my 9 year old ds has been diagnosed with Irlen syndrome - help!

[mummymafia]

Hi, I suspected my ds of 9 was dyslexic, so long story short, we paid for private assessment. He has now been diagnosed, not with dyslexia but Irlen syndrome or visual stress. I think this is on the dyslexic spectrum, am I right? His symptoms get much worse when he gets stressed. He has coloured overlays for reading at school and he is being assessed by a specialist optician for glasses with coloured lenses & his school say they will consider giving him more time in SATS Tec when the time comes. But what else can I do to help him? He really lacks confidence at times & really struggles with spellings despite trying really hard. He's a bright boy but I can see this will have a big negative impact if we don't get it right from the start. Many thanks.

This is a new one on me.

I have a DS with dyslexia/dyspraxia. He had a tutor to teach him spelling rules, but learning to touch type was as good - it is easier to remember that the 'd' is on the second line and 'b' on the bottom.
That time at primary where he was clever but frustrated was not easy.

We got him stuck into areas of interest - martial arts in his case - and once he could thrive at that, the other stuff mattered less, Another friend's lad became an expert bird watcher and wildlife artist....

DS went on to mis-spell throughout secondary, but was happier once everyone was focussed on other skills

I guess learning all those stress management techniques will be useful.

The other thing that I am recalling is a specialist who was recommended for visual/auditory stuff. www.keithholland.co.uk - although that may be the same type of specialist you have already seen.

Hope this helps

Engaging Eyes really helps children with Irlen sydnrome /visual stress.

Loving the chickens.

How is DC with a tablet/e-reader? The print size can be increased hugeley (friend's DC has about 6 word per page) but suddenly age appropriate reading material came into play and zen restored.

I assume you can change the print and background colour, and soe=me fonts are said to be easier than others.

Good Luck

Yes senvet Dd3 has an e reader app that allows her to change the background colour on the screen!

Its way better than my kindle app

2 of my girls have benefitted from coloured lenses. Dd3 had yellow lenses to improve her visual maturity and tracking! They worked at treat and she now has age appropriate and Asd appropriate reading skills!

Dd2 is dyslexic, she wore orange lenses for a couple of years and did loads of excersises and reading practice. Her reading improved but has now gone back to well below average.

If you can afford to give the glassess a whirl I would try it and see if they help.

Good luck

jordanseyes.com

3 of my dc wear coloured lens glasses, results are FANTASTIC!!

Must add - testing is free at jordans eyes, usual NHS frame price etc. If lens is made up with red in it then that's also free.

re - gone back to below average:-

my dd had one measure which from her point of view was improving year on year, but she fell below average after a while when they started improving at a faster rate.

Is it that? Or has he lost skills he had before?