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Information for Optometrists

This 8 year old boy was asked to copy "I love Mummy". The first effort (at left) is without his Irlen coloured lenses. On the second attempt (at right) he copied "I love Mummy" whilst wearing his Irlen coloured lenses. Can you now imagine how difficult it would be to learn how to spell when affected by this condition? Irlen Syndrome Research Summaries Synopsis: Summary of Irlen research and comparison of studies. Source: Australasian Association of Irlen Consultants. Authors: Robinson, G.L., and Whiting, P.R. Extensive Review 2004 Update 2008 Yellow Filters can improve Magnocellular Function: Motion Sensitivity, Convergence, Accommodation and Reading. Synopsis: Yellow Filters should be tried in all children with reduced convergence and accommodation and reading before prisms, corrective lenses or exercises are prescribed. Source: ANN. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1039: 283-293 (2005). doi.10.1196/annals.1325.027 Authors: N J. Ray, S Fowler and J F. Stein The effects of Irlen Coloured Filters on Eye Movement: A long-term placebo controlled and masked study Synopsis: Found improvements in a range of visual tasks in 113 subjects with reading diffilculties using Irlen Filters. There were also linear effects for age. Source: Behavioural Optometry 1,7,4, 5-18 Authors: Robinson & Foreman Coloured Overlays in Schools: Orthoptic and Optometric findings Synopsis: The benefit children received from a coloured overlay was not related to orthoptic of optometric findings. Concludes that children with visually precipitated symptoms and/or reading difficulties need both evaluation of their accomodative and binocular status and investigation of the effect of coloured filters. Source: Ophthalmological and Physiological Optometry 22, 156-165 (2002). The College of Optometrists. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. UK. Authors: Scott, McWhinnie, Taylor, Stevenson, Irons, Lewis, Evans, Evans & Wilkins Coloured Overlays and their effects on reading speed: A Review Synopsis: Coloured overlays can reduce symptoms of visual stress and increase reading speed, and are not placebo. Source: Ophthalmological and Physiological Optometry 22, 448-454 (2002). The College of Optometrists. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. UK. Author: Wilkins, A. The effect of Coloured Filters on the rate of reading in an Adult Student population Synopsis: Irlen Syndrome likely to be as common in adults as in children, and improvements using Irlen filters similar. Source: Ophthalmological and Physiological Optometry 22, 535-545 (2002). The College of Optometrists. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. UK. Authors: Evans & Joseph Both Coloured Overlays and Coloured Lenses can improve reading fluency, but their optimal chromaticities differ Synopsis: For improvement in reading rate, overlay colours provide no clinically reliable guide to optimal lens colour. Source: Ophthalmological and Physiological Optometry 19,4, 279-285 (1999). The College of Optometrists. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. UK. Authors: Lightstone, A., Lightstone T., & Wilkins, A. Eye Movement efficiency in normal and reading disabled elementary school children: effects of varying luminance and wavelength Synopsis: Blue filters resulted in a significant improvement in the number of fixations and regressions and rate of reading in reading disabled children. Source: Journal of the American Optometric Association (1998). Authors: Solan, Ficara, Brannan & Rucker