B A C K G R O U N D _ C O L O R

Direct Learning provides dyslexia testing, professional assessment and independent advice for both children and adults. We advise parents with concerns about their children's problems with spelling, reading and learning at school, and adults with difficulties at work or college.

Reading through colored filters

boy with glasses Some dyslexic children and adults find it hard to read a page of writing due to the 'glare' of the white page. Others find that the words appear to move around or become fuzzy:

Text as seen by a person suffering from Irlen Syndrome

Reading through a colored transparent filter - such as tinted spectacles or a transparent plastic sheet specially designed for this purpose - often helps. Different colors suit different people, and a certified Irlen specialist can make a thorough assessment and prescribe suitable lenses.

This page is designed to let you see if the colored backgrounds do make any difference for you or your child when reading. The colors have not been scientifically chosen and do not show well on a computer screen, but have been put here to give you an idea of what is often called 'Irlen Syndrome' (also known as 'Scotopic Sensivity Syndrome' or 'Meares-Irlen Syndrome') after Helen Irlen who pioneered work in this field. One background has been left white so that you can compare and see if another color is easier to read against. This is not a proper test, but is just intended to give you a rough idea of the difference background color can make.

Once upon a time there was a mother pig who had three little pigs. The three little pigs grew so big that their mother said to them: "You are all big now. You are too big to live here any longer. You must go and build houses for yourselves."	Once upon a time there was a little red hen. She lived in a farmyard. One day the little red hen found some grains of wheat. She showed them to the other animals in the farmyard. "Who will help me to plant these grains of wheat?" said the little red hen.
Look at the three bears: daddy bear, mummy bear and baby bear. They all go for a walk. Goldilocks comes to the house. "No one is home", says Goldilocks. "I can go in." Goldilocks wants some porridge. Here is daddy bear's porridge. It is too salty for Goldilocks.	The old man has some turnip seeds. He plants the seeds in his garden. He waters the seeds. The turnip seeds grow. One turnip grows and grows and grows. It is enormous! The old man says:" I want some turnip to eat." He pulls hard but he cannot pull up the enormous turnip.
Jack and his mom have no food in the house. All they have is one cow. She is a good cow, and she gives good milk, but Jack and his mom want food. "We have to get some food", says Jack's mom. "Off you go with the cow and see if you can sell her for some money."	Look at Red Riding Hood. She is at home with her toys. Red Riding Hood has to go to see her grandmother. She is at home in bed. She has to take some cakes for her to eat. The dig, bad wolf is in the forest.

The paper is too bright - it hurts my eyes!

I have a 5-year old son with a diagnosis of High Functioning Autism. I mentioned to my son that I was going to have his vision tested, as he cocks his head as if he can't see the page. He screamed, "I can see just fine", "The paper is too bright - it hurts my eyes and the letters keep moving!" I am a speech pathologist and teacher, have been focusing on autism not dyslexia! Could you please refer?

I am not an expert on autism, but the symptoms of dyslexia are often present in other learning disabilities. If the page is too bright for your son, it may be helpful for him to visit a certified Irlen specialist who may prescribe glasses with slightly colored/tinted lenses.
A lot of dyslexic children and adults say that they see the letters move on the page. There is a link to the Irlen Institute on this page, which has lists of certified specialists throughout the world.

Thank you so much for the information regarding my autustic son. I was able to find a specialist. They are giving him tinted glasses for reading and he is going to begin vision therapy.

Finding a certified Irlen specialist:
The Irlen Institute

Visual Stress test:
Bath Spa University College

Other Direct Learning website pages: