A step-by-step guide to confronting skeptics and addressing misinformation about Irlen Syndrome

Skeptics beware. This post will address all your misconceptions about Irlen Syndrome and the Irlen Method head-on. We realize you may not know the most up-to-date information about Irlen Syndrome. We assume the assessment protocols and policies followed by certified professionals in psychology, education, and related allied health fields working with afflicted individuals are new to you. We also guess you probably haven’t read the latest scientific literature surrounding the efficacy of spectral filtering designed for this particular condition. That’s ok. We’ve got you covered.

Common Misconception #1: Irlen Syndrome is a medical condition and can only be identified by a doctor

Defining Irlen Syndrome – What It Is and What It Is Not

Irlen Syndrome (also referred to in the academic literature as Meares-Irlen Syndrome, Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome, and Visual Stress) is a light-based visual processing problem. Specifically, it is a cluster of symptoms caused when the brain struggles to process light and visual stimuli efficiently. Irlen Syndrome is not a reading problem, is not dyslexia, is not an issue with sight or vision, and is not a medical condition. The Irlen Method was reviewed by various USA Boards of Optometry and the USA Medical Board, and they concluded it was not the practice of either optometry or medicine. Irlen Syndrome is an information and sensory processing problem. As such, it is similar to other processing problems (both visual and auditory) that are identified through psycho-educational testing and treated within the psychological and educational systems. The condition, and its remediation through the use of spectral-specific filtering, has been accepted and implemented in a variety of countries around the world, including the USA, where colored filters and overlays are an accepted assistive technology and approved accommodation on standardized state testing and by the college boards, and Egypt, where the condition was accepted by the Ministry of Education and adopted into standard practice of identification and intervention.

Common Misconception #2: Irlen Syndrome is an undiagnosed vision issue

The Connection with Vision Issues
Research has shown that optical issues, including binocular and accommodative anomalies, are not the underlying physiological basis of Irlen Syndrome^1-3. However, because uncorrected vision issues can impact visual perception, an eye exam should be completed by an eye-care professional before an Irlen Screening or Diagnostic testing appointment. Irlen practitioners work in tandem with eye-care professionals to provide comprehensive care for their clients that successfully encompasses the entire visual system, including both the eye and the brain. The brain uses the color of light to regulate a variety of important functions, most notably circadian rhythms, but also the capacity for perception, attention, and memory. While it is not presently understood why individuals differ in sensitivity to different parts of the light spectrum, this is a well-known feature of light sensitivity caused by a variety of conditions, from headaches and migraines to concussion and traumatic brain injury. Research using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), shows that healthy individuals differ in how they respond to the color spectrum, which influences many regions of the brain that relate to attention, learning, and emotions.  In neurodiverse brains, such as in Irlen Syndrome, this expresses itself as an exaggerated hypersensitivity of the visual brain to light of certain wavelengths, creating a syndrome of visual stress. Correcting these difficulties through precise filtering of wavelengths of light, through colored lenses, helps the brain overcome these sensitivities and thereby enhances processing of all information, not specifically reading.

Common Misconception #3: Color can treat dyslexia

Color is Not an Appropriate Intervention for Dyslexia and Irlen Practitioners Do Not Recommend It
Dyslexia, as defined by the International Dyslexia Association, is a language processing problem, specifically a phonemic deficit, centered in the left temporal lobe of the brain. Dyslexia intervention should focus on proven methods for improving this primary deficit and related language processing challenges. This does not include color intervention which is only appropriate for individuals with a light-based visual processing problem (i.e., Irlen Syndrome/Visual Stress/Scotopic Sensitivity). Irlen Syndrome primarily affects the visual cortex and is characterized by a hyperreactive visual system. Because the condition is exacerbated by certain environmental stressors such as bright and artificial lighting and high-contrast stimuli, reading is one area of performance that can be impacted. However, reading deficits are not the primary or core deficits associated with Irlen Syndrome. The worldwide Irlen organization does not endorse using color as an appropriate intervention for dyslexia. A portion of individuals suffer from both dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome, and as such, both conditions should be addressed using distinct and appropriate interventions.

Common Misconception #4: There isn’t any research showing color can help Irlen Syndrome

More than 200 Articles Published in Peer-Reviewed Scientific Journals Support the Use of Color to Address Irlen Syndrome

This 40+ year scientific history spans a variety of disciplines (e.g., psychology, education, optometry, neurology, and biology) and has been conducted in a wide range of countries by independent academic and scientific researchers. This research has established a hereditary component of the disorder^4-6, a number of biochemical markers for problems associated with Irlen Syndrome^7-10, and differences in brain function for individuals with Irlen Syndrome^11-17. The research has repeatedly documented the efficacy of both colored overlays and spectral filters, as measured by improvements in a variety of reading skills^18-22, reduction in physical symptoms that include headaches, migraines, eye strain, fatigue, and light sensitivity^23-27, and improved functioning and success in both academia and the workplace^28-33.

Notably, the most current research on Irlen Syndrome and the use of color utilizes advanced brain-mapping technology to show actual changes and normalization of brain functioning that is not achieved through ophthalmological treatments (plain lenses, prisms, or vision therapy). Researchers have utilized functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), visual evoked responses (VER), and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans to objectively document the profound effects of visual sensory overload on the brain and the normalization of brain activity when individually prescribed, precision-tinted colored filters are worn. An ongoing fMRI study at Cornell University has shown that Irlen Spectral Filters reduce overactivity in both the primary and secondary visual regions as well as fronto-parietal attentional networks. These results suggest that precision-tinted spectral filters reduce uncontrolled cortical excitability to patterned light stimulation as a potential mechanism of action^{15, 17}.  When comparing the brains of 42 people with Irlen syndrome to 200 age-matched individuals without any evidence of Irlen Syndrome, SPECT scans showed increased activity in the brain’s emotional and visual processing centers and decreased activity in the cerebellum (an area that helps to integrate coordination and new information)³⁴. fMRI was used to investigate activation during sentence reading before and after wearing color-tinted lenses and showed the reading speed of patients improved by more than 20% while wearing the selected lenses³⁵. This is the first study to use brain imaging as a direct correlate to reading performance, showing that changes in brain function with precision-tinted colored lenses correspond directly to positive improvements in reading performance. Yellen and Schweller (2009) utilized state-of-the-art Visual Evoked Responses (VER), a portion of their comprehensive neuroelectrical evaluation of patients called the DESA®, and discovered that individuals with Irlen Syndrome have early hyperreactivity to visual stimuli somewhere between 30-60  milliseconds, and it is 3-9 standard deviations above normal (the Yellen-Schweller Effect). Irlen Spectral Filters reduce the standard deviation abnormalities of the Yellen-Schweller Effect, lessening of the delay of the brain coming back “online” and allowing it to clear sooner¹⁶.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) has been used to characterize visual responses in conditions with and without Irlen Spectral Filters. In all cases, the evoked magnetic signal reflected a complicated pattern of bilateral activation of multiple cortical generators. The major effect of Spectral Filters was seen between 170 and 200 msec post-stimulus. The data suggest that Irlen Spectral Filters provide for normalization and crystallization of visual information processing in individuals with Irlen Syndrome¹³. Chouinard et al. (2011) compared the neurological characteristics of a person with Irlen Syndrome to healthy control subjects who were participating in a language task. The results indicated that there are significant differences in many areas of the brain, and in particular the cortex, in the individuals with Irlen Syndrome, providing evidence of a neurobiological foundation to Irlen Syndrome¹¹. Huang et al. (2011) used fMRI to investigate Visual Stress in relation to migraine and to determine the effectiveness of precision-tinted colored filters. The research showed a normalization of cortical activation and spatial frequency tuning in the migraineurs by precision tinted filters that suggests a neurological basis for the therapeutic effect of these lenses in reducing visual cortical hyperactivation in migraine¹².

Common Misconception #5: All colored glasses are the same

Irlen Spectral Filters are individualized to address your unique neurological needs – Irlen color is a process, not a product

You can buy colored glasses from almost anywhere – the eye doctor, the grocery store, even online. Color isn’t what’s special about what we do at Irlen. Anyone can give you colored glasses. What makes Irlen lenses so effective is the extensive diagnostic process used to determine the exact parts of the visual spectrum your brain is sensitive to, and then to systematically and precisely filter out only those parts of the spectrum to the exact degree required by your brain. There’s a reason it takes Irlen Diagnosticians 2 hours to complete this process. We call our lenses Irlen Spectral Filters and not colored glasses because they’re not just colored. Our lenses systematically filter out the parts of the visual spectrum your brain struggles to process.

To Sum It Up

I hope that the information above has provided you with the following clarification when it comes to the Irlen Method and practices and policies followed by certified Irlen Screeners and Diagnosticians:

1. Irlen Syndrome is distinct from optical issues and dyslexia
2. The Irlen Method does not take the place of an eye exam, and Irlen-trained practitioners require vision issues be addressed by a licensed eye-care professional before an Irlen assessment
3. The Irlen organization does not recommend or endorse color as a treatment for dyslexia
4. Peer-reviewed studies from around the world provide confirmation for the existence of Irlen Syndrome as a light-based visual processing problem, and evidentiary support for the Irlen Method and the interventions provided by certified professionals
5. The Irlen colorscription is designed to address your unique spectral sensitivities in a way that standard colors from a store or eye doctor don’t

Have more questions? Visit www.irlen.com to learn more.

References

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2. Evans, B. J. W., Wilkins, A. J., Brown, J., Busby, A., Wingfield, A., Jeanes, R., & Bald, J. (1996). A preliminary investigation into the aetiology of Meares—Irlen syndrome. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics, 16(4), 286-296.
3. Scott, L., McWhinnie, H., Taylor, L., Stevenson, N., Irons, P., Lewis, E., … & Wilkins, A. (2002). Colored overlays in schools: orthoptic and optometric findings. Ophthalmic and Physiological Optics, 22(2), 156-165.
4. Loew, S.J., & Watson, K. (2012). A prospective genetic marker of the visual perception disorder Meares–Irlen syndrome. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 114(3), 870-882.
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7. Robinson, G.L., Roberts, T.K., McGregor, N.R., Dunstan, R.H., & Butt, H. (1999). Understanding the causal mechanisms of visual processing problems: a possible biochemical basis for Irlen Syndrome? Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities, 4(4), 21-29.
8. Robinson, G.L., McGregor, N.R., Roberts, T.K., Dunstan, R.H., & Butt, H. (2001). A biochemical analysis of people with chronic fatigue who have Irlen syndrome: speculation concerning immune system dysfunction.  Perceptual and Motor Skills, 93, 486-504.
9. Soares, FA, & Gontijo, LS (2018). Knowledge production: genetic, biochemical and immunological bases of the Meares-Irlen syndrome. Brazilian Journal of Ophthalmology, 75 (5), 412-415.
10. Sparks, D.L., Robinson, G.L., Dunstan, H., & Roberts, T.K. (2003). Plasma cholesterol levels and Irlen Syndrome: preliminary study of 10- to 17-yr., old students.  Perceptual and Motor Skills, 97, 745-752.
11. Chouinard, B.D., Zhou, C.l., Hrybousky, S., Kim, E.S., Cummine, J. (2012). A functional neuroimaging case study of Meares-Irlen syndrome/visual stress (MISViS). Brain Topography, 25(3):293-307.
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14. Riddell, P.M., Wilkins, A., Hainline, L. (2006). The effect of colored lenses on the visual evoked response in children with visual stress. Optom Vis Sci, 83(5), 299-305.
15. Tosta, S., Ferreira, M., Lewine, J., & Anderson, A. (2024). Individualized spectral filters alleviate persistent photophobia, headaches and migraines in active duty military and Veterans following brain trauma, Brain Injury, DOI: 10.1080/02699052.2024.2309253
16. Yellen, A. & Schweller, T. (2009). The Yellen-Schweller Effect: Visual Evoked Responses and Irlen Syndrome. http://www.yellenandassociates.com/pdf/Yellen_Schweller_Effect.pdf
17. Anderson, A., De Rosa, E., & Tosta, S. (2020, March). Precision-Tinted Spectral Filters Reduce TBI-Related Migraines and Visual Cortical Sensitivity. In JOURNAL OF HEAD TRAUMA REHABILITATION (Vol. 35, No. 2, pp. E199-E200). TWO COMMERCE SQ, 2001 MARKET ST, PHILADELPHIA, PA 19103 USA: LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS.
18. Bouldoukian, J., Wilkins, A.J., & Evans, B.J.W. (2002). Randomised controlled trial of the effect of colored overlays on the rate of reading of people with specific learning difficulties.  Ophthalmological and Physiological Optics, 22, 55-60.
19. Kim, J. H., Seo, H. J., Ha, S. G., & Kim, S. H. (2015). Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings in Meares-Irlen Syndrome: A Pilot Study. Korean Journal of Ophthalmology, 29(2), 121-125.
20. Noble, J., Orton, M., Irlen, S., Robinson, G. (2004). A controlled field study of the use of colored overlays on reading achievement. Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities, 9, 14-22.
21. Guimarães, M. R., Vilhena, D. D. A., Loew, S. J., & Guimarães, R. Q. (2019). Spectral Overlays for Reading Difficulties: Oculomotor Function and Reading Efficiency Among Children and Adolescents With Visual Stress. Perceptual and motor skills, 127(2), 490-509.
22. de Araújo Vilhena, D., Guimarães, MR, & Guimarães, RQ (2019). Improved reading performance using spectral slides: systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychology Argument, 36 (93), 343-361.
23. Huang, J., Zong, X., Wilkins, A., Jenkins, B., Bozoki, A., Cao, Y. (2011). fMRI evidence that precision opthalmic tints reduce cortical hyperactivation in migraine. Cephalagia, 31(8):925-36.
24. Barbolini, G., Lazzerini, A., Pini, L.A., Steiner, F., Del Vecchio, G., Migaldi, M., Cavalllini, G.M. (2009). Malfunctioning cones and remedial tinted filters. Ophta, 2(209), 101-105.
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27. Wilkins, A., & Wilkinson, P. (1991). A tint to reduce eye strain from fluorescent lighting:  Preliminary observations.  Ophthalmological and Physiological Optics, 11, 172-175.
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