Irlen's Syndrome (aka visual strees) - Advice Please

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Worrywart
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 11:42 pm

Irlen's Syndrome (aka visual strees) - Advice Please

Post by Worrywart »

Hi,

This is my first posting on the forum so please bear with me!

Our ds was finally diagnosed with Irlen's Syndrome 2 years ago after years of us knowing that something wasn't quite right regarding the progress he was making with reading and literacy generally. He was subsequently prescribed with coloured lenses.

Even though his literacy has improved since diagnosis, he still struggles with it and continues to be a reluctant reader. I am considering getting ds reassessed by an Educational Psychologist just to put our minds at rest that he hasn't got any other condition(s) that haven't been detected which according to what I've read on the internet can be the case with upto 50% of Irlen sufferers.

Has anyone else got a dc with this condition, and have you found literacy and reading to be ongoing issues? Also has your dc later been diagnosed with additonal conditions? Has your child been statemented?

I am keen to find out as much as I can before we start applying for secondary schools later on in the year.

Any comments appreciated.
What did we worry about before we had children?
Ed's mum
Posts: 3310
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:47 am
Location: Warwickshire.

Post by Ed's mum »

Welcome to the forum Worrywart.
I hope that someone will be able to offer their advice/experience soon.
Worrywart
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 11:42 pm

Post by Worrywart »

Hi Ed's mum, I hope so too. I just don't want ds to get to the end of his education and someone turn around and say, "if only his ..... had been diagnosed sooner his results in school would have been so much better."
What did we worry about before we had children?
Ed's mum
Posts: 3310
Joined: Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:47 am
Location: Warwickshire.

Post by Ed's mum »

If you scroll up to the top of the page there is a 'search' box. Type in Irlens and you get several results from this forum. Admittedly some of them are our conversation, but there are other parents who have posted in the past who have experience of this condition. You could think about sending them a private message which would trigger a 'you have a private message' message in their email account.

Worth a try if you don't get any current forum parents who are able to help you.
SSM
Posts: 646
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 12:09 pm

Post by SSM »

Hi WW,
Sorry I've no experience of Irlens Syndrome.

You say that your DS's literacy has improved since being diagnosed, how about his numeracy? Was that suffering and has it improved or was that always ok?

The reason why I'm asking is that I do know that Irlens and dyslexia are quite often linked, so if you suspect that he could be dyslexic then you would need to see an Ed Psych, but they do not come cheap.

Is there a SenCo at the school who could do initial tests?
Worrywart
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 11:42 pm

Post by Worrywart »

Hi SSM,

DS was assessed by an Ed Psych 4 years ago and we were told at that time that he wasn't dyslexic. I don't know whether it was possible he was misdiagnosed due to his age.

His numeracy has always been fine and he has no difficulties in this area at all.

He is currently at a very small indie school and they do have an Ed Psych who visits once a week and he does have sessions with her. She recently mentioned the possibility of him having a scribe for Year 6 SATS, and from time to time the school has mentioned him using a laptop in class but this hasn't happened yet. My view is that a laptop will only be beneficial if he learns to touch type, otherwise it would just be another obstacle to his learning.
What did we worry about before we had children?
SSM
Posts: 646
Joined: Sun Feb 08, 2009 12:09 pm

Post by SSM »

WW, I have sent you a PM
DiW
Posts: 36
Joined: Fri Oct 19, 2007 9:16 am
Location: Essex

Post by DiW »

Hi
I have 2 children both with Irlen's syndrome. I had never heard of it until the eldest was diagnosed shortly before she took the 11+. She was given tinted glasses which helped her as previously she had misread lines of text which could have resulted in her answering the wrong question with the right answer (if you know what I mean!). Anyway she passed the 11+ comfortably and is very settled and performing well in her grammar school.
My younger daughter has also been diagnosed within the last year. Strangely, she is a prolific reader but she exhibits other symptoms such as lack of attention and focus and is daydreamy to say the least. She is not performing to the levels that she ought to be given her KS1 results and I. I recently had an ed psych report completed on her as I was concerned, particularly with these additional symptoms, that there was a deeper underlying problems such as the ones you allude to in your post. She is due to take the 11+ later this year and I was unsure whether I would be doing the right thing putting her in for it or if she could cope with a grammar school environment. I have had the preliminary report back and it turns out that not only does she not have any underlying conditions but that she is a whole lot more academic (or has the ability to be) than we, or the teachers, had given her credit for. For me it was worth paying for the report just to find that out. Of course it has not resolved all of the issues and I am just waiting for the full report to come back to advise us how to tackle these. If you can afford it I would say that it is worth getting one done for the peace of mind it brings to know one way or the other whether there is something wrong.
Good luck
Di
Worrywart
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat Apr 03, 2010 11:42 pm

Post by Worrywart »

Hi DiW,

Thanks for that. We have decided to go ahead and have DS reassessed and an appt has been made for May half-term. The last time DS was seen by the independent Ed Psych he was found to have a high IQ but that there was a vast discrepency between his ability in maths and english. The Ed Psych saw him 2 years before he was diagnosed with Irlens.

I'm hoping that the updated Ed Psych report wil make trying to find the right secondary school for him a little easier! I am interested that you say your eldest DD is doing well at grammer school, we were started to discount this as an option for DS as we were worried he wouldn't be able to keep up, maybe we wil need to rethink that too once report from Ed Psych is received.

Thanks again for your comments.
What did we worry about before we had children?
Mungo
Posts: 57
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 2:25 pm
Location: Kent

Re: Irlen's Syndrome (aka visual strees) - Advice Please

Post by Mungo »

Hi

I was very interested to read your post. Not much info out there on Irlens but an opticians called Linklaters in Bexleyheath offers testing and are very good.
Last edited by Mungo on Tue Jan 29, 2013 3:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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