irlen syndrome & colourimetry

Irlen Syndrome is said to affect 20% of the population – 13 million people in UK. It is not the same as dyslexia but it affects about 40% of dyslexics. It is also known as visual stress and scotopic sensitivity syndrome.

people with irlen syndrome may experience one or several of the following:

Blurred letters or words which go out of focus.
Letters which move or present with back to front appearance and shimmering shaking or swirling text.
Headaches/Migraines from reading.
Words or letters which break into two and appear as double.
White rivers breaking up text.
Difficulty with tracking across the page.
Upset by glare on the page or over-sensitive to bright lights.
Stomach disturbance or hearing issues with no obvious cause (it affects the central nervous system)
ADD/HD ASD

At Houghton Opticians we offer an Irlen Syndrome & Colourimetry Assessment Service.

Before attending our service a fully comprehensive eye examination and eye health check would be conducted by ourselves and if a prescription is needed this will be given. We will accept recent eye tests from other opticians. However if your child has not had an eye test within the last year and you are interested in our coloured lenses it would be better to have their eyes tested with us.

People with reading difficulties sometimes have a weakness in eye co-ordination or focusing so we would treat this with eye exercises or an optical prescription.

The initial 1 hour assessment consists of firstly the Wilkins Rate of Reading test to establish what is happening when reading and to give the starting rate of reading before any coloured overlays are used. We also use Pattern Glare Tests to look for the level and symptoms of glare. A number of Irlen Syndrome tests are conducted and then a coloured overlay assessment takes place.

If a colour is found to help, we then use a Cerium Intuitive Colourimetry machine and work with lenses too to find the exact hue and shade which calms the symptoms. This colour can then be used to make up precision tinted lenses in which any optical prescription can also be added.

A comprehensive report is provided for information and can be forwarded to schools or colleges with numerous examples of adjustments that can be made for the individual at home or in school. We also provide any overlays that are require.

Our costs:

£95 for the initial 1 hour assessment, 2 page report and overlays

£50 colourimetry assessment and prescription of lenses

Colour recheck appointments are £30

£130 for the precision tinted lenses from Cerium Visual Technologies

Please contact us today on Chester 01244 325969 or Bromborough 0151 334 2805 for more information about these services.