Justin wrote:
Hi there,

Is Irlen’s Syndrome recognized by the Canadian Association of Optometrists?  I am a teacher in Alberta and one of my students suffers from Scotopic Sensitivity.  He does work online and this requires him to read from both computer screen and from traditional textbooks.  He already has special eyeglasses to help him with his SSS.  I will be having him sit close to the window so he can get as much natural light as possible.  I am looking into how his computer can have colored filters over the screen to help him.  Do you have any other recommendations on how I can help him?

Thanks for any assistance you can provide

ANSWER

Hello Justin,
It sounds like you’re doing everything right to help this young man.  I word of caution, however, about Irlen’s Syndrome: in a study done by Dr. M. Scheiman*, it was found that 95% of patients identified as good candidates for treatment with Irlen filters had other significant undiagnosed visual anomalies.  I sincerely hope that your student has been evaluated by an optometrist to rule out other possible visual perceptual or binocular vision abnormalities.
For a name of an optometrist in your area who specializes in such evaluations, contact the college of optometry for Alberta.

* Scheiman M, Blaskey P, et al. Vision characteristics of individuals identified as Irlen Filter candidates. J Am Optom Assoc 1990;61:600-604

Dr. Donati

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