Some averagely intelligent children and adults may experience difficulty in learning to read fluently and to spell.
There are certain, often subtle, eye movement and vision issues that are more common experienced by individuals with reading difficulty or dyslexia. The correction of these problems through use of eye exercises or with spectacles, whilst not immediately curing the reading difficulty, may make learning to read more comfortable.
However, although probably a majority of younger people with reading difficulty have perfect eyesight and eye movements, some will notice visual distortions when trying to read a page of print- blurring, glare or movement of words or letters. This is referred to as visual stress. Research by the Medical Research Council and the Institute of Optometry has shown that these visual distortions can be helped by the use of coloured overlays and precision tinted spectacle lenses (Meares-Irlen syndrome), which positively impacts the process of learning to read.
The symptoms and signs of visual stress can often be alleviated by using colour when reading. The reduction only occurs when the colour is selected to suit the individual. Initially this can be assessed by the trial of coloured overlays placed over printed text. If coloured overlays help, then, here at harwood Opticians, the coloured lenses will be provided in to the spectacles which closest match the colour of the overlay. This, would in turn aid the patient during reading and other related tasks.
