subject: Tinted overlays for dyslexia, visual stress and migraines [print this page] This mainly causes problems with judging distance and reading, as well as causing individuals to be over sensitive to glare and light on their page computer screen, or white boards at school (which is a leading cause of migraines).
Difficulty in reading, skipping words in sentences and experiencing trouble reading columns are all typical symptoms of visual stress and MIS. Sensitivity to light is due to the different wavelengths of light interacting with the brain in a different way to people who don't suffer with MIS. This is still little understood and further neurological research must be undertaken to fully comprehend this disorder.
Helen Irlen and Olive Meares both completed research independently of each other in 1980, to show that coloured overlays on lenses can improve reading speed and letter discernment in dyslexic children and those suffering with what is now known as visual stress. Professor Wilkins at Essex University, together with the Medical Research Council developed the Intuitive Colorimeter, a device that allows one to vary hue, saturation and luminance of colour until the best combination for optimum reading conditions are reached. A computer notes this information and then produces the specifically coloured overlay or glasses lenses for the patient who has been prescribed precision tinted lenses.
Just like everybody else's optical prescription, the required tint can change over time, so yearly Intuitive Colorimeter tests are recommended. While little is known about the science of this treatment for visual stress, dyslexia and migraines, it has been proven to work, not as a placebo effect, but as a real solution to this distressing problem.
