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Dyslexia & Color Overlays

What are Color Overlays? It is a color-based technology that filters out offensive light waves, so the brain can accurately process visual information. Directions-for overlay that best suits you:
According to the Irlen Institute their method is simply through a twostep process, 1. To determine how severe your problem is and whether color can help eliminate your difficulties. Your correct color overlay is determined at this time. 2. For people who show significant improvement with color overlays, we then target precise wave lengths of light causing problems by using a limitless number of color filter combinations. Their precision color is worn as glasses or contact lens.

Documentation Ideas/Implementation:
For teachers to learn and understand the use of Color Overlays they can attend workshops; use assessment kits, or watch training DVDs. Make it fun and interesting for the students! Encourage and remind students to use the colored overlay(s) in all subject areas where reading takes place especially in math. Assure that their reading is tested using the students preferred overlay color(s). Use same ideas/ principals behind BCP to keep their perspective positive.

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Effectiveness:
Much of the results from research conducted is prospective and the results found vary! A study suggests the color may need to be individually and precisely prescribed, another study demonstrated significantly improved eye movements among reading disabled children when reading through blue filters. Other researchers failed to find improvement in comprehension scores in reading using color overlays/ tinted lenses. There is no strong research evidence that intervention using colored overlays or special lenses has any effect on the word reading or comprehension of children with dyslexia (American Optometric Association, 2004; Iovino, Fletcher, Breitmeyer, & Foorman, 1998)

Take Away:
Color Overlays are very new still, they are not cures for dyslexia but may be useful reading aids for some individuals. Much of the information will either describe it as in effective due to a placebo effect or that they work great with no credible published evidence.

Citations
Bouldoukian, J.,, Wilkins, A.J., & Evans, Bruce J.W. (2002). Randomised controlled trial of the effect of coloured overlays on the rate of reading of people with specific learning difficulties. Ophthalmological and Physiological Optics, 22, 55-60. Kumagai, Keiko, PhD. (2006). Published paper. University of Tsukuba, Japan. Effect of colored films

related in facilitating reading: The result of the General Japanese population and a dyslexic student.
Whiteley, H.E., & Smith, C.D. (2001). The Use of Tinted Lenses to Alleviate Reading Difficulties. Journal of Research in Reading, 24(1), 30-40. Wilkins, Arnold (2002). Coloured overlays and their effects on reading speed: a review.

Opthalmological and Physiological Optics, 22, 448-454.