13/10/2025
When reading is a challenge...
This is a story about a boy who struggled in school- really struggled
About a mom who wished she knew how to help
A 9-year-old boy arrived for an Irlen screening, complaining that reading was stupid, school work was stupid and he didn't want to be here.
We chatted and laughed and got down to the job of talking about reading. He said he couldn't read so we looked at an animal search picture. He complained. Said he didn't want to do it, said his eyes hurt and he was tired.
More chatting, distracting and laughing before I brought out the coloured overlays to put on his page. He sat up a little straighter, he looked a little closer and said he liked the turquoise one the best. We talked about what made the page look better but he wasn't able to explain, just said he didn't know.
We examined all the other colours, again he said he didn't like them and he didn't know why. Using the turquoise overlay he started to read. Turns out he could read but it was so hard for him that he refused to do it. Sure he was well below his grade level but that wasn't the focus.
The focus was that he continued to say it felt better to look at the page with the overlay. We added another turquoise and he said it looked even better. After some thought he reported that the letters stood out more and it was easier to look at.
He couldn't articulate it enough to complete any forms and wouldn't have been able to fill out the checklists. Although he did notice that with the overlay the black lines of the letters were darker, the bright white of the page was gone so his eyes were not as tired and he was able to read better. Just slightly better, but reading seemed easier and he was more willing to try.
I asked him to tell his mom why he wanted to use the turquoise overlay. His comment was as profound as it needed to be, “It's nicer to look at.” And that was it, he was done.
The mom and I talked about what we had just done. She was overwhelmed that all those times they thought he wasn't applying himself, wasn't trying – he was. All those fights about reading, refusals and phone calls from school because he wouldn't do the work. It had all meant that his brain couldn't do the work, it was uncomfortable, distracted and made his eyes scratchy when he looked at the words on the white page.
All those times he thought he was stupid and all the days he hated school reading had been terribly hard. It was because his brain couldn't process the page correctly. I explained to him how super smart he actually was. While the brightness of the page hurt his eyes and it was hard to see the letters he still figured it out, imagine what he was going to be able to do now that we knew what the problem was.
(story written by Janet McCormack)
It is a simple solution to a complex problem. Each person experiences relief and support from a different colour of overlay or Irlen lens. If you think your child would benefit from an Irlen screening contact Irlen Canada on Facebook to find a screener near you.
In Muskoka area contact Affinity Consulting for a FREE consult.
