26/11/2021
IRLEN SYNDROME IS A VISUAL PROCESSING DISORDER INVOLVING THE BRAIN.. NOT THE EYES! Our eyes send visual signals to the visual cortex in our brain. For most people, the signal arrives "intact" meaning that what the brain "sees" is exactly what was sent from the eyes. For people with Irlen Syndrome, there are parts of the light entering the eye that cause a distortion of the signal before it reaches the visual cortex, so what the brain "sees" IS NOT the same as what the signal from the eyes is. These distortions can include blurring, movement and fading of words on a page, a difficulty in being able to focus on a visual task. or remembering what has been read. It can also affect writing. This is sometimes messy, and difficult to understand. Irlen lenses, when worn as glasses actually "filter out" specific parts of the light that enters the eyes, so that there is no distortion when the signal reaches the visual cortex. So, for those people, the signal from the eyes remains intact when it reaches the visual cortex. Coloured surfaces e.g., paper, also remove some of the wavelengths of light entering the eyes, similar to the lenses. So in a different way, the colour is preventing distortion of the signals. That is why many students with Irlen Syndrome prefer to use coloured paper instead of white. Their distortions are removed and they can study more effectively. For more information go to www.irlendyslexia.com