Vol. XVI, No. 2 SEPTEMBER 2006 Magic Glasses By Carol Stacy Inside This “Tim, it’s your turn to read.” Edition He sat gaping at the bright white page The blurry black letters and curvy white rivers That made him fidgety and gave him shivers. “Please, I think I need some magic glasses Helen’s 2 to help me read.” Corner “When I read, I’m dizzy, my eyes get sore. I stop, ‘cause I just can’t take any more! I know how to read but just can’t do it!” Around 3-4 The World Tim might respond well to an Irlen screen Which will bring into focus the problems we’ve seen 9th Irlen Irlen Filters smoothed the wobbles and wiggles International The too-bright white that made letters jiggle Conference And finally helped Tim to make his escape & 4-5 To a place where letters could take their shape. Keynote Speakers “Reading is a blast! With yellow filters I can read fast!” New Irlen Directors & 6-7 Irlen Visual Motion Sensitivity and Reading Diagnosticians Reading is more difficult than magnocellular system eye fixation can be directed speaking because an correlate strongly with how on letters in order to identify Research 8-9 arbitrary set of visual symbols well people can acquire their correct order. Boosting must be rapidly identified, orthographic skill. The the magnocellular function of ordered, and translated into reason why the visual poor readers and treating the sounds they represent. magnocellular system is so their eye movement deficits Special 10 Many poor readers have important in reading, can greatly improve their Recognition particular problems with the therefore, seems to be reading. rapid visual processing because it plays such a required for these tasks dominant role in stabilizing Stein, J. (2003). Visual Recommended 11 because they have a mild these brief fixations, in motion sensitivity and Courses impairment of the visual addition to directing the eye reading. Neuropsychologia, magnocellular system. This movements between them. 41, 1785-1793. paper shows how important New low level visual processing is Visual magnocellular Screeners 11-12 to reading. It presents sensitivity helps to determine evidence that individual orthographic ability because it differences in the processing mediates the precision with of visual motion by the visual which visual attention and Irlen International Newsletter • SEPT 2006 Vol. XVI, No. 2 SEPTEMBER 2006 HELEN’S CORNER The term “twice exceptional” was coined by James J. Gallagher to denote students who are both gifted and have disabilities. Many schools refuse to recognize the needs of these students. Often, parents are told that their child is too bright to qualify for special services. With the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), for the first time the gifted students with disabilities are mentioned as a group whose needs can be addressed with federal funding. The extremes between the strengths and weaknesses for the twice-exceptional student create problems in the classroom and for the parent and affect the child’s self-concept. These students are expected to demonstrate appropriate skill acquisition which may be beyond their reach. Caught in the Eye of the Storm The students who are the most challenged for the schools to recognize are the gifted students who are struggling academically. This appears to be an oxymoron of terms. How can a gifted I fight my child struggle with academic work? Schools are reluctant to recognize and provide for this dual diagnosis. Often, these students are caught in the eye of the storm and are neither identified as fears gifted or as having a learning disability. Tragically, neither their giftedness or their weakness is being addressed by the educational system. I hide my According to federal law, the schools must provide the twice exceptional student with appropriate services and programs designed to respond to both their giftedness as well as their tears weaknesses. Identification and appropriate interventions provide the safe harbor in the eye of the storm. Otherwise, these students are constantly dealing with feelings of failure, frustrations, Hoping no one and low self-esteem. The gifted students are often more aware of their learning difficulties and feel academic failure Will notice more strongly; and this affects their self-concept and self-esteem causing frustration, anxiety, and confusion. They cannot understand why they are good at some tasks and not others. I was They may avoid doing the more difficult tasks or rush through them not seeming to care if the work has errors or is incomplete. They anticipate failure and handle this by seeming not to fighting attend to certain tasks or not caring. They may exhibit creative ways to try to mask their problems such as: avoiding homework, not studying for tests, losing homework, not interested in school work, not completing assignments, and not turning in assignments. It is hard for these My fears students, or for that matter anyone, to cope with the discrepancy between ability and performance. Hiding my Too often the educational system has difficulty recognizing the dual diagnosis child and will tears either only recognize the giftedness and ignore the learning disability, recognize the learning disability and ignore the giftedness, or ignore both. None of these situations are appropriate to meet the needs of these children and will not allow these children to reach their full potential. What should be done? The literature says that educators must gear instruction to the student’s strengths, rather than to their weaknesses. The literature advocates using a variety of adaptations, strategies, and accommodations to allow these students to access gifted education; but it is the experience of many in the field that these students often receive inadequate or inappropriate adaptations and accommodations, thereby making their access to gifted instruction problematic. The problem can be too many, too few, or the wrong accommodations. ... Continued on p.11 2 Irlen International Newsletter • SEPT 2006 AROUND THE WORLD WITH IRLEN Trademarks, Patents & Copyrights. Irlen has been California, USA. The Irlen Institute has been busy trademarked in the following countries: USA, Benelux exhibiting and presenting at the following conferences. (Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg), United We would highly recommend you contact your state or Kingdom, South Africa, New Zealand, Singapore, and local association for information on exhibiting or Australia. speaking. National Association of School Psychologists Israel. The first article on Irlen to be published in Israel California State PTA Conference is in the magazine Voices (www.voices-magazine.com). West Coast Literacy Conference. Helen Irlen It is a delightful article written by a mother regarding the presented on "Visual-Perceptual Disabilities and problems that her three children were having and the Their Relationship to ADHD, Dyslexia, Learning changes with Irlen Filters. Disabilities and Reading Efficiency." Texas, USA. Natalie Hughes placed 2nd in her division Christian Home Educators Association Convention at the regional Science Fair for her project on Irlen (CHEA) Syndrome and MS. She also won one of the Discovery California Association of Independent Schools Channel Young Scientist Nominations and the Naval Conference Science Award. Jean Hughes, Mother Delta Kappa Gamma International Conference Correctional Education Association International Brazil. In June I gave a presentation to directors and Conference teachers of about 100 private schools. I prepared California Homeschool Network Family Expo. Helen brochures to give out explaining some of the principles Irlen presented and Irlen Institute exhibited. and main symptoms of the Irlen Method. Dr. Márcia Autism Society of America, LA Chapter Conference Guimarães, Clinic Director CTEVH Conference. Helen Irlen presented at a Florida, USA. The Florida Instructional Technology conference for educators and parents of the visually Training & Resource Unit (FDLRS/TECH) has listed handicapped. 67-71% of this population suffers from changing foreground/background colors for students who symptoms that the Irlen Method can address: light struggle with reading or have visual problems as one of sensitivity, glare, strain, poor contrast, & distortions. the 10 Classroom Strategies. In addition, they listed Oregon, USA. I attended an event with colored overlays as an example of an allowable FCAT superintendents, principals, teachers, assistants, accommodation. (www.fdlrs.com) volunteers, and parents. Author and educator LouAnne California, USA. Clinic Director Susan Hughes Johnson was the guest speaker. Right in the middle of presented as well as exhibited at the California Reading her speech, she stopped and proceeded to speak for Conference held during November in Sacramento. five or ten minutes about Irlen. I was practically jumping out of my seat. My school district had "poo-pooed" Irlen. California, USA. Dr. Andrew Yellen presented What a validation to have the guest speaker at this event “Understanding the Brain's Electrical Activity by Means of recognize the validity of Irlen. the DESA®” in April 2006. Dr. Yellen is a Clinical Psychologist and an Irlen Clinic Director. He has closely My superintendent was now a believer in Irlen and even examined the effects of Irlen Syndrome utilizing state-of- encouraged me to go ahead and try overlays with my the-art neuroelectrical evaluation of patients called students. I'm going to email LouAnne Johnson and DESA®. thank her for opening doors. Susie Young, Screener. Hawaii, USA. Collin went to see the Navy recruiter who Oregon State Bill for Screening. The bill for Irlen noticed his colored lenses and said, "I had another kid screening is being held until next year before being here to take the ASVAB again with these crazy color presented to the State of Oregon (USA) legislature. lenses. The lady who gave him the note said it would Joan Craig, the Irlen Screener who designed the make a difference and it really did! He scored much legislation, is asking for letters of support of the bill be higher." Ruth Ann Santos, Screener sent to Rep.