Sandra Steele, Educational Consultant

Irlen Syndrome/Scotopic Sensitivity is a visual perceptual disorder, related to light source and contrast sensitivity. For individuals with Irlen Syndrome bright and especially fluorescent lighting appears to disrupt the timing and sequence of information which the brain receives from the eye. Irlen Syndrome can prevent acquisition and/or application of reading skills so that the reading process is inefficient. Comprehension and sustained reading can be diminished.

Please take the time to complete the observation form. After evaluation of this observation form, you will be contacted with the results.

Individuals with SSS may be viewed as underachievers or as having behavior, attitude or motivational problems. This problem can coexist with other learning difficulties. Some people diagnosed with learning disabilities, dyslexia or ADD may be in addition, also suffering from SSS.

Individuals with SSS may read slowly or inefficiently or have poor reading comprehension, strain or fatigue. SSS can also affect attention span, listening, energy level, motivation and work production and mental health.

Scotopic Sensitivity/lrlen Syndrome (SSS) is a perceptual problem that prevents an estimated 10-12% of the population from being able to learn, read, or study efficiently. It remains undetected by standard educational, visual and medical tests.

Individuals with SSS perceive the printed page and sometime their environment differently. They must constantly make adaptations or compensate. Individuals may be unaware of the extra energy and effort they are putting into reading and perceiving.

IRLEN PROCESS FOR TREATMENT

The patented treatment method uses colored overlays or filters worn as lenses to reduce or eliminate the perceptual difficulties caused by Irlen Syndrome. The carefully structured screening procedure identifies the syndrome, the degree of sensitivity and results in proper combination of color to alleviate individual symptoms received.

SELF-TEST FOR IRLEN SYNDROME

Please fill out this form. Parents, complete the form in cooperation with your child.

Name:
Age:
Grade:
Phone:
Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
Email:
1. Are you... bothered by sunlight?	Yes No Uncertain
2. Bothered by glare?	Yes No Uncertain
3. Do you frequently wear sunglasses?	Yes No Uncertain
4. Bothered by bright or fluorescent lights?	Yes No Uncertain
5. Tired or drowsy under bright or fluorescent lights?	Yes No Uncertain
6. Become anxious under bright or fluorescent lights?	Yes No Uncertain
7. Get a headache from bright or fluorescent lights?	Yes No Uncertain
8. Feel antsy or fidgety under bright or fluorescent lights?	Yes No Uncertain
9. Harder to listen under bright or fluorescent lights?	Yes No Uncertain
10. Performance deteriorates under bright or fluorescent lights?	Yes No Uncertain
11. Feel like there is not enough light when reading?	Yes No Uncertain
12. Feel like there is too much light when reading?	Yes No Uncertain
13. Do you read in dim light?	Yes No Uncertain
14. Use fingers or other marker to block out part of the page?	Yes No Uncertain
15. Shade the page with your hand or body?	Yes No Uncertain
16. Skip words or lines?	Yes No Uncertain
17. Repeat or reread lines?	Yes No Uncertain
18. Read for less than one hour?	Yes No Uncertain
19. Do you lose place when reading?	Yes No Uncertain
20. Read in a “stop and go” rhythm?	Yes No Uncertain
21. Omit small words?	Yes No Uncertain
22. Do you have poor reading comprehension?	Yes No Uncertain
23. Does reading becomes harder as you continue?	Yes No Uncertain
24. Do you avoid reading?	Yes No Uncertain
25. Do you avoid reading for pleasure?	Yes No Uncertain
26. Do you reread for comprehension?	Yes No Uncertain
27. Do you reverse letters and/or numbers?	Yes No Uncertain
28. While reading or using a computer do you: Rub your eyes?	Yes No Uncertain
29. Move closer to or further away?	Yes No Uncertain
30. Squint?	Yes No Uncertain
31. Open your eyes wide?	Yes No Uncertain
32. Incorporate breaks?	Yes No Uncertain
33. Change positions to reduce glare?	Yes No Uncertain
34. Close or cover one eye?	Yes No Uncertain
35. Move head?	Yes No Uncertain
36. Read word by word?	Yes No Uncertain
37. Unable to speed read?	Yes No Uncertain
38.Do you feel strain, fatigue, tired, or have headaches when: Reading?	Yes No Uncertain
39.Listening?	Yes No Uncertain
40.Doing paper and pencil tasks?	Yes No Uncertain
41.Working on the computer?	Yes No Uncertain
42.Watching TV, movies, or live stage productions?	Yes No Uncertain
43.Copying material?	Yes No Uncertain
44.Doing math assignments?	Yes No Uncertain
45.Playing video games?	Yes No Uncertain
46.Writing long assignments?	Yes No Uncertain
47.Doing visually-intensive activities like needlepoint, sewing, cross stitching, crossword puzzles, woodworking, soldering, etc?	Yes No Uncertain
48.Working under bright or fluorescent lights?	Yes No Uncertain
49.Looking at stripes, patterns, bright colors, and high contrast?	Yes No Uncertain
50.Handwriting: Write up or down hill?	Yes No Uncertain
51.Unequal or no spacing between letters or words?	Yes No Uncertain
52.Unequal letter size?	Yes No Uncertain
53.Unable to write on the line?	Yes No Uncertain
54.Leave out words, letters, or punctuation marks?	Yes No Uncertain
55.Attention/Concentration: Problems concentrating with reading or writing?	Yes No Uncertain
56.Easily distracted when reading or writing?	Yes No Uncertain
57.Easily distracted when listening?	Yes No Uncertain
58.Easily distracted when taking tests?	Yes No Uncertain
59.Daydreams in class or at lectures?	Yes No Uncertain
60.Problems staying on task?	Yes No Uncertain
61.Problems starting tasks?	Yes No Uncertain
62.Difficulty with scantron answer sheets?	Yes No Uncertain
63.Copying: Lose place (book, chalkboard, whiteboard, overhead)?	Yes No Uncertain
64.Leave out words (book, chalkboard, whiteboard, overhead)?	Yes No Uncertain
65.Slow (book, chalkboard, whiteboard, overhead)?	Yes No Uncertain
66.Incomplete (book, chalkboard, whiteboard, overhead)?	Yes No Uncertain
67.Careless errors (book, chalkboard, whiteboard, overhead)?	Yes No Uncertain
68.Blink or squint (book, chalkboard, whiteboard, overhead)?	Yes No Uncertain
69.Difficulty refocusing?	Yes No Uncertain
70.Difficulty copying things onto or off computer or typewriter?	Yes No Uncertain
71.Composition/Essay Writing: Disorganized?	Yes No Uncertain
72.Problems with punctuation?	Yes No Uncertain
73.Problems proofreading?	Yes No Uncertain
74.Leave out letters or words?	Yes No Uncertain
75.Write without rereading?	Yes No Uncertain
76.Mathematics: Misalign digits in number columns?	Yes No Uncertain
77.Difficulty seeing numbers in the correct column?	Yes No Uncertain
78.Sloppy or careless errors?	Yes No Uncertain
79.Use finger, graph paper, or other marker when working with columns of numbers?	Yes No Uncertain
80.Difficulty seeing signs, symbols, numbers, decimal points?	Yes No Uncertain
81.Reversals of numbers?	Yes No Uncertain
82.Music: Problems sight reading the notes?	Yes No Uncertain
83.Prefer to memorize rather than read music?	Yes No Uncertain
84.Prefer to play by ear?	Yes No Uncertain
85.Use finger to track notes?	Yes No Uncertain
86.Lose your place?	Yes No Uncertain
87.Trouble reading the notes or notes and words together?	Yes No Uncertain
88.Difficulty interpreting the music notations?	Yes No Uncertain
89.Little progress in spite of regular practice?	Yes No Uncertain
90.Depth Perception: Difficulty getting on and off escalators?	Yes No Uncertain
91.Clumsy?	Yes No Uncertain
92.Bump into table edges or door jams?	Yes No Uncertain
93.Difficulty walking up and/or down stairs?	Yes No Uncertain
94.Difficulty judging distances?	Yes No Uncertain
95.Drop or knock things over?	Yes No Uncertain
96.As a child, accident prone or have bruises on your shins?	Yes No Uncertain
97.When walking next to someone, do you drift into the person?	Yes No Uncertain
98.When walking, do you feel dizzy or light headed?	Yes No Uncertain
99.Difficulty getting on or off moving objects?	Yes No Uncertain
100.Driving: Difficulty parallel parking?	Yes No Uncertain
101.Do you feel like you will hit the car in front when parking?	Yes No Uncertain
102.When parking, do you hit the curb or leave too much space?	Yes No Uncertain
103.Difficulty judging when to turn in front of oncoming traffic?	Yes No Uncertain
104.Uncertain about making lane changes?	Yes No Uncertain
105.Extra cautious when making lane changes?	Yes No Uncertain
106.Are the passengers tense when you make lane changes?	Yes No Uncertain
107.Do passengers tell you that you tailgate?	Yes No Uncertain
108.Are you overly cautious, leaving extra room between you and the car ahead?	Yes No Uncertain
109.Sports Performance: Problems tracking a flying ball like golf, baseball, or tennis?	Yes No Uncertain
110.Trouble following the ball when watching sports on TV such as tennis, football or basketball?	Yes No Uncertain
111.When watching sports on TV, can you follow the ball but not see anything else?	Yes No Uncertain
112.Trouble catching or hitting a ball?	Yes No Uncertain
113.Difficulty playing pool?	Yes No Uncertain
114.Difficulty hitting the ball when playing baseball or tennis?	Yes No Uncertain
115.Trouble learning how to ride a bike?	Yes No Uncertain
116.Trouble jumping rope? Jump in at the wrong time or jump into the rope?	Yes No Uncertain
117.Trouble playing games such as volley ball or four square on playground equipment such as rings or bars, was it hard to go from one to the other?	Yes No Uncertain
118.Fatigue While In A Car: As a passenger, do you become drowsy?	Yes No Uncertain
119.When driving, do you become drowsy?	Yes No Uncertain
120.Bothered by glare on the chrome on cars?	Yes No Uncertain
121.Bothered by glare off the rear window of the car in front of you?	Yes No Uncertain
122.Bothered by headlights and street lights at night?	Yes No Uncertain
123.Avoid driving at night?	Yes No Uncertain
124.Have night blindness?	Yes No Uncertain
125.Bothered by red tail lights on cars?	Yes No Uncertain
126.Bothered by red stop lights?	Yes No Uncertain
127.Stressful to drive in the rain (glare)?	Yes No Uncertain

If you answered yes to three or more of these questions in any of the above sections, then you might be experiencing the effects of a perception problem called Irlen Syndrome/Scotopic Sensitivity.