Gregory L. Robinson

Scotopic sensitivity/Irlen syndrome and the use of coloured filters: a long-term placebo controlled and masked study of reading achievement and perception of ability.

This study investigated the effects of using coloured filters on reading speed, accuracy, and comprehension as well as on perception of academic ability. A double-masked, placebo-controlled crossover design was used, with subjects being assessed over a period of 20 mo. There were three treatment groups (Placebo filters, Blue filters, and Optimal filters) involving 113 subjects with “reading difficulties”, ranging in age from 9.2 yr. to 13.1 yr. and with an average discrepancy between chronological age and reading age of 1.8 yr. The 35 controls (who did not use coloured filters) ranged in age from 9.4 yr. to 12 9 yr., with an average discrepancy between chronological age and reading age of 21 yr The treatment groups increased at a significantly greater rate than the control group in reading accuracy and reading comprehension but not for speed of reading. For self-reported perception of academic ability, two of the three treatment groups showed significantly greater increases than the control group. The larger improvements for treatment groups in reading comprehension may be related to a reduction in print and background distortions allowing attention to be directed to the processing of continuous text rather than to the identification of individual words. A reduction in print distortion, however, may not be sufficient to generate improved word-identification skills without additional remedial support, and this may be indicated by the nonsignificant increase in rate of reading.

Simultaneous and Successive Processing in Reading Disabled Children

A group of 105 reading disabled children were administered a battery of tests which assessed simultaneous and successive information processing skills, language and reading processes, and reading achievement. Principal component analyses were carried out in each of the domains, yielding simultaneous and successive processing factors in the information processing domain; miscue, comprehension, and flow factors in the language domain; and miscue, word recognition, and word analysis factors in the reading process domain. Interpretation of these findings and of the relationships between domains indicates that these reading disabled children employed simultaneous processing in reading tasks that normally require successive processing. Analysis of the relationships between these three domains and reading achievement indicates that the expected relationships between the appropriate use of simultaneous and successive processing and reading achievement emerge, but that the factor identified as the inappropriate use of simultaneous processing is less positively related to achievement. These results are discussed in terms of the two probable causes of the overuse of simultaneous processing, a deficit in successive processing, and an inclination not to use it. Suggestions are offered for the design of remedial instruction.

Irlen filters and reading strategies: effect of coloured filters on reading achievement, specific reading strategies, and perception of ability.

The effect of tinted nonoptical (Irlen) lenses was investigated with 29 lens-using subjects and a control group of 31 subjects. Assessment of reading four months after the initial screening showed a significant improvement in reading rate and comprehension but not in accuracy. A significant decrease in the number of pauses while reading was also noted for the lens users as well as increases in correlation between word repetition and reading rate and accuracy. The lens users also showed significantly improved scores on a scale of attitude towards school tasks.

A Biochemical Analysis of People with Chronic Fatigue Who Have Irlen Syndrome: Speculation concerning Immune System Dysfunction

This study investigated the biological basis of visual processing disabilities in adults with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The study involved 61 adults with symptoms of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome who were screened for visual processing problems (Irlen Syndrome) and divided into two groups according to the severity of symptoms of Irlen Syndrome. Significant variations were identified in blood lipids and urine amino and organic acids of the two groups, which may be indicative of activation of the immune system due to some infective agent. It was suggested that metabolic profiling may help the development of more valid diagnostic categories and allow more investigation of immune system dysfunction as a possible causal factor in a range of learning and behaviour disorders.

Irlen lenses & adults a small scale study of reading speed, accuracy, comprehension & self‐image

Abstract This study investigated the effects of using Irlen coloured filters on reading speed, accuracy, comprehension and self‐image over 6 months of use. Three study groups were used (immediate lens use, delayed lens use and control), involving 33 subjects ranging in age from 18 years to 62 years. The experimental groups demonstrated significant improvements in reading accuracy and comprehension over the 6 months of the study, although there was a plateau effect for the second half of the 6 month study period. The experimental and control groups also improved significantly on scores of self‐esteem over the 6 months. It is suggested that the reported reduction in print and background distortions may allow attention to be directed to the processing of continuous text rather than to the identification of individual words, although improvement will be restricted if basic word attack skills ore not fully mastered.

The Use of Sequenced Count-By and Constant Time Delay Methods of Teaching Basic Multiplication Facts using Parent Volunteer Tutors.

The effectiveness and efficiency of Constant Time Delay and Sequenced Count-By procedures in the teaching of multiplication facts was investigated using 43 children from Grades 3 to 6 having parents as tutors. Twenty randomly selected students received seven weeks instruction from their parents using the Constant Time Delay procedure and 23 students received seven weeks’ instruction from their parents using the Sequenced Count-By procedure. The matched control group of 43 students were given supervised home-learning tasks by their teacher over the same time period.

Understanding the causal mechanisms of visual processing problems: A possible biochemical basis for Irlen syndrome?

Abstract This paper discusses potential causes for the visual‐perceptual dysfunction known as Irlen Syndrome (IS), and describes a preliminary investigation into the possible biochemical basis for this dysfunction. A review of studies revealed that there is a sub‐group of people with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) who have visual‐perceptual problems similar to those identified as IS, and specific biochemical anomalies have been identified for CFS. This investigation found a variety of biochemical anomalies in 143 subjects with CFS who had been identified on a questionnaire as likely to have symptoms of IS. It was suggested that the broad diagnostic categories currently in use, such as CFS, dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may include a range of overlapping clinical disorders. The analysis of biochemical anomalies in particular may be important in the development of more valid diagnostic categories and treatment strategies for these disorders, as it goes beyond observed behavioural sym...

The interpretation of emotion from facial expressions for children with a visual sub‐type of dyslexia

Abstract Investigations of dyslexia have largely focussed on academic failure, but the development of social skills is being increasingly recognised as important. A number of studies have claimed that negative social skills identified in such people might relate to the inability to decode subtle social cues. In particular, facial expression has been identified as critical to the development of social responsiveness, with some studies finding that children with learning disabilities/dyslexia were less accurate in interpreting facial emotions. The majority of studies of interpretation of facial expression, however, viewed dyslexia as a unitary condition, and only made comparisons between this group and a group with no learning disabilities. There are almost certainly sub‐types, and a separate assessment of these is needed. In particular, people with visual processing disabilities which are sufficient to cause problems in identifying letters and words, may also have problems in interpreting subtle visual cues of facial emotion. This study investigated ability to interpret emotion in facial expression in a visual perceptual sub‐type called Irlen Syndrome (Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome), which is claimed to have central nervous system origin, with a deficit in the magnocellular visual neurological pathway being implicated. A deficit in this pathway has also been proposed as a possible cause of visual processing problems leading to social misperception. The study assessed 38 children with Irlen Syndrome in comparison to 31 normally achieving peers aged between 8 and 12 years. Participants with Irlen Syndrome were as different from normal‐achieving peers in recognition of facial affect and recognition of faces as they were in word identification and word attack. Application of Irlen filters to the experimental group appeared to reduce the differences between groups on these tests.

An evaluation of the irlen lenses as a treatment for specific reading disorders commentary on M. M. Cotton and K. M. Evans

Abstract The paper by Cotton and Evans presents a useful review of research on the Irlen lens procedure. However, as the “franchised Irlen lens practitioner” referred to in the paper, I am concerned that its value as an investigation of the effects of lenses is limited by a number of factors. Unfortunately, analysis of the results is restricted by the fact that it has not been possible to access the raw data. However based on the data contained in the paper and in the thesis (Evans, 1988) from which the research component of it emanates, the following observations can be made.

Clever Kids: A Metacognitive and Reciprocal Teaching Program to Improve Both Word Identification and Comprehension for Upper Primary Readers Experiencing Difficulty

Abstract This study assessed the effectiveness of a metacognitive and reciprocal teaching approach for improving the word identification and reading comprehension skills of upper primary readers experiencing difficulty in a regular classroom situation. To improve word identification skills, subjects in the main training condition were given metacognitive training in the analysis and monitoring of word identification strategies. Reciprocal teaching procedures, incorporating the above word identification strategies, were used for comprehension training. Subjects in the main training condition received the combined metacognitive word identification and reciprocal teaching program (n=25). Subjects in two other conditions received either traditional classroom word identification and comprehension activities (n=27) or reciprocal teaching of comprehension combined with traditional methods for identifying unfamiliar words (n=22). Measures of improvements in word identification, metacognitive awareneness of word identification strategies, and comprehension were taken on several occasions during the study, which took place over an 8 month period in a school year. Results indicated that a combination of metacognitive word identification strategies and reciprocal teaching for comprehension was clearly more effective than traditional classroom word identification and comprehension activities or reciprocal teaching for comprehension with traditional methods of word identification. Results also indicated that a classroom‐based model of implementation appears to be more successful when teachers (not researchers) have responsibility for its Implementation. The implications of these findings for classroom practice are discussed, along with the limitations of the study and suggestions for further research.