There are many current medical procedures and medications that are backed up by supposed medical research that do not help and even do more damage. Do some research.
There are even articles that show that placebo is not so bad as it can help because many of our problems are psychological.
I have seen people get help from the Irlen lenses where they have not gotten the help from current medical practices.
The services that you pay for are expensive because they are not covered by insurance. The people who provide these services need to get paid for their services. The medical industry controls much of the services and medications that are provided and prevent services from being covered. In addition there is a blind faith in much of the current system. But people are starting to look to other places and are prepared to pay for these services because they are not getting better from much of the current system. A medical Dr. gets paid the same amount of money for 5 minutes of work that another person gets for one of more hours of work.
Some Drs will not provide some of these services because it takes too much time and there is not enough money in it. But there are Drs. who are providing some of these services and are doing excellent work.
All of the above is of course my opinion.
Note carefully. I'm not saying it doesn't have some foundation. I'm not saying it doesn't work. I'm not saying it's just placebo. I'm not even questioning the cost. I'm saying - getting the pseudoscience psychobabble out of it, get it properly investigated, get hard evidence, and then the insurance companies will cover it.
The other approach, which given your obvious biases you'll probably prefer, is to promote it as an alternative therapy, keep all the crap in it, get lots of popular attention, and then the insurance companies will give in to pressure and add it to their list.
The problem with the second approach (keeping the crap in), is that you'll reduce the scope for proper investigation, which may yield even more beneficial treatment - perhaps at lower cost. And of course, it will remain fairly nicely unregulated, which suits those who are just in it for the money, and sell other treatments of dubious merit.
Questioning things is the way treatments advance. If it can't stand up to questioning - avoid.
Part of the reason why I ask this is because I remember, way way back in my early days in optics, a woman came in with a colored sheet and asked for her glasses to be tinted exactly that color as it helped her read. She said she had dyslexia and it helped with that - but what you're describing sounds like what she said about how the color helped her.
Sooo... where I'm going with this is that perhaps you may wish to take the colored sheets to your local optical and ask the optician whether they can match the color with the tints in the lab? I remember it DID take us quite a long time to match the tints so you'd probably be "best off" going to one of the places with an in-house lab - or at least the ability to do tints in house.
The color we had to make for her was a particularly shocking peacock blue if I recall correctly BUT certainly some folks are more sensitive to brightnesses and colors than others.
I don't think it will be "cheap" even that way, but if there is no other prescription requirements (correcting for other visual "impairments"), I doubt it will run to 2000chf for the both, even in Switzerland.
I wrote that there are good doctors. I am not anti medical and am grateful to many doctors.
Your criticism at the beginning is not necessary. If you do not like the psycho babble then why not send a constructive message to the Irlen people and make your suggestions.
1 The discovery of coloured filter glasses as a remedy for reading difficulties
Casual observations can lead to some great discoveries, assuming that the observer is vigilant
and is interested in the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of his observation.
A fundamentally simple observation led to the simultaneous discovery and treatment of a
hitherto unknown condition (see below).
In 1981, the school psychologist Helen Irlen (1) was leading an American state-financed
research project into adult learning disabilities. She was specifically researching the causes of
learning disorders in adults who were unable to read, despite them having undergone every
possible treatment and remedial measures at school. She was searching for a new and more
effective method of treatment. A casual observation in the process became both a turning
point and origin of a new treatment technique and science:
A student had placed a red plastic film over the text that she was reading, when she let out a
cry of surprise. Suddenly she was able to read, as the words no longer wavered on the page.
Helen Irlen then found that a large number of people with these learning and reading
disabilities could be helped by using the colour filters. At the same time, she made the even
more spectacular discovery that the reading disorder is just one symptom of a complex of
medical conditions existing from earliest childhood, which can bear on one’s everyday life.
Various other skills can be affected by the symptoms.
Interestingly, some of the symptoms were already written about in 1980 in a study by Olive Meares (2).
2 The Irlen syndrome
The main symptoms of the Irlen syndrome are over-sensitivity to parts of the light spectrum,
illusory movements from regular repetitive patterns found in certain ground surfaces, learning
and reading difficulties. We addressed the problem of Irlen syndrome, asthenopia and reading
impairment in an article from 2005. Parents may have noticed certain behavioural patterns
early on in childhood; for example the child turning its head away from light even as a baby,
being afraid to climb the stairs, uncoordinated when playing or unable to catch a ball. Yet not
until the reading difficulties emerged was their attention aroused. The sufferers themselves do
not even know as adults what is wrong. They first notice it when they see and compare the
world through appropriate colour filters.
The lights in the supermarket do not dazzle so unbearably; the stairs are no longer a steep wall
without steps; the elements of the patterned ground surfaces no longer move around; reading,
writing and performance at school improve.
3 Treatment of the Irlen syndrome
It is not possible to predict or calculate whether or even which filters work. Only the patient
can sense and determine this. A filter can only be deemed effective by experimenting. An
improvement in reading aloud and observing steadier movements are objective criteria in
ascertaining whether the filter is helpful.
Helen Irlen worked out an examination and treatment table for the Irlen syndrome. It is
currently adopted worldwide by so-called Irlen ‘screeners’ and diagnosticians.
Two steps can be defined:
1. Irlen screening:
In a structured and extensive screening the patient is provided with films which differ in
colour, saturation and translucency. The colour films chosen by the patient are laid over the
text. If no difference in reading is noticed with or without the films, then an Irlen syndrome is
probably not the cause here. However, a second examination is sometimes necessary in order
to totally exclude this. If a definite improvement is noticed, then the second step is necessary.
2. Irlen diagnosis:
An advanced, structured process (Irlen diagnosis) clarifies whether the Irlen syndrome can be
more extensively treated with special filter glasses. Middle and long-range visual tests are
also carried out, with and without coloured glasses, thus testing the effectiveness of the agreed
colour combination.
Finally the untreated plastic lenses (CR39 quality), with possible adjustments, are sent to the
Irlen institute in the USA. The lenses are then dyed to the individually determined colour in
the Institute’s laboratory. The lenses are then fitted into the glasses by one’s own optician.
4 Case studies
The Irlen examination and treatment methods are offered by many therapists today, until a
few years ago though mainly in English speaking countries.
I know of two therapists here, Fritz Steiner1 in Switzerland and Shulamit Elad2 in Israel. The
cases that they report are very similar to an extent.
Schulamith Eldan works as a dyslexia therapist and an Irlen diagnostician. The cases referred
to her deal with learning and reading impairment. In many cases, learning and reading with
colour filters improved almost instantly.
Here are some of her cases:
Miriam, 8 years old, in the 3rd class, knows all the letters and punctuation marks. However she
can not read a word with more than 3 letters, and mixes up the letters in the middle. With a
colour film over the text (she needs three yellow films on top of each other) she no longer
confuses any letters. She is so happy that, after the treatment, she goes straight to a bookshop
with her mother and starts to read her new book straightaway. Before this she could only
decipher titles. After one month she receives her glasses with the dyed lenses. In her
following school report she receives a commendation for improvement in reading.
Sheery, 21 years old, Biology student. When she was reading, the text would frequently move
around, became blurred or three-dimensional, i.e. stand right out. She needed a lot of time to
grasp what she was reading at all. She used to drink up to 10 cups of coffee a day in order to
stay awake. She was unable to go shopping in a supermarket because the bright light and the
noise bothered her so much. During exams she couldn’t write properly, as the light in the
university rooms was too strong for her. Immediately after starting to wear the dyed lenses,
she had no more trouble whatsoever with her studies and all the other everyday hindrances
disappeared. Two cups of coffee a day sufficed.
Dani, 7 years old, was in a special remedial class in normal school, as he was still unable to
read in the second class. Using coloured films he began to read and practised this every
evening at home. After one month he received his glasses with the coloured lenses and went
into the 2nd regular class. The following school year he was placed in the 3rd regular class.
Naomi, 9 years old, in the 4th class, had to ask her school friends for their books to find out
what the homework was. She was incapable of copying down from the blackboard. Her
writing was illegible. She got headaches when she began to read. She was taken to the
optician many times, who claimed the girl was ‘making a fuss’. He could see no reason for the
disorders, as her vision seemed impeccable. The Irlen examination showed that Naomi’s
perception range (extent of perception looking straight ahead without moving one’s eyes) was
concentrically severely restricted. Even with medium-sized print, she could only read one
short word at a time. The text moved around as soon as she started to read. With a coloured
film she began to read freely, both at school and at home, and completed her homework
without her friends’ help, but still complained of head and stomach aches.
The filter glasses brought about a dramatic improvement in the girl’s disorders, wrote her
mother. The examination showed that her perception range had become significantly larger.
She was able to concentrate and socially integrate herself better. In a composition entitled
“blue glasses”, the girl wrote neatly and legibly: “Since I’ve had my blue glasses, I feel like
the queen of the school. The children think that I’m wearing sunglasses.”
Rachel, 39 years old, mother of Naomi. After the dramatic improvements in her daughter, her
mother was also examined. Her ailments were: extreme fatigue during the whole day, constant
suffering of headaches, only able to read what she had to, incapable of driving at night and
unable to assess distances. Her movements were unsteady, tentatively putting one foot in front
of the other. With the colour filter glasses her whole quality of life has increased. She is
significantly less tired and her headaches are less frequent. She now reads books for pleasure
and driving is much easier now. Everyday work is much less trouble, her movement is free
and steady. Before, it was as if she “was walking on a tightrope.”
Fritz Steiner is a teacher, expert in learning support, Low-Vision trainer and Irlen
diagnostician.
Some examples from his practice:
Hans, 12 years old, complained of headaches and eyestrain when reading, letters and lines
moved around. His extreme efforts to read were clearly observed. He constantly changed his
reading distance, pulled his eyes right up and gazed at the text.
With the Irlen filters: “My eyes no longer hurt when I read, nor do the letters jump around, I
no longer see just single letters, but I identify whole words.” When reading aloud, one notices
his fluent reading and correct word stress, i.e. his attention is no longer focused on
recognising the letters, but is diverted to the actual content of the text.
Bettina, 16 years old, complained of illusory movements of regular patterns, which impaired
her movement. “The square sways back and forth.” Window frames also moved. The effort to
read, visible in her vertical frown and tense face, was “written all over her face”. With the
Irlen filters there are no more illusory movements and reading is effortless.
Romi, 12 years old, complained of great strain and fatigue when reading, and difficulty in
reading musical notes. When reading her tense posture, tense facial expression and muscular
tension around the eyes and on the forehead was striking. She constantly changed her reading
distance, moved her head as she read, and liked to use her finger to help read. Her perception
range was greatly restricted. She could only recognise one musical note at a time. With the
Irlen filters, her reading is fluent, the stress is correct, and there is no more tiredness when
reading. Instead of just a single note, she can make out a whole bar at a time with all the notes
and signs. Her school performance has greatly improved, and her reduced stress level has
made her much more self-confident in the company of other students.
5 Secondary Irlen syndrome
Apart from children who have reading difficulties due to an innate Irlen syndrome, more and
more sufferers with the usual symptoms approach us – over sensitivity to light, illusory
movements from regular patterns, reading difficulties – having head injuries resulting from an
accident – and whiplash. As a result of the latter, the interdisciplinary reference book
“Whiplash – the latest perspective” (4) discusses, among other things, distinct over sensitivity
to light, greater strain and blind spots when reading. According to Fritz Steiner, colour filters
also lead to improvements here not just in reading and movement but also in other everyday
activities. Unlike an innate primary Irlen syndrome, the sufferers are aware of their
symptoms, as they can remember their normal condition.
6 Etiology of the Irlen syndrome
The acquired, i.e. secondary Irlen syndrome makes the question of the causes of the disorder
even more complicated. The symptoms and the remedy with colour filters are the same for
both primary and secondary Irlen syndrome. If a primary syndrome is assumed, it is primarily
a matter of an innate peripheral dysfunction of the visual system, for instance an anomaly in
the colour receptors of the retina. This can not therefore apply to the secondary syndrome. In
this case, a central dysfunction resulting from the trauma has to be the cause, thus in the
centre of the brain, which processes incoming visual information from outside. This could
explain the healing of the primary and secondary Irlen syndrome and the improvements with
the colour filters. Yet what has still not been explained is the connection of the typical
symptoms. What has an excessive over sensitivity to light to do with illusory movements and
reading disorders? On the basis of a case of secondary Irlen syndrome from optic retrobulbar
neuritis, we established the following theory:
An Irlen syndrome is concerned with a coordination dysfunction of the parvo and magnocellular
system. The parvo system steadily and continuously transmits information concerning
the colour and shape of an object from the retina to the cortex of the temporal lobe, and it is
‘oblivious to movement’. The magno system swiftly carries information mainly about the
location and movement of an object to the cortex of the rear parietal lobe for processing, and
it is colour blind. They are coordinated in such a way that when one of them is active, the
other ‘remains still’. It is assumed here that there is a mutual constraint between both systems.
The main area of the parvo system is the central retina, with its many cones and few rods. The
main area of the magno system is the peripheral retina, with many rods and few cones. The
first is sensitive to contrasts in small contours and colour, the latter sensitive to light, dark and
light contrasts and movements. Symptoms of an Irlen syndrome are already explained by an
excessive irritation of the magno system when reading: over sensitivity to light with glare
from the contrast between the black characters and the white background; illusory movements
of characters and words, brought about by regular black and white patterns, which black lines
together with white spaces create. Regular black and white patterns which encourage illusory
movements have also been proved in experiments with normal individuals. The excessive
irritation of the magno system must be attributed to a peripherally or centrally located, innate
or acquired weakness in the parvo system, which exerts a deficient constraint on the magno
system. The role of the colour filter is thus: a strengthening of the parvo system or a slowing
down of the magno system by the removal or addition of various individually pre-determined
colours. Our theory is speculative, though we have yet to find a better explanation.
7 Problems at school and Irlen syndrome
Learning and reading difficulties have various causes and require specific treatment relating
to the cause, as is described at length in the inter-disciplinary textbook of the treatment of
learning and reading difficulties (7). The Irlen syndrome is one such cause. It is also
relatively easy to diagnose. The Irlen screening examination using colour films should
therefore be used as a routine examination in schools for children with reading difficulties, in
order to single out those with an Irlen syndrome and to administer treatment. In this way
difficult school years and associated social marginalisation as well as hardship in adult life
will be spared.
Literature
(1) Irlen Helen, Lesen mit Farben, Bei Dyslexie und anderen Leseschwierigkeiten helfen: Die Irlen-
Methode, VAK, Freiburg im Breisgau, 1997
(2) Olive Meares, Figure-Ground, Brightness, Contrast and Reading inabilities, Published in Visible
Language Volume XIV Number 1 1980
(3) Safra Doris, Fritz Steiner, Irlen Syndrom, Asthenopie und Leseschwäche, in Schweizerische
Zeitschrift für Heilpädagogik, Luzern, 2/05, S. 10 - 16
(4) Schmidt Hans, Senn Jürg,Wedig Hans-Dieter, Baltin Harmut, Grill Christian, Schleudertrauma -
neuester Stand: Medizin, Biomechanik, Recht und Case Management, Postfach 1491, 8700 Küsnacht,
Zürich, 2004
(5) Steiner Fritz, Schleudertrauma und visuelle Wahrnehmungsstörungen, in Fachzeitschrift des
Schleudertrauma Verbandes Zürich, 1/2005
(6) Dr. med. Doris Safra und Fritz Steiner. Ungewöhnliche postneuritische Störungen, Strabologische
und neurophthalmologische Falldemonstrationen St. Gallen 16.-18.06.2005, in ophta, Schweizerische
Fachzeitschrift für augenärztliche Medizin und Technologie, 06/2005, S. 18, S. 50
(7) Safra Doris, Béatrice Läubli, Anita Fink, Monika Kick, Fritz Steiner. Interdisziplinäres Lehrbuch
zur Behandlungs der Lern- und Leseschwäche, Edition SZH/CSPS, Luzern 2005
Author’s address:
Dr. med. Doris Safra
Myrtenstr. 3
9010 St. Gallen
1 Fritz Steiner, Irlen Diagnostician and Low Vision Trainer
Bahnhofstrasse 34, CH-4143 Dornach, Switzerland
Tel. 0041 79 692 02 64, E-Mail: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) , Internet: www.irlen.ch
2 Shulamit Elad M.A., Irlen Diagnostician, Israel
Tel 00972 2 6799864, E-Mail: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])
Sorry? Your point was?
As more research is done into Irlen then one way or another opinions will change....until the next study of course.
However, the reason why scientific ideas and theories change over time, is because there is always some awkward beggar questioning them. Focus's ironically rather blurred, myopic perspective is "don't question what (apparently) works".
If somebody wants to believe it then why not let them get on with it. Sometimes faith makes more sense than science.
I'm not in fact opposed to this technique. Once you're passed the marketing blurb and the hype, it appears to me that it's certainly something worth investigating. And I've no doubt it has had some success. But that doesn't mean that it is backed by hard science, and should be covered by health insurance at this time.
And I maintain my criticism - it's packaged as pseudoscience and psychobabble. And so long as it continues in that vein, progress toward it being generally accepted will be impeded. Which to my mind suggest someone more interested in making money than in promoting health.
Maybe you have had you problems in your life but that is no reason to make such statements. It is easy to be negative, critical and down right rude. It takes more courage to be patient, understanding and encouraging.
But, when you have a kid with good language skills but is for example, slow to read, you suspect dyslexia. Not every kid with dyslexia reverses letters. And the truth is, if colored glasses help your kids read, and reduce the stress of reading (because reading is soo important), how could you not try it.
I suppose my questions on this are - is there just one single color that makes it easier for certain people to read, or are there multiple colors? And is the effect stable, that is, over time, does the effect persist, and is it the same in different situations - e.g., the classroom, at home, in low light, etc. Are some colors favored over others?
I'd also have the same question as Peg A - if you're using standard transparent sheets, and you know the color (e.g. pantone value), why do the glasses have to be made in the US.
I'm interested in this because I'm dyslexic myself and have some light sensitivity - I see flourescent lights flicker. I wear sunglasses a lot and read in lower light environments. I think there's a lot we don't know about perceptual differences, but they become more important as we spend more time in front of lighted screens. I don't know how I feel about the method itself - anything overtly proprietary - which relates to the manufacture of these glasses - raises a red flag in me, but as I said, if it helps your kids read, it's hard to discount it personally.
I'm interested to know how this all turns out. Good luck.
I tried to send a copy of a pdf file wioth graphic and tect that shows how the lenses can affect the brain. could not transfer it over to ef. You can send me a private message and I will send a copy of the file.
Very good questions and probaly there is some research somewhere that answers your questions. I have found that some people feel comfortable with a number of colors.There are some people who always wear the glasses. and have for years. The glasses are not dark but tinted.
I am pretty sure that the glasses do not have to be made in the US and can be tinted here.
if I may repeat, I believe that it is all about sensitivity be it tactile, auditory or visual. we can and need to work on calming our systems. Anxiety is one of the biggest issues now adays and some if may be out of our immediate control. We can learn how to deal with these sensitivities with various tools.
sometimes we get too narrowly focus on the science. If it works why not. we need to learn to trust in ourselves rather than looking for validation. Studies can alway be affected to fit a desired goal. I am one for science and its importance but I am also one to trust in myself.
Computers can be very hard and an option is to turn down the brightness on the copmputer screens and televisions.
helen irlen did a lot of work and research putting this togetzher. Isn't it okay to get renumerated for her services. heck, many us will pay a lawyer 500 an hour. Why not pay when some one improves your life.
From what you've posted, though, I'd go for option a) "doesn't really understand what science is". I've no idea whether you are honest or not.
There's always option c), "deluded", if you prefer.
If it works - wouldn't it be good if people could have their insurance pay for it. And the way to get that is to ditch the babble and marketing hype.
Back to Irlen and reading troubles.