Smartboards in the Classroom

Thank you to the Irlen Institute for posting this message on Facebook about Smartboards. I know we have installed a Smartboard in most of our classrooms.
"Since the introduction of bright white Smart boards to classrooms, there has been an increase in the numbers of children who report headaches and visual distortions when looking at these boards. We are now advising teachers to set the default background to a buff colour - then to consult their pupils about what background colour suits them best."

Have a safe and relaxing Easter break everyone.

Cheers,
Christine

Dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome: What age can you screen for Irlen Syndrome?

Dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome: What age can you screen for Irlen Syndrome?: Dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome I am currently working with a student who is 6 years + 5 months. Last year, (he would have been 6 years old th...

What age can you screen for Irlen Syndrome?

Dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome

I am currently working with a student who is 6 years + 5 months. Last year, (he would have been 6 years old then), he came to the 'reading lesson' and when he went to get his book out of his pencil case (that's what we use to take the books home), a pair of toy cardboard glasses with blue cellophane fell out. How interesting I thought. When I asked him why he was using those glasses, he replied because it "stops the words moving around on the page". Well, immediately I was on alert. When I was training to be an Irlen Screener, it was recommended to wait until children were around 8 years old. I'm not so sure about this now. I think it probably depends on each individual student. This particular student, was able to articulate quite clearly the difficulties he was having.

This year,  I have had to turn the lights off because the glare is too much for him. He is constantly rubbing his eyes whilst reading and it looks so uncomfortable for him. He is not reading with fluency and he is having difficulty concentrating. He says that the words "look diagonal". When I asked him to write down what the words looked like, they were not written in a straight line. I took a photo, and this is what he wrote.

So, with Mums' permission, we are going to screen him for Irlen.
Stay posted for updates.
Cheers
Christine

Dyslexia and making progress in learning to read

Yesterday I attended the Learning Difficulties Australia conference here in Melbourne. The focus for the conference was the discussion around the effectiveness of the Reading Recovery Program. Three highly respected academics presented: Tom Nicholson (Professor at the University of Tasmania, John Hattie and Dr Kerry Hempenstell.
John Hattie presented some research that showed what the most effective programs are. The program that has the most effect on student learning outcomes is the teaching of vocabulay programs and repeated reading programs. It was also suggested that students with dyslexia, will require more intensive instruction for longer periods of time.

"...we are not suggesting that children diagnosed as having dyslexia cannot make progress in learning to read. Rather, our claim is that these children require more intensive instruction of longer duration of the kind provided in the third tier of RTI models" (Tunmer & Greaney, 2010).
I will talk about the 3 Tiers next time, but basically, this means 1:1 individual programs with the teacher and one student. This may be programs such as Reading Recovery, Bridges etc.

Until next time,
Cheers,
Christine

Irlen Screener update course

Hello Everyone,
I'm excited to report that next week I will be attending the Irlen Screener's qualification update course. As with anything, it is important to keep up to date with the latest research, findings, methods and processes. So, I'm looking forward to reporting back to you the information I receive on the day.
Stay tuned and please email me any questions or wonderings you might have about Irlen Syndrome, Dyslexia or reading difficulties in general.
Take care
Christine

Can coloured lenses help those who suffer from migraines?

Thanks to The Irlen Institute for posting this reminder about the relationship between migraines and Irlen Lenses.

An article on colored lenses for migraines mentioning Irlen to be published Jan 2 in Daily Health News.

Have a lovely day everyone!

Christine

Head Injuries and the Irlen Method

In this YouTube clip, Helen Irlen talks about head injuries. She highlights the fact that head injuries can create a variety of physical symptoms such as headaches and dizziness, which can affect depth perception. This therefore, will create reading problems.
Helen explains how the Irlen Method can get rid of these symptoms that are a result of a head injury.
It's a great summary of the Irlen Method.

Have a great day.
Christine