Irlen spectral filters or Irlen lenses are coloured overlay filters or tinted lenses crafted specifically for the wearer and worn as glasses or

contact lenses Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmeti ...

. They are intended to help people with the supposed perceptual processing difficulty known as Irlen syndrome, also known as

scotopic sensitivity syndrome Irlen syndrome, occasionally referred to as scotopic sensitivity syndrome (SSS) or Meares–Irlen syndrome, is a postulated disorder of vision or image-processing in the brain. Irlen syndrome is also sometimes referred to as asfedia or visual ...

or visual stress, in which sensitivity to specific wavelengths of light provokes difficulty and discomfort when performing visually intensive activities such as

reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spelling ...

. The existence of Irlen syndrome is controversial, although there is a small body of research supporting the use of colour to alleviate the symptoms associated with Irlen syndrome.

Scotopic sensitivity syndrome

Scotopic sensitivity syndrome Irlen syndrome, occasionally referred to as scotopic sensitivity syndrome (SSS) or Meares–Irlen syndrome, is a postulated disorder of vision or image-processing in the brain. Irlen syndrome is also sometimes referred to as asfedia or visual ...

is said to be a visual-perceptual defect related to difficulties with light source, glare, luminance, wavelength, and contrast. According to Irlen, these difficulties lead to reading problems, eye strain, headaches, migraines, and other physical difficulties that can be alleviated by the use of person specific tinted lenses, known as Irlen spectral filters, worn as glasses or contact lenses. The syndrome has six characteristics: #

photophobia Photophobia is a medical symptom of abnormal intolerance to visual perception of light. As a medical symptom photophobia is not a morbid fear or phobia, but an experience of discomfort or pain to the eyes due to light exposure or by presence of ...

# eye strain #poor visual resolution #a reduced span of focus #impaired depth perception #poor sustained focus Scotopic sensitivity syndrome is diagnosed by interviewing the client and by observing responses to certain visual tasks such as interpreting geometric figures and reading.

History and research

The idea of page based distortion was initially suggested in 1980 by Olive Meares, to improve the reading ability of people with a learning disability, specifically a certain type of dyslexia. Later this was taken further by psychologist Helen Irlen. The proposition by Irlen was made at the Annual Meeting of the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...

in 1983. At that time, there was little research made on the effect of tinted lenses. Irlen gained notable publicity demonstrating the efficacy of her method on television. Tinted lenses became a commercial success, and testing and prescribing centers were opened throughout USA. Diagnosis of Irlen Syndrome and treatment with Irlen Spectral Filters has been reviewed by the USA Medical Board, and has been determined as not the practice of medicine; it has also been reviewed by various USA Boards of Optometry and has been found not to be the practice of optometry. Binocular and accommodative anomalies may occur in conjunction with the syndrome, but are not considered to be the underlying physiological basis of the condition.

Commercial claims of utility

According to Irlen, the lenses can be used to treat a wide variety of problems that are associated with light sensitivity, discomfort and distortions, including head injury, concussion, whiplash, perceptual problems, neurologic impairment, memory loss,

language deficits A communication disorder is any disorder that affects an individual's ability to comprehend, detect, or apply language and speech to engage in dialogue effectively with others. The delays and disorders can range from simple sound substitution to t ...

, headaches and migraine, autoimmune disease, fibromyalgia,

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, som ...

cataracts A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble w ...

retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a genetic disorder of the eyes that causes loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision (side and upper or lower visual field). As peripheral vision worsens, people may ...

, complications from an eye operation, depression, chronic anxiety and others. She has also claimed that a treatment for scotopic sensitivity syndrome could help a number of incarcerated individuals and delinquent children.

Criticism

The Irlen method has been criticised for being put to the market prior to serious research. According to Helveston, the scotopic sensitivity syndrome and its treatment has, as a phenomenon, resulted in classic

group behaviour Group dynamics is a system of behaviors and psychological processes occurring within a social group (''intra''group dynamics), or between social groups ( ''inter''group dynamics). The study of group dynamics can be useful in understanding decision- ...

and has the characteristics of a fad with a charismatic personality as a leader and the supporting evidence being mostly anecdotal—even though those with visual stress are spread around the world, mostly don't know each other, and have no interest in Helen Irlen, all of which conditions would need to be met to fulfill the criteria of group dynamics. A 2002 study by Professor Arnold Wilkins at

Essex University The University of Essex is a public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the ancient arms attributed to the Kingdom of Ess ...

, though, indicates that there may be some benefit for reading difficulties , and also for people with migraines.

References

External links