For the first time, Irlen technology is now available to individuals in Russia. This past month, Helen Irlen was invited to Russia by the International Autism Institute to train professionals at this facility in the Irlen Method. The International Autism Institute is part of Krasnoyarsky State Pedagogical University in Siberia, and the 16 newly trained Irlen Diagnosticians will service the autistic population in Russia.
On her first day in the country, Mrs. Irlen visited classrooms at a local school where she got to talk with the older students in their English classes. The students were excited to ask questions and learn more about the United States, and Helen was excited to ask the students questions about themselves and their studies. The younger children spent their recess breaks looking for Helen in order to sing songs to her.
On her second day, Helen was honored to have tea with the President of the University. Krasnoyarsky State Pedagogical University is considered one of the most progressive and dynamic universities in the region. The President welcomed Helen and presented her with a gold key, a symbolic key to the university. This was followed by a key-note speech at the International Autism Institute conference where 550 people from various cities of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Tuva, Kemerovo region, Moscow took part. Participants included parents, teachers, psychologists, speech therapists, physicians, occupational and physical therapy specialists and other interested specialists in getting more detailed information on how the modulation of sensory processes affects the perception and behavior of people with autism.
The rest of Helen’s time in Siberia was spent training 16 professionals as Irlen Diagnosticians. These new Irlen Diagnosticians are leading experts in the field of ophthalmology, psychology, speech therapy, defectology. This interdepartmental team will work at the International Institute of Autism and the Clinic of Modern Correction and Development Technologies of KSPU.
During the training everyone got a chance to see the immediate changes that occurred in the brain of one student with Irlen Syndrome, using a whole head visual evoke potential. As part of the training, a study of the influence of Irlen lenses on brain activity under the control of neuroenergic mapping was carried out at the Clinic of Modern Correction Technologies. Visual evidence of changes in brain function before and after (10 minutes) using Irlen Spectral Filters was presented and showed the difference in electrical brain signals in the visual cortex of the brain when wearing and not wearing Irlen Spectral Filters. Each image below shows the subject’s brain (on the left) as compared to a normal control (the green brain on the right). With Irlen Spectral Filters, the subject’s brain showed more normal function than it did without Irlen Spectral Filters.
Helen really enjoyed her time in Siberia, as she found the people extremely warm, enthusiastic, and very giving. She left with a suitcase filled with gifts from the people of Siberia. Her gift to them was the Irlen Method.