Ewan is now doing his homework which was impossible before, he doesn't look like he's in pain when reading and reads more at home. His teacher said its hard to tell but he is finally progressing forward after a stalled couple of years.
Julia has increased her reading and is really enjoying her chapter books now. Her teacher said straight away that they're definitely making a difference. She's gone up a few reading levels and it is now pleasant to listen to her reading. She's fluent now where as she was very staggered before."
Throughout my schooling life I was constantly told by teachers I was slow! I was always the last child to complete written tasks and found that I could only read for short amounts of time which made reading tedious. Despite this I would hand in work of a high standard and had been put in and out of accelerate classes as I could understand the work but not complete the tasks given by teachers on time. I was diagnosed with Irlen Syndrome at the age of 22. I made enquiries after seeing an advert for Irlen while picking up glasses for a friend and I have never looked back. I wear my Irlen glasses all the time and have found that my reading speed is 5 fold what it used to be. I now know that I was never slow I simply needed 'to view the world through rose tinted glasses'
We, my husband and I, have noticed big changes since Jack has been wearing his Irlen glasses. When he is doing his homework, he no longer rubs his eyes, looks away from his work, fidgets in his seat or yawns.His reading isn't as dis-jointed as It was and now there Is definately more fluency.
Jacks class mates have accepted him wearing his Irlens glasses with no problems at all which is fantastic. He started with a new teacher at the beginning of the year when he first started wearing his glasses so are yet to see the results from that side of things.In saying that we have started Jack with a private tutor once a week to help him catch up on the fundamental aspects of his early years at school which he's missed and the tutor has said he's doing fine. So that's good news.
Sometimes Jack doesn't wear his glasses in class, as he says he doesn't need them, which I know is fair enough. He is also starting to realise that sometimes he makes mistakes when writing things down due to not wearing them.Which is great since he's come to that conclusion himself.
Obviously It's early days with him wearing his glasses, but what we've seen has been very positive.
He is confident in himself knowing he can read, his self esteem is vastly improved, and he completes homework. Both Karen and I know that without identification of Irlen Syndrome, Lenny would have been one of 'those' kids; the dumb kid, the stupid one who can't read, a non-achiever, "could do better if tried" boy, and ultimately a trouble maker and disrupter in class. From there, onwards into the community.
I would like to say that we have noticed an improvement in Maddison's reading since she has had her (Irlen) lenses. I feel Maddison is more confident in her reading and is reading more fluently since she has been wearing them. We are very thankful that we found out about Irlen syndrome.
Maddison says, "I like them because they have pink in them and people at school say to me that they like my glasses.
My name is Jordan, and before you gave me my Irlen Glasses my work at school was hard to do. But now that I have the glasses its helping me at school. They are very much appreciated and I thank you for giving them to me. The work is much better to understand.
My Irlen glasses have helped me a great deal. They have made concentrating on schoolwork a lot easier and I am able to do longer school days (I am home schooled). The computer screen, which used to hurt my eyes, is now a breeze to look at! I can also read for pleasure again which I am very thankful for! I would recommend that children who are having difficulty with reading or with their vision are checked to see whether they could benefit, the way I and so many others have, from Irlen lenses.
After a diagnostic interview and an examination with Mark at VisionLink I now have very clear information about what my son's specific difficulties are. He has Irlen's Syndrome, Oculo-Motor Dysfunction, and Dyspraxia. My son has since been fitted with Irlen's lenses, and we will be embarking of a program of therapy which will help to correct the Oculo-Motor Dysfunction. Although this is a commitment for our family, it is well worth it. Through having these definitions to help explain my son's behaviour and difficulties, his school and I are now better placed to investigate strategies and approaches to best help my son. We are much clearer in our direction and goals for him.
I have spent my whole life getting migraines and severe headaches and I never knew why. In early 2009 mum took me to get my eyes checked and they were all over the place. She told me about Irlen and to go to the local Kip Macgrath centre to be tested where I was tested positive. I then went to Hastings to have further tests and find the glasses that I needed. At the time I was really nervous and didn't know what to expect, but I am glad that we found out because my headaches and migraines have decreased a lot since I started wearing my glasses (apparently one or two headaches a week isn't good still lol). It is so cool to not have the strain on my eyes anymore. School has been a lot easier as well I have a longer attention span and can work in the afternoons after a morning of reading. The one problem with it is other kids because they don't understand it so they joke around about it.
When wearing the Irlens glasses while reading, I no longer get headaches, my eyes don't water or tire after a few sentences, the words don't jump off the page at me and the white on the page is no longer distracting or glary.
It is now a pleasure to read! Thank you very much Mark!
I would recommend anyone with similar symptoms as those above to have an Assessment and try these lenses out and hopefully they will be very successful and amazing for you too!