Some people are unfortunate enough to experience perceptual distortion when looking at certain patterns or text, making it hard to read comfortably and difficult to take in the information the text contains.

These distortions are characteristic of a condition called Irlen Syndrome (also know as Meares-Irlen Syndrome or Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome). There is now scientific evidence that specifically coloured overlays or lenses help to remove the distortions.

The symptoms experiences can vary greatly, but most commonly include:

Glare from the page
Words appearing to move or twist
Spacing between words appearing to alter
Words standing out on the page
Sore eyes or headaches while reading

In all cases we recommend an up to date sight test first, as there are other eye conditions that can cause similar symptoms. After that the choice is then between an overlay assessment or colorimetry assessment.

Overlay Assessment

An overlay is the basic assessment to see if coloured filters can help with the perceptual problems. There are a limited number of overlays, and these are assessed to see which helps reduce the distortions. If appropriate we can measure the increase in rate of reading with the overlay through the Wilkins Rate of Reading Test.

Colorimetry Assessment

The colorimetry assessment is more in depth and uses an Intuitive Colorimeter to accurately choose the best colour and depth of tint to reduce or eliminate the distortions.

This can then be produced as tinted lenses to be worn for any task where distortions are a problem. We often have people referred to us for this assessment by the local eye department, and sometimes from further afield.