Customer Reviews
Astonishing 
2003-04-07
I was looking for help for my child when I stumbled upon the Irlen method. Not only has it helped my child but also myself and husband. Such a simple solution to a peice of our son's puzzle. THANKS HELEN IRLEN
Hope for the hopeless. 2003-01-28
For 22 years I taught special education and told parents I had no answers to their child's learning difficulties. Then I discovered the methods outlined in Reading By the Colors. The method worked for me and some of the 500 people I have screened. There is always hope.
What every teacher/parent should know about reading problems 2003-01-23
As an elementary school teacher and certified Irlen screener I have screened dozens of students. Over 95% of those experiencing reading problems were helped using the Irlen method. When "the words don't wiggle anymore", "my eyes don't get watery", "she now reads so fluently", "he stopped fidgeting", "the blurriness went away", and "the lines don't wave anymore" are some of the responses from/about my clients, who are others to say that the method doesn't work? An individual's perception is his alone and can't be measured, qualified, and sometimes expressed, until the right questions are asked. Mrs. Irlen has truly made a difference.
Great resource 2003-01-21
As a special education teacher I have worked with hundreds of students with reading and learning disabilities. Many of my students have been helped with the colored overlays and gone on to have their lenses tinted. This book outlines a treatable visual perceptual disorder which is so often overlooked. It may not be the only reason a student has reading difficulties, but for many students using the overlays can have a significant improvement on their reading.
A must read for anyone who experiences reading problems 2003-01-21
Reading by the colors is a must read for every parent or grandparent of a child who has a reading problem. As a neuropsychologist who works with children with reading problems I have found many children have found help through this book. There is an easy self test to explore whether the child might be experiencing some of the symptoms and simple remedies are offered. Many teachers I work with have also found this book offers valuable insight into the reading problems of some of their students.
Unknowing Adults Get Help From This Book 2008-01-11
This book helps me explain to others who don't know anything about SSS (even though they may have it and not know it), what it is, when I flip to the colored pages in the book, and have them try to read text on those colored pages, which makes it hard for them to read! There's also other cute self-tests in the book that are very helpful too.
If you want to get an idea of how hard it is for anyone to read who has SSS, flip to the colored pages in the book, and see which colors are easier and harder for you to read. Even though one might have terribly strong reading skills, as one gets older, and muscles become strained, one could be helped by the information in this book. After all, don't we change the fonts and color backgrounds on our computers so that we can see them better?
I was 38 years old, recovering from an auto accident, when I was referred to the author's clinic, to see if I could find any help for transposing numbers when I took telephone messages working as a secretary so that I wouldn't have to spend time on the job reading back phone numbers to the phone caller to make sure that I'd got the phone number correct. It was so surprising to find that I a very fast and strong reader (and very intelligent too) was diagnosed with SSS, and that I'd had it all my life without knowing it! During the exam I was shown that for my eyes, words were actually not lying flat on the page, and this was why I was having to take extra time on the job with those phone numbers! My reading skills were so strong they were overcoming the SSS issue, to a large degree. But because I was recovering from an auto accident, my muscles became fatigued earlier, thus the SSS diagnosis.
If you or someone has reading struggles related to seeing the words, this might help 
2006-10-30
I have absolutely no expertise in the areas related to this book and make no judgment about the validity of this method of reading improvement for certain types of dyslexic individuals. However, this book was given to me by a friend whom I respect a great deal. He is a pharmacist and has told me several times how much this method and his colored lenses have improved his life. I know that in science personal testimony has no weight, but I do know that if a person finds real help that persists over time, it is worth considering. Personally, I don't have any reading difficulties except that I might do too much of it. I know that my ability to read very quickly with retention is a gift and a blessing for which I am very grateful. The suffering of people who struggle with reading is very real and can damage confidence and progress in life.
Let me share another example. I personally have no use for chiropractic. However, my mother was nearly killed by a drunk driver in a car accident and had severe neck pain. She was called a malingerer by the insurance company and medical doctors wanted to perform certain kinds of fusing surgeries that did guarantee certain decreases in quality of life without the guarantee of fixing the pain. So, with nothing left to lose, she tried a chiropractor recommended by a friend. It worked for her. We were so happy to have her pain removed and her restored ability to work. I don't know what the injury was or how the chiropractor helped her. But I loved the change and improvement in my mother's life.
It is the same with my friend and the others who use this method and find real improvement in their reading. In the final analysis, that others say this doesn't help them or doesn't map out in this or that study isn't really the point. And I am not qualified to judge any of the studies pro or con. What is the point is that people who couldn't read before can now. And it is more than a few.
So, if you or your child is suffering from reading difficulties that appear to be vision related, here is something to consider that doesn't seem to be too costly and might offer some hope.
An important difference between screeners and diagnosticians 2005-08-29
After 9 years of searching for all the answers to my daughter's learning disorders, I came across the Irlen method. It's not a cure-all for every disorder but it does explain why my daughter can read in near-dark and the Irlen lenses work beautifully for her. I'm very pleased with the results as they relate to visual processing/perceptual disorder and dyslexia. There is a caution, however. We asked our school district to test for Irlen Syndrome; my feeling is that if there's even a 5% chance something will work, I'm willing to try it. The district said they had the appropriate testing measures so I put my faith in them. What I found out (nearly two and a half years later when I found this book) was that the district 'expert' was a screener, not a diagnostician. In order to find out the exact Irlen color, one must see a diagnostician which we were not told at the time. Plus, the color of the overlay is not necessarily the color of the lenses. Irlen lenses are a specific type of lens, not just a colored lens. So, we ended up purchasing the wrong color on the wrong lens. While it's my understanding that no harm was probably done, her progress was probably delayed. You can go to www.irleninstitute.com for a list of local diagnosticians and other important information. Be aware that Irlen syndrome is controversial but there is no denying the many, many people who have been helped by Helen Irlen.
Overal good info but too much Sale-oriented 
2005-08-22
If I'm giving 3 stars rating to this book it is for all the great information and description it contains and for providing a better understanding of this condition I have called Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome. But to me the book seems too much sale-oriented and was turned-off by that.
Before even knowing about this book, I had noticed on my own that different color background had an effect on the perceived text on a page and I had begun experiencing with different background and text colors - Needless to say that when I found out about "Reading by the colors" and what it was about, I was very curious and eager to read it. The idea of using color overlays and lens suggested by Helen Irlen through this book didn't sound ridiculous to me at all. It's a smart idea however, there is one detail witch seems to have escaped the author... While I know it is true that one can reduce perceptual distortions caused by contrast on a page of text with the use of color overlays or lens, I've also noticed and know for a fact that lighting condition have an effect on how colors are perceived - We all know that. Impressionist artist Van Goth among others has demonstrated that very well - Therefore if lighting affects how colors are perceived and that colors can be used to reduce distortions caused by SSS, a specific color overlay and/or lens will only be the most efficient if the same lighting conditions there were during the SSS screening are reproduced exactly - That may not be a problem for someone who wishes to read always at the same place, it is easy to accommodate the lighting condition and work with color overlays - But for the person who travels and thus reads in various places, or for the person with a more severe case of SSS and has to wear lens all the time, no need to explain how complicated that become.
I agree with the author when she says that SSS is part of the puzzle for dyslexia and other LDs as they often co-exist together, but I was turned-down by her tenaciousness to stress that SSS and dyslexia are two very different conditions, yet the author fails to explain clearly what the difference is - It doesn't date from yesterday that many dyslexics have reported seeing distortions within printed text. These reported distortions are not the result of a visual problem but rather the result of a perceptual problem (just like what the author claims SSS to be) - It is as if the author wishes to justify her discovering of SSS to give credibility to the suggested remediation of using color lens/overlays and her persistent claim that SSS can only be screened/diagnosed by an Irlen centre specialist and that only Irlen lenses and overlay work - Fact: Colorimetry is a science that doesn't date from yesterday either and colored lens have been used/prescribed by opticians since the 1940's
The cost of the overlays or lens, but first the cost of the screening and then the cost of the exam to determinate the right color is absolutely outrageous. I have been living 30 years with SSS not knowing what it was. Although I would really wish to find a cure, there is no way that I will spend that much money (nor that I can afford) for a solution that may help a little only under a specific lighting conditions.
There are more research that need yet to be done on the subject of SSS, Dyslexia and other LDs. If there is one good thing which this book provides is awareness but it is certainly no excuse for making a business out of it.
Outdated 
2004-07-05
Irlen's original hypothesis was interesting. It has been proven to be outdated, and this book (and the whole Irlen approach) ought to disappear from the helping-the-dyslexic shelf.
Dyslexia is not a visual problem, it is a neurological processing problem. Glasses or colored overlays won't raise a kid's reading level--getting the brain to recognize sounds and the relation to symbols is the answer. The International Dyslexia Association has reliable information.
I am sure there are people who are bothered by lights and so on who feel better when they wear dark glasses or whatever. It is just not a cure for specific language disabilities.
I see the Irlen Screeners as desperately needing more "sufferers" to justify the cost of their training. "But it worked for MEEee!" is not an acceptable answer to "where is the research?"
