Meares-Irlen Syndrome

Background Information

Possible characteristics of Meares-Irlen Syndrome, sometimes referred to as Scotopic Sensitivity, include:

• Reader experiences visual disturbance or distortion when looking at a page of print
• Movement, jumping, flickering and/or blurring of letters
• Difficulty seeing print clearly, especially black print on a white background
• Words doubling
• Shadowy lines/shapes or coloured fringes to letters
• The black print on white paper produces symptoms of visual discomfort/eye strain/eyes watering/itching or burning/blinking and possible headaches
• Sensitivity to bright light, especially fluorescent light.

These symptoms could be due to a need for glasses or visual training exercises, so a full eye examination should be carried out first before an assessment for response to coloured overlays and lenses.

Possible ways of detecting adults with Meares-Irlen Syndrome

Observation

• Often experience difficulties learning to read printed text and hand written work
• Headaches/eye strain from prolonged reading
• Excessive blinking/rubbing or watering of eyes as a result of reading
• Reporting movement/jumping of letters and/or words/blurring/distortion of print
• Difficulty seeing print clearly, especially black on white background
• Reporting glare from white paper making reading uncomfortable
• Frequently loses their place
• Re-reads words/lines of print
• Poor concentration during reading/writing activities
• Sensitivity to bright light, especially fluorescent lighting.

Useful things to try

• Experiment with different coloured overlays to see if they stabilise the print
• The effect of a single colour may wear off after a time and there may be a need to try others
• If one colour seems to work consistently over a period of time, it may be worth considering a full assessment for coloured lenses by a specialist optometrist or ophthalmologist or a local Irlen Centre
• Reading in a dim light may help
• Printing text onto coloured paper may reduce the problem
• Explore different colours of paper with the learner
• Use a plain piece of card or finger to track the words, keep the place or follow a line of text
• Use a clear or coloured A5 sheet of acetate with a line drawn across it to put over the page to track the line of print or mark the place within a piece of text.
• Cut a window in a piece of card to highlight the line of text
• When producing handouts consider:
• Preferred style and size of fonts
  • Line spacing
  • Justified left and unjustified right margins
  • Constant spaces between words.

For further information, please contact us.