When I was in middle school, I began to notice a problem with my reading. Specifically, I was having trouble seeing the text in my textbooks. When I looked at a page, I would see a glare of white light slithering between the text and reflecting back at me. It was very distracting and painful…in the same way that seeing a camera flash in the dark would hurt your eyes. What I was seeing, however, was constant and debilitating.
Mom took me to an eye doctor. “Everything’s fine,” he said.
But, I kept complaining.
After another year, Mom took me to another ophthalmologist. “Everything’s fine,” he said.
My mom is a physician and was hand-picking the top doctors from her large hospital. We had no reason to question their conclusions. I just thought I was crazy. But, that didn’t stop me from complaining.
Finally, Mom took to me to yet another eye doctor. “Everything’s fine,” she said. “But, since she is complaining about glare, let’s try a pair of glasses with tinted lenses.”
They worked great and instantly stopped the glare! But, there was one significant problem.
The glasses had GIANT lenses with a dark rose tint. I was already a shy and self-conscious eighth-grader; there was no way I was wearing those babies outside of the house! For a while, I used them to read at home. Otherwise, I continued to suffer.
Over time, I developed a couple coping mechanisms: One was to do my homework in extremely dim light (which I still prefer). The second, and most effective, was simply to avoid reading my textbooks. That did not serve my grades very well (until I learned study skills), but my eyes were grateful.
FAST-FORWARD TWENTY-FIVE YEARS…
Last year, I was in the midst of total chaos trying to get help for my son. I suspected he had dyslexia, but wanted to rule out vision issues first. So, we visited an eye doctor in our new hometown. As we talked, the doctor was excited to introduce me to a woman named Karen. Karen is a counselor specializing in education issues and was renting another office in the same complex. He gave her a call.
Karen came in to meet us while the doctor did a thorough vision exam on my son. “Everything looks great,” he concluded. “From what I can tell, his eyes can process everything just fine. However, I can’t tell what the brain is doing with the information it receives from the eyes.”
Karen quietly asked, “Have you had him screened for Visual Stress Syndrome?”
I WASN’T CRAZY, AFTER ALL!
Karen explained that Visual Stress Syndrome causes a variety of challenges for people when they read. People with VSS complain that text appears to be moving, blurry, uneven, or flowing with “rivers of white.” Due to the physical discomfort and erratic neurological signals, some students exhibit significant behavior problems because of VSS.
“Rivers of white” is a perfect description of my challenges. This was the first time that someone else described my experience!
WHAT IS VISUAL STRESS SYNDROME?
L
ike ADHD, dyslexia, and many other learning disabilities, VSS is a neurological condition. It is not an “eye” condition.
Imagine holding a prism in sunlight and seeing all the colors of the rainbow refracting from it. This is exactly how the eyes processes light; they break light into colors and send neuron signals to the visual cortex in the back of the brain.
Researchers believe that people with VSS have optical receptors that are hyper-sensitive to certain colors of light. When the hyper-sensitive receptors are triggered, they send a surplus of electrical signals, creating an erratic pattern of activity in the brain. Maps of brain-wave activity seem to confirm this theory. (See image.)
VSS IS MORE COMMON THAN MOST PEOPLE REALIZE!
90% of students with learning challenges have VSS. Yes, that’s right…90%!
Dr. Laura Weisel, a neuro and cognitive psychologist, collected data from over 4500 students with a wide variety of learning challenges; 90% of these students tested positive for VSS.
BUT, THE TREATMENT IS SO, SO SIMPLE.
When I was in middle school, my eye doctor didn’t know about VSS, but she was on to something when she prescribed tinted lenses. Recommended treatments for VSS include:
1. Glasses with tinted lenses. (I wonder if sunglasses would work. Hmm…)
-OR-
2. Colored overlays/transparencies to place over reading material. (Change the background color on monitors when reading a computer screen.)
Color overlays are the cheapest and fasted way to correct VSS. Color sensitivity varies by individual, so each person will need to test the color overlay that works best for them. In some cases, a combination of two colors will be optimal. The only way to know for sure is to try them. (Colored overlays are available at: http://irlen.com/index.php?s=overlays and http://www.howtolearn.com/products/i-read-i-succeed.)
HOW DO YOU DIAGNOSE VSS?
The treatment for VSS is so simple and inexpensive, I recommend that you self-diagnose by trying colored overlays to see if they make a difference. Formal diagnosis, however, is available in some areas. (See http://irlen.com/index.php?s=findclinic or www.powerpath.com.)
OH, WHAT A DIFFERENCE!
Karen gave me a set of overlays. Mark and I experimented and discovered our preferred colors. They clearly make reading more comfortable for me! As for Mark, he prefers Eye Lighters. Eye Lighters are clear, tinted rulers that help him track his place in the text. They serve the same purpose as an overlay, but are more appropriate for a young second-grader. He still struggles with dyslexia, but knowing about VSS has helped him progress faster.
My neighbor and her daughter both struggled with severe reading disabilities. Learning about VSS has been miraculous for them…their struggles have nearly vanished with color overlays!
CONCLUSION
90% of students with learning challenges have Visual Stress Syndrome. It commonly exists with other neurological conditions, but may exist alone. VSS causes symptoms that look like other neurological conditions. Therefore, if your child has any learning difficulty, you should screen for VSS by trying the colored overlays or consulting a professional.
—
Thank you to Karen Smigelski, MA, LPC, CAADC of Willow’s Edge Counseling for sharing her knowledge and resources regarding VSS.
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
• VSS should always be considered before testing for ADHD. Visual attention tests are a common tool used in diagnosing ADHD. Therefore, VSS could cause false positives for ADHD. If color overlays have been found to work effectively for a student, the overlay(s) should be used during the ADHD testing.
• Always get a thorough vision and hearing evaluation for any child who is suspected of having a learning disability. Dr. Weisel specifically suggests asking your ophthalmologist to test binocularity. Binocularity describes how well your eyes coordinate with one another. 50% students with learning challenges have binocularity problems.
Dr. Weisel has also surveyed professionals testing for learning disabilities and asked if they ever checked to see if the individuals they evaluate can see or hear. None of them do. They all assume that the individuals can see and hear just fine. This was my experience. I paid a lot of money to have my son tested for a learning disability, but I was never asked if he had hearing or vision evaluations. I scheduled those on my own.
• Fluorescent lights are a major culprit! If possible, classrooms should offer alternative lighting. Dr. Weisel suggests another alternative; in one section of the classroom, keep the lights bright. In another section of the classroom, remove one of the fluorescent tubes. In a third section of the classroom, remove two tubes. In the final section, remove three tubes. “Students will naturally gravitate to the area where they can best learn,” she says. (Taken from Learning Disabilities Study Shows Complex Issues Behind Learners’ Struggles, KET ALQ, April 2008.)
• VSS is beginning to emerge as a suspect in causing migraine headaches. If you or someone you know suffers from migraines, this would be an interesting topic to research in the next few months/years.
• The best color for overlays may not be the best color for lenses. Colored overlays change the reflection of light. Colored lenses, however, work by changing the color of the light as it enters the eye directly. This difference is subtle, but quite significant. For this reason, you must test the best lens color independently from your preferred color of overlays. (The same considerations apply to background color on a computer monitor.)
• To change the background color of your monitor on a PC, right-click on the desktop and selecting “Preferences.” From there, select “Window Color and Appearance” and test background colors from the drop-down menu. (Sorry, I don’t have instructions for a Mac.)
• More information about Visual Stress Syndrome (aka Irlen Syndrome) is available at: http://irlen.com/index.php?s=index and http://www.powerpath.com/vss.html.
-Susan Kruger
(Google+)
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Previous ADHD Circuit® articles can be found here:
Article 1 – The ADHD Circuit®: Article 1: The ADHD Circuit®
Article 2 – The ADHD Circuit® (Article 2): My Personal Journey Through The ADHD Circuit®. . .for a Cup of Milk!
Article 3 – The ADHD Circuit® (Article 3): ADHD Is Not an Excuse!
Article 4 – The ADHD Circuit® (Article 4): Is it Creativity…or ADHD?
Article 5 – The ADHD Circuit® (Article 5): How to Avoid the “Tasmanian Devil Tailspin” of School Work
