Color Overlays

A powerful and effective strategy for

students with visual stress associated with
Dyslexia, Meares-Irlen Syndrome, and
autistic spectrum disorders
Many children with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia and
autistic spectrum disorders have difficulties with reading and writing.
Students with Dyslexia sometimes feel the need to try to pin down the
words on a page in order to read them. Students eventually fall behind
their peers academically as they struggle to read what others read
without difficulty. This difficulty impairs their performance in the
classroom. Some reading problems are not experienced as a
consequence of Autism, but are as a result of an associated processing
problem. In many cases this can be resolved by a very simple and
inexpensive intervention: reading through a colored overlay that
changes the color of the page.

A Colored Overlay made all

the difference!!

Do your students
experience:
Blurring, movement, or
changing of letters
when they read?
Are they suffering from
headache and light
sensitivity from
reading?

"It was the most important

moment of my life. For the
first time in my life I could see
text clear as glass. I was
astounded. All I could think
to say was 'How did they do
that?'"
A teenage boy had this
response after using a colored
overlay for the first time!
("Reading Through Color", by
Professor Arnold Wilkins,
Wiley 2003)

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Colored overlays can help:

Improve print clarity
and stability
Reduce eye strain
Reduce strain and
fatigue
Eliminate headaches
Improve comprehension
Tracking and keeping
your place while
reading
Make reading faster
Allow you to read
longer and with comfort

Why color works

It is thought that Visual Stress in reading
difficulties are due to a hyper excitability
of neurons in the Visual Cortex. Some of
the cells in the part of the brain which
deal with processing of visual
information work too fast and do not
respond in the way they should.
By placing a color in front of the eye, the
pattern of hyper excitability can be
changed. In other words the color will
help to slow and calm these cells
therefore settling the pattern and
reducing the Visual Stress.

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Colored Overlays in the
classroom
If you notice any of the following in your students, your students maybe
suffering from visual stress:

Read slowly and have difficulty with comprehension or retaining

what they have read
Skip words or lines when reading
Have to blink occasionally, when reading, in order to focus
Keep moving their head or body position or moving closer to or
further away from the page
Track with the finger
Frequently rub their eyes.
Become tired easily when reading
Be very slow to copy form a board and make errors

Always have colored overlays available for your students when they will
be reading. It is recommended that you have enough overlays for any
student that wants to try them.
Implementation is easy!!! The students merely place the overlays
directly over the reading material. Students should try different colors
until they find one that works well for them.

References:
O'Connor, P., Sofo, F., Kendall, L., & Olsen, G. (1990). Reading disabilities and the effects of colored filters.
Journal Of Learning Disabilities, 23(10), 597.
Wilkins, A. J., Lewis, E., Smith, F., Rowland, E., & Tweedie, W. (2001). Coloured Overlays and Their Benefit for
Reading. Journal Of Research In Reading, 24(1), 41-64.
Ludlow, A. K., Wilkins, A. J., & Heaton, P. (2006). The Effect of Coloured Overlays on Reading Ability in
Children with Autism. Journal Of Autism And Developmental Disorders, 36(4), 507-516.