it is about reading ease.

When my reading age was tested at 14 it was off the scale, literally. The teacher marking had no idea who I was because I was int he bottom set for English.

My tints (glasses, overlay and computer background) stop letters moving around. Without them I can still read, it is just much harder.

[aciddrops]

Thank you childrendriveumad The Irlens test has been cancelled and as you say, I'm going to wait until he gets his prescription glasses and I'll see how he gets on with them. I have bought a packet of coloured overlays and I will see which one he finds best (if any). He has been using a blue reading ruler for a few weeks and that seems to help him but I'm sure that once he has his reading glasses things will improve.

[childrendriveumad]

Hi all

I am a dispenser with a behavioural optometrist and can vouch for the life changing effects that coloured lenses and vision therapy can have.

With regard to your ds aciddrops are the glasses being provided by the Irlens people? I would recommend waiting about 6 weeks after collecting the glasses to see what difference they alone make. If he very long sighted they should make a huge difference on their own. You could try them with overlays before investing in irlens tests or lenses.
This is what we would recommend if we performed a full functional assessment, as coloured lenses are very expensive and sometimes glasses alone or vision therapy can cure the problem. Please don't hesitate to pm me if you have any further questions.