Reading and writing a battle? A Colour Overlay Assessment might hold the answer.

Research suggests that 15-20%* of people suffer from visual stress. And for children who experience these symptoms, it can make learning a daily struggle.

The unpleasant symptoms experienced can include letters and words moving and jumbling, blurred text, glare from the page, frequently losing place and difficulty understanding information, as well as headaches and sore eyes.

But for many, there is a simple and incredibly effective solution.

What is visual stress?

In many schools, the term visual stress is used to describe any visual issues that make learning difficult and increase the stress of reading and writing.

If your child is falling behind their peers, finds reading difficult, is slow to write and lacks focus with their schoolwork, they may be experiencing visual stress and a sensible first step is to visit your local optician.

Many children assume what they see is normal for everyone, so they don’t let you know anything is wrong. The cause of their difficulties could be unidentified longsightedness, astigmatism or a squint – all common eye conditions which can be diagnosed through a routine eye test and treated with a glasses prescription.

Some people may also be oversensitive to certain light frequencies and this can be diagnosed with a Colour Overlay Assessment. This condition is commonly, but not always, associated with dyslexia.

What is a Colour Overlay?

Very simply, a colour overlay is an A4 sheet of transparent coloured plastic which can be laid over a page while reading. The colour overlay changes the colour of the page background from white to the colour of the sheet. It’s available in a range of different colours chosen to suit the way your child’s brain works.

Alternatively, the colour can be applied to the lenses of a pair of glasses. The glasses can then be used not only for reading, but also when writing, using a computer and looking at the board in class. Some children feel anxious about how these coloured glasses look, but they are typically more effective and easier to use than the sheet.

How does the Colour Overlay help?

Spectacular Opticians’ Senior Director and Optometrist Gareth Gibbs explains the science:

“When you look at text on a page, the information is sent down a visual pathway from the eye to the LGN (Lateral Geniculate Nucleus) which is the processing centre. There are different pathways to the LGN and each processes information at different speeds and efficiencies.

For some people, black text on white background can be a particularly problematic frequency, sending the information down a pathway where it becomes disjointed and broken up.

Changing the white background to a different colour using a colour overlay creates a different frequency of light so that the information is sent by a different route. This pathway might be more efficient and so the data is sent from the eye to the LGN more smoothly improving the person’s ability to read or write.”

What do you do in a Colour Overlay Assessment?

The Colour Overlay Assessment takes around 25 minutes and covers the following steps:

1) Your Optometrist will show your child a block of text and ask some questions about how it looks to them.

2) They’ll then be given two identical blocks of text side-by-side. The Optometrist will change one side by adding a colour overlay and ask your child which they prefer.

3) Working through a spectrum of colours, the Optometrist will change the blocks of text to compare the different tints available and find the one that gives your child the most visual comfort.

4) Once their ideal colour has been identified, your Optometrist will then ask your child to look at a set of words, timing how many they can read in one minute with and without the colour overlay. This will give a good picture of how well the colour overlay is likely to help.

Will a Colour Overlay help my child?

A Colour Overlay can be very effective. It changes the way the brain processes visual data, improving the efficiency of pathways between the eyes and the brain to significantly reduce symptoms that make learning difficult.

Using the colour overlay regularly also trains the brain to develop new neural pathways which are better at processing visual information. This means many children find they only need the colour overlay for 6 months to 2 years before their difficulties are significantly reduced to a level where the colour is no longer needed.

The symptoms of visual stress can be quite varied, but any child who is falling behind in reading or finding writing difficult would benefit from a Colour Overlay Assessment.

Gareth says:

“In ten years of completing Colour Overlay Assessments I’ve found that when the test has suggested a child will benefit from a colour overlay, most find it a complete game changer. It’s brilliant technology and I cannot recommend it highly enough.”

At Spectacular Opticians, our highly experienced Optometrists carry out Colour Overlay Assessments with exceptional attention to detail and accuracy.

Contact your nearest branch today to discuss a Colour Overlay Assessment for your child.

*https://www.orthoptics.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Visual-stress-leaflet.pdf