Info for parents ...

Is your child falling behind with reading?

Reading is a complex task requiring good vision and some complex processing in the brain. Reading difficulties may be caused by a number of factors and it is often a process of elimination to determine the underlying cause and best management

Info for parents ...

Good vision

Good vision is essential for reading. If the words on the page are blurred or doubled, reading can become difficult or impossible. Therefore, the first step is usually to take your child for a full eye examination by an optometrist.  They will advise if any glasses or other forms of treatment are required.

Info for parents ...

Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a condition caused by the way words are processed by the brain. If you think your child may have dyslexia, the first step is to speak to their teacher or their school’s special needs coordinator (SENCO) about your concerns. They may be able to arrange for an assessment and if the diagnosis is confirmed, they may be able to offer additional support.

Info for parents ...

Visual Stress

Visual Stress is a distinct condition to Dyslexia. Those with Visual Stress report that words appear to move, wobble or flicker when they read for any length of time, or that they perceive colours or other illusory phenomena in the background to the text.  These symptoms can affect reading fluency and cause eye strain, headaches or even migraines. If looking at text is not comfortable, children will tend to avoid reading, which in turn can slow the development of reading skills.

The condition is thought to be caused by overactivity of cells in the part of the brain that process information from the eyes. For reasons that are not well understood, the symptoms of Visual Stress can often be reduced by changing the background colour of the text using an overlay or coloured lenses. The colour which minimises symptoms varies from one person to the next, hence a range of colours are required.

Professor Thomson explains

What is visual stress?

Problems & Solutions

In some cases, reading difficulties can be caused by vision problems such as long-sightedness, astigmatism or problems coordinating the eyes. This can be ruled out by having your child’s eyes examined by an Optometrist. Eye tests are free for children under the age of 16.

If having ruled out dyslexia and checked that your child’s eyes are healthy, your child is still having problems reading, they might be one of the 20% of the population who suffers from a condition known as Visual Stress.

The best way of having your child assessed for Visual Stress is to visit one of our ReadEZ Test Centres – there are now more than 400 around the UK.  To find your nearest ReadEZ Test Centre, select Test Centres from the menu.

If having ruled out dyslexia and checked that your child’s eyes are healthy, your child is still having problems reading, they might be one of the 20% of the population who suffers from a condition known as Visual Stress.

Visual Stress is thought to be caused by hyperactivity of certain groups of cells in the brain. This causes discomfort while looking at stripy patterns including rows of text. Sufferers often report that the words appear to move, wobble or flicker and sometimes complain of eye strain or headaches after reading.

The good news is that the symptoms can often be reduced by using a coloured overlay, coloured lenses or by changing the background colour of the screen or tablet that they are looking at.

The ReadEZ system was developed at City University London by a team led by optometrist and visual scientist, Professor David Thomson. The system is used by over 400 Opticians and in many hospitals and schools and our coloured overlays, coloured lenses and screen tinting software are now used by 1000s of people around the world.