Irlen Clinic Gold Coast

As from November 1, 2021 this Irlen Clinic is no longer operating. Clients wishing to make appointments at the new Gold Coast Irlen Clinic should contact
0421 310 768

Have been doing some consulting work at a small independent high school, assessing reading difficulties and providing pre-assessment for Irlen Syndrome and Phonological Dyslexia. Over the past two weeks I have identified a no of students with high indicators for Irlen Syndrome. The most disturbing aspect is that all 5 of these students were identified in primary school as experiencing some form of Dyslexia!
All 5 identified so far basically are struggling to read above Year 3 level - though they are in Year 9 and 10!!.
One had Irlen glasses in primary but was bullied so badly she won't wear them (and is struggling to read).
Another young man used blue paper and transparencies in primary but there was no follow-up.
A third struggled to read a Year 2 text - read easily with a transparency.
A 4th was told he had Dyslexia but there was no follow up.
The 5th student I just finished assessing!
He was another one who was told he had Dyslexia - struggled to read at Year 3 level, until we tried 2 transparencies!!
But was even more interesting was his description of the visual distortions he experiences!
He can see the word he is reading but all the other words move around, blur or shake and he struggles to stay on the line he is reading. Hence his visual span is limited to one word at a time.
What is so frustrating about these cases is that there is such a simple solution - Pre-assessment for Irlen (Visual Processing Difficulties) in early primary. These students have been allowed to "fail", and there is an associated cost to their self-esteem as well as their job prospects. What is even more disturbing that these 5 students have been on literacy intervention programs since primary with no progress because no one has taken the time to determine the "why".
If your brain struggles with visual processing it does not matter how much tutoring or intervention programs you do - there will be little or no progress until the root cause is established!

HOW MANY KIDS ARE PUT INTO THIS BASKET AT SCHOOL? We saw a little person today who is in the first year of school and has already been characterised as a "non-reader" and as such, is not even provided with Home Readers like the other kids. He came to the Clinic today and we discovered that when he looks at a page of print, the whole page appears to move off to the side and the words disappear. He was looking at the brick wall in the office with interest.. when questioned, he said that some of the bricks stick out from the wall, while others move inwards. A white page with words on it is discomforting and he does not want to look at it. He has been diagnosed with ADHD due to his inability to focus and concentrate on his classroom activities. So, we eventually found an overlay that allowed him to at least look at the white page with minimal discomfort. He did not want to attempt to read a simple book that is appropriate for a child his age. With some encouragement and shared participation by our Diagnostician, he eventually was able to READ! So, he actually DID know his words, and actually showed that he is NOT a "non-reader". He was also able to write more neatly and accurately on coloured paper than on white. His mother could not believe that he was able to read and both she and he were so excited. His school life is going to be easier now that he can actually look at books and read them when he has the overlay on top of the words. So, a lot of his problems are the result of him having a Visual Processing Disorder with symptoms known as Irlen Syndrome. Go to our website to learn more and you can actually change the background colour of the text by clicking a coloured box in the top right hand corner of the home page. You can also do a self-test that can be used to see if your child has this problem.

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How does reading make you feel? Do the words become blurry OR MOVE? Do your eyes FEEL TIRED OR STRAINED after a while? Do you struggle with concentration after periods of time? Do you consider yourself a slow reader in comparison to others? Well it may not actually be your fault at all! 🤯

Individuals who are helped with Irlen Spectral Filters often experience discomfort which can interfere with the length of time and ease of reading, studying or doing homework. You may become tired, experience headaches, dizziness, anxiety or irritability. 😵‍💫

Take advantage of our free online self test through the website to check your symptoms so that we can help reduce them significantly.💜