Meares-Irlen screening

What is Meares-Irlen Syndrome?

Some people with no apparent problems with their eyes, report that it is “uncomfortable” to look at certain patterns – including a page of words. Some people find that the words appear to move, wobble or flicker while others see colours or patterns in the words. This tends to make reading for any length of time uncomfortable and can lead to eyestrain, headaches or even migraines.

For reasons that are still not well understood, these disturbing effects can often be reduced or even eliminated by placing a sheet of coloured plastic (an overlay) over the page or using coloured lenses. Interestingly, the colour required to achieve this varies from one person to another and the colour can be different for overlays and lenses.

For some the benefits may be slight but for others the effects can be dramatic, significantly increasing reading speed and fluency and reducing headaches and eyestrain.

A school teacher in New Zealand (Olive Meares) and an educational psychologist in the US (Helen Irlen) were among the first to report this phenomenon so the condition has become known as Meares-Irlen syndrome or simply Visual Stress.

Approximately 20% of the population suffer discomfort when looking at a page of words. This condition is known as Meares-Irlen syndrome or Visual Stress. In many cases the discomfort can be reduced by changing the background to a certain colour. This can be achieved by placing a sheet of coloured plastic over the page (overlay) or by wearing coloured glasses or flip up’s.

We are able to provide a spectrum of products to help those with visual stress.  Our products have been developed by a leading expert in the field and are backed by years of research and experience.

The image below simulates one of the symptoms often reported by those with Meares-Irlen syndrome.

We are able to provide a complete range of solutions for those with Meares-Irlen syndrome including coloured overlays, coloured reading guides, coloured clip-ons and coloured prescription and non-prescription glasses.

Overlays

Overlays are available in 12 colours (A-L), more colours than available in any other system. The colours have been carefully chosen by a team of vision experts to provide the optimum saturation (colourfulness) and transmittance (darkness) to minimise the symptoms of Meares-Irlen syndrome.

The overlays themselves are made of durable acetate and come as A5 sheets making them ideal for reading pages of any size.

Reading Guides

ReadEZ Reading Guides are similar to overlays but are A6 sized and have a “pillar box” design with your preferred colour in the middle and darkened areas above and below.

The Reading Guide fits easily over a page of text and not only provides the optimum colour, but helps the reader keep their place on the page. By making the areas above and below darker, visual stress is minimised while still allowing the reader to scan ahead.

The Reading Guides are made of durable acetate and come in packs of A6 sheets making them ideal for reading pages of any size.

Clip-on

Our Clip-Ons are available in 12 colours (A-L). Simply attach the clip-ons to your glasses whenever you need them. The colours have been carefully chosen by a team of vision experts to provide the optimum saturation (colourfulness) and transmittance (darkness) to minimise the symptoms of Meares-Irlen syndrome.

The lenses are made of CR39 (the same material as most spectacle lenses) and the clip-on fits most types of spectacle frame.

Spectacles

ReadEZ lenses are available in 12 colours (A-L), more colours than available in any other system. The colours have been carefully chosen by a team of vision experts to provide the optimum saturation (colourfulness) and transmittance (darkness) to minimise the symptoms of Meares-Irlen syndrome.

Non-prescription lenses

Prescription lenses

We can also order prescription lenses pre-tinted with ReadEZ colours or have any frame glazed with ReadEZ lenses.