Reading by the Colors

I just returned from a two-day training seminar in beautiful, downtown Buda, Texas, but Buda is another story for another day. Someone else was scheduled to attend the conference at Buda Elementary but was unable to go, so I was asked to attend in her place. What I learned is fascinating, and I hope that I can begin to make a real difference in the lives of my students and possibly others as well.

For as long as I can remember, I have been bothered by bright lights--especially those darn flourescent lights they use in modern-day structures that have no windows, such as my school. For years, I have felt ill working at my desk under those lights and at times have felt incapable of getting anything accomplished. Driving at night is often terrifying because sometimes I think oncoming cars are about to hit me or that things are closer than they really are. Even riding in the car when someone else is driving can be frightening because the glare of lights distorts what I see. Shopping, believe it or not, is sometimes a challenge because I can't see colors under the lighting used in certain stores, and I feel the need to shade my eyes when making a color choice. I truly prefer stores that have lots of natural lighting in them (Chico's on University!). Even though I am a reading teacher, I sometimes find reading difficult. After reading for a while, the print becomes blurred and even sometimes begins to move around on the page. When reading aloud to my students, I often throw a word into a sentence I am reading only to discover that word belongs on the next line in another sentence. Weird! It is fun, however, when I locate a design on a wall or some object that moves and dances around for me, but somehow I have always known that couldn't really be a normal thing--just my eyes playing tricks.

I discovered this year through a colleague of mine that my problems, which I really believed everyone experienced and were, therefore, normal, were indeed not shared by everyone. In fact, she offered to test me for something called Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome. Since she often tested students for this, I agreed. She told me she was positive I had it.

Anyway, the training seminar I attended confirmed that I do have what is now known as Irlen Syndrome, and I am now a certified screener for this. In completing the certification process, I had to test a couple of students as I was being observed by the psychologist who trained us. That was truly an eye-opening experience. But that is also another story. My heart goes out to all the students whose negative behaviors are just an outcry for help. It is suspected that many students who have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD (and because of this are heavily medicated) are really just suffering from Irlen Syndrome. It is even believed that some children with autism can benefit from treatment for Irlen Syndrome.

What is the treatment? People suffering from this can benefit from the use of colored overlays placed over their page, and possibly colored Irlen lenses. The particular color of the overlay or lens must be determined by a certified screener or diagnostician.

Pass this information on to anyone you know who might benefit from a screening. At the very least, check out the Irlen website and take the self-tests. It just might be the information someone needs to know--the information that might keep a child from slipping through the educational cracks.

Reading by the Colors is Helen Irlen's book about how she discovered this processing problem and how it might be the answer to the difficulties of many. I brought home a copy, so I guess I'll get my turquoise overlay and begin reading--in dim light, of course.

And if anyone wants to be screened for this, I'm your girl!