Customer Reviews

Reading by the Colors

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Reading By the Colors and the Irlen Method of using colored lenses to help visual distortions has changed our lives. After visiting a pediatrition, allergy specialist, optometrist,opthomologist, and getting a CAT scan, my niece finally received the Irlen lenses and can now see without having words slide off the page. She also can concentrate on her reading and was able to discontinue her Ritalin for a supposed condition of ADD. Also, I received the Irlen lenses and can now see the words on the page that previously were overtaken by the white background. I can also now see depth perception in scenery and can enjoy the colors of flowers, trees, and clouds...I can really see the silver linings! Night driving is also much easier! This book really helped me understand why I sometimes would see things differently, or why I would not read as fluently as I would like to. It helped me understand why I had to study so much longer than others. Even though I have two college degrees, it was a struggle! This book is a must for teachers! I am an elementary teacher and plan to tell everyone about it!

Two young children in my family suffer from scotopic syndrome, this book has helped ease the headaches caused by reading. It has actually made them want to read. It made learning to read fun ---- it must be good...

I CANNOT PRAISE THE IRLEN COLORED (EYEGLASS) FILTER LENSES STRONGLY ENOUGH,AS THEY HAVE HELPED TREMENDOUSLY TRANSFORM MY LIFE !! SADLY,THERE ARE STILL "IMBECILES" OUT THERE WHO THINK THIS TREATMENT IS PLACEBO OR SNAKE OIL. I WISH I HAD A GIANT ANGEL MEDAL AWARD TO GIVE TO HELEN.I'VE RELIGIOUSLY WORN MY MIDNITE BLUE(& BLACK CHERRY FOR OUTDOORS) COLOR GLASSES SINCE 2/90 TO PRESENT.

If you are a teacher, or work with children, or work with people who read, or if you know people who read, or better yet, if you know people who don't <smile> Read this book. Thank you Helen Irlen for being a scientist about learning. You have made such a discovery!

This book is well worth every penny and then some. I was able to read about other people who have the same thing I do. I went undiagnosed for 20 years, Praise the Lord for Helen. Her method really works.

After 9 years of searching for all the answers to my daughter's learning disorders, I came across the Irlen method. It's not a cure-all for every disorder but it does explain why my daughter can read in near-dark and the Irlen lenses work beautifully for her. I'm very pleased with the results as they relate to visual processing/perceptual disorder and dyslexia. There is a caution, however. We asked our school district to test for Irlen Syndrome; my feeling is that if there's even a 5% chance something will work, I'm willing to try it. The district said they had the appropriate testing measures so I put my faith in them. What I found out (nearly two and a half years later when I found this book) was that the district 'expert' was a screener, not a diagnostician. In order to find out the exact Irlen color, one must see a diagnostician which we were not told at the time. Plus, the color of the overlay is not necessarily the color of the lenses. Irlen lenses are a specific type of lens, not just a colored lens. So, we ended up purchasing the wrong color on the wrong lens. While it's my understanding that no harm was probably done, her progress was probably delayed. You can go to www.irleninstitute.com for a list of local diagnosticians and other important information. Be aware that Irlen syndrome is controversial but there is no denying the many, many people who have been helped by Helen Irlen.

As a special education teacher I have worked with hundreds of students with reading and learning disabilities. Many of my students have been helped with the colored overlays and gone on to have their lenses tinted. This book outlines a treatable visual perceptual disorder which is so often overlooked. It may not be the only reason a student has reading difficulties, but for many students using the overlays can have a significant improvement on their reading.

If I'm giving 3 stars rating to this book it is for all the great information and description it contains and for providing a better understanding of this condition I have called Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome. But to me the book seems too much sale-oriented and was turned-off by that.

Before even knowing about this book, I had noticed on my own that different color background had an effect on the perceived text on a page and I had begun experiencing with different background and text colors - Needless to say that when I found out about "Reading by the colors" and what it was about, I was very curious and eager to read it. The idea of using color overlays and lens suggested by Helen Irlen through this book didn't sound ridiculous to me at all. It's a smart idea however, there is one detail witch seems to have escaped the author... While I know it is true that one can reduce perceptual distortions caused by contrast on a page of text with the use of color overlays or lens, I've also noticed and know for a fact that lighting condition have an effect on how colors are perceived - We all know that. Impressionist artist Van Goth among others has demonstrated that very well - Therefore if lighting affects how colors are perceived and that colors can be used to reduce distortions caused by SSS, a specific color overlay and/or lens will only be the most efficient if the same lighting conditions there were during the SSS screening are reproduced exactly - That may not be a problem for someone who wishes to read always at the same place, it is easy to accommodate the lighting condition and work with color overlays - But for the person who travels and thus reads in various places, or for the person with a more severe case of SSS and has to wear lens all the time, no need to explain how complicated that become.

I agree with the author when she says that SSS is part of the puzzle for dyslexia and other LDs as they often co-exist together, but I was turned-down by her tenaciousness to stress that SSS and dyslexia are two very different conditions, yet the author fails to explain clearly what the difference is - It doesn't date from yesterday that many dyslexics have reported seeing distortions within printed text. These reported distortions are not the result of a visual problem but rather the result of a perceptual problem (just like what the author claims SSS to be) - It is as if the author wishes to justify her discovering of SSS to give credibility to the suggested remediation of using color lens/overlays and her persistent claim that SSS can only be screened/diagnosed by an Irlen centre specialist and that only Irlen lenses and overlay work - Fact: Colorimetry is a science that doesn't date from yesterday either and colored lens have been used/prescribed by opticians since the 1940's

The cost of the overlays or lens, but first the cost of the screening and then the cost of the exam to determinate the right color is absolutely outrageous. I have been living 30 years with SSS not knowing what it was. Although I would really wish to find a cure, there is no way that I will spend that much money (nor that I can afford) for a solution that may help a little only under a specific lighting conditions.

There are more research that need yet to be done on the subject of SSS, Dyslexia and other LDs. If there is one good thing which this book provides is awareness but it is certainly no excuse for making a business out of it.

Reading by the colors is a must read for every parent or grandparent of a child who has a reading problem. As a neuropsychologist who works with children with reading problems I have found many children have found help through this book. There is an easy self test to explore whether the child might be experiencing some of the symptoms and simple remedies are offered. Many teachers I work with have also found this book offers valuable insight into the reading problems of some of their students.

As an elementary school teacher and certified Irlen screener I have screened dozens of students. Over 95% of those experiencing reading problems were helped using the Irlen method. When "the words don't wiggle anymore", "my eyes don't get watery", "she now reads so fluently", "he stopped fidgeting", "the blurriness went away", and "the lines don't wave anymore" are some of the responses from/about my clients, who are others to say that the method doesn't work? An individual's perception is his alone and can't be measured, qualified, and sometimes expressed, until the right questions are asked. Mrs. Irlen has truly made a difference.