Irlen Diagnostic Clinic Newcastle Australia in Wallsend, New South Wales | Educational consultant

Irlen Diagnostic Clinic Newcastle Australia

Locality: Wallsend, New South Wales

Phone: +61 2 4955 6904

Address: Suite 3/136 Nelson Street 2287 Wallsend, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.irlendyslexia.com

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24.01.2022 I saw a young girl recently who was so light sensitive that I had to switch off all of the artificial lights on the clinic. We had good natural light coming through the windows and that worked very well for her. She gets headaches every day at school because of the fluorescent lights in the classroom. This, in combination with white photocopy paper for all worksheets resulted in sore eyes and a headache EVERY DAY! Surprisingly, her mother was unaware of the headaches becau...se her daughter never told her about them. As well as headaches, she experienced discomfort when reading as the white paper is very glarey and bright. If your child has headaches regularly during the school week, but not so much on weekends, please consider that they may have the Visual Processing Disorder that is also known as Irlen Syndrome. Sometimes, these headaches are accompanied by a feeling of nausea as well. #irlensyndrome #headaches #migraines #nausea #lightsensitivity #soreeyes For further information go to www.irlendyslexia.com

24.01.2022 "I CAN READ NOW!" Children who are identified as having the Visual Processing Disorder with symptoms known as Irlen Syndrome are provided with Irlen Spectral Filters, worn as glasses to help their visual processing. Unfortunately, many of them, along with their parents do not understand that even once they have learned to read, they still need to wear their filters, in order to help their brain process the information that it receives from their eyes. THIS IS NOT JUST TO HELP... THEM READ. If they are doing well at school without wearing their Irlen lenses, it means that their brains are working much harder than they need to, because their brain is coping with all of the distortions and discomfort first identified when they were first diagnosed. Some parents ring and say that their child is "doing well at school" despite not wearing their Irlen lenses, but in most cases, the child is STILL USING COLOURED PAPER to cope, which indicates that their visual processing disorder has not "gone away", but they are able to alleviate their symptoms by avoiding white paper. These individuals often return as adults who, after returning to study or gaining a new job that involves a lot of reading or computer work, realise that they STILL NEED their Irlen Spectral filters. So if you have a child that has been diagnosed with Irlen, try to get them to understand that it does not "go away" and that, even if they are doing well at school, they are working mentally, much harder than they should be, and if they wore their Irlen lenses, they could probably achieve even greater success with the same amount of effort. #anxiety #fatigue #dyslexia #disleksia #dyslexia #headaches #migraines #concentration #alwaystired #visualprocessingdisorder #visualdistortions #readingdifficulties #reading If you would like to know more about visual processing disorder known as Irlen Syndrome go to our website.

24.01.2022 Please help to increase the awareness of this Visual Processing Disorder so that more and more people can benefit from the Irlen Method.. so share,share,share Go to Irlen Dyslexia.com to find out more.

22.01.2022 HOW COME THOSE KIDS CAN READ BUT I CAN'T? I KNOW THAT I AM AS SMART AS THEM! This is the real-life dilemma faced by many of our children who are struggling to learn to read or to read efficiently. We see children like this everyday and they come to the clinic looking worried because they think that they will be asked to do something that they cannot do (READ!).. Many of these kids are actually traumatised by their perceived failures to read as expected at school. Some of the...m are made to stand up and read aloud in front of the class and that is really traumatic for them for a couple of reasons. 1.. they KNOW that they are going to make mistakes and 2.. the other kids in the class who CAN read, often make fun of them when they make mistakes. These kids are the ones who end up giving up and not trying anymore, because they just do not know HOW to fix the problem. Many of them will have the Visual Processing Disorder whose symptoms are known as Irlen Syndrome, and because this is not something that is routinely tested for in the school situation, THEY ARE NOT IDENTIFIED. As a parent, If you have a child like this, or as a teacher, if you have a child like this in your class, PLEASE consider that the words may not look clear for them, they may move on the page, they may disappear while they are trying to decode the words or it just may be really glarey and hurt their eyes when they look at white paper. You can ask the question, "How do the words look for you when you are reading?" or, ""Does it hurt your eyes when you are reading"? The answers may surprise you. If the answers tell you that something is not right when reading, please consider having them assessed for Irlen Syndrome. #irlensyndrome #visualprocessing #visualdistortions #soreyeswhenreading #cantreadproperly #willnotread #doesnotwanttoread For further information go to http://ow.ly/3ygT50BCezu

20.01.2022 There is a misconception that only poor readers or those with learning difficulties can have Irlen Syndrome. This is not necessarily the case and there are a lo...t of sufferers out there who are doing well academically but are working hard to achieve this. This is because they may not have a lot of print distortions that interfere in their ability to read but they have difficulty with the white paper: - Flickering of the light on the white paper - Paper glows - Print might be faded - The white paper is distracting and makes it difficult to maintain focus. They may suffer from: - Light sensitivity - Headaches and migraines - Study Fatigue - Sore Eyes They might: - Rub their eyes alot while reading - Try and shade the page as they read - Blink excessively or squint while reading or under bright lights To determine of you might have Irlen Syndrome you can take Light Sensitivity Self Test at the following link: https://aaic.org.au//respon/1-light-sensitivity-self-test #LightSensitivity #Irlen #Migraines #Headaches #StudyFatigue #Glare #ExcessiveBlinking #Squinting #Whitepaper #BrightLight #VisualProcessing #PrintMoves #Reading #study #School #University #TAFE #Colouredpaper #ColouredLenses #IrlenLenses

18.01.2022 DON'T LEAVE IT TOO LATE TO HAVE YOUR CHILD ASSESSED FOR IRLEN SYNDROME THIS YEAR. Our clinic will be closed from Thursday 17th December and will not reopen until Monday 18th January next year. If they are found to have Irlen Syndrome symptoms they will be given resources that will allow them to practise and catch up on any reading or writing skills before they start in their new class next year. This will help to increase their self confidence, which in turn will help them... to learn things that they don't know. "Success breeds Success". #irlensyndrome #selfconfidence #headaches #migraines #reading #visualdistortions #cantread For further information about Irlen Syndrome and how it affects all aspects of learning go to www.irlendyslexia.com

17.01.2022 Life is not often as we think it is!

15.01.2022 VISUAL PROCESSING IS INVOLVED IN ALMOST EVERY ACTIVITY THAT WE EXPERIENCE. Any difficulties with our Visual Processing can cause problems in what we may see as unrelated problems. For young children, it can affect their learning, while for adults, it can result in daily headaches or migraines that are resistant to normal medications. Another occurrence that can interfere with successful Visual Processing is that of brain trauma, whatever the cause. The Irlen Institute has b...een working with the Defence forces in the USA to help those servicemen and women who have returned from active service overseas with brain trauma. For many of these, they have daily migraines, vision problems and other associated effects that make it difficult for them to function in a way that we all take for granted. They have found that Irlen Spectral Filters have been able to help them reduce or eliminate the need for medications. Take a look at the video at the following link to learn more about how the Irlen Method and Filters are helping people cope with brain trauma. http://ow.ly/musA50C4GzH #braintrauma #migraines #headaches #visualprocessing #irlensyndrome #strokes #autism #learningdifficulties For further information about Visual Processing that causes the symptoms of Irlen Syndrome, go to www.irlendyslexia.com

12.01.2022 CAN THE GLARE OF BRIGHT LIGHTING, REFLECTED FROM A WHITE PAGE MAKE MY CHILD FIDGETY AND RESTLESS AT SCHOOL? If your child is experiencing the symptoms of the Visual Processing disorder that is identified as Irlen Syndrome the answer is YES! I saw a little boy today who is in Kindergarten and is obviously quite smart, but his writing is poor, and he is struggling to read efficiently. He has trouble concentrating in class and his work does not demonstrate his intelligence. When... he begins to read, the words and the letters move so much that he has trouble identifying them correctly. On top of that, the words and lines that he looks at are blurry and look wavy. Despite this, he was able to read a Kindergarten level book when we used an appropriately coloured overlay that was put on top of the page and removed the glare from the white paper. The first thing that the teacher suggested was to have his eyes tested by an optometrist because poor eyesight is the OBVIOUS first thing to consider. Despite receiving a prescription which magnified the words slightly, the word still moved and were blurry. If you have a child that you suspect may be experiencing the things that this little boy experiences, consider that he/she may have a Visual Processing Disorder. Optometrists, psychologists, doctors, speech therapists and occupational therapists DO NOT have the training to identify Visual Processing Difficulties as the reason for a child's reading/learning difficulties. #dyslexia #visualprocessingdisorder #readingdifficulties #learningdifficulties #poorconcentration #cannotread #cannotrememberwhathehasread #lightsensitivity #soreeyesatschool #poorcomprehension #irlensyndrome #scotopicsensitivitysyndrome For further infomation about Visual Processing Disorder go to www.irlendyslexia.com and do the self-test to see if your child has the symptoms of Irlen Syndrome See more

12.01.2022 MY SON IS STRUGGLING AT SCHOOL BUT I KNOW HE IS REALLY SMART. THERE IS SOMETHING THAT I CAN'T WORK OUT THAT IS HOLDING HIM BACK! This is a common concern expressed by many of our parents when they come to the clinic. They have usually been to Speech Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, Optometrists, School Counsellors and any other professional EXCEPT a Visual Processing Specialist (an Irlen Diagnostician). When they have tried all other specialists, they are ...at the point of just willing to try anything, so they eventually find their way to us. These children are usually experiencing visual distortions on the page or suffering discomfort whenever they look at white paper. They don't tell anyone what happens for them when they are reading or writing because they think that everyone sees things as they do, so they don't query it. Visual Processing Disorder cannot be identified by any standardised educational or psychological tests currently available so the ONLY WAY to determine whether the child's learning difficulties are the result of Visual Processing problems is to have them assessed by an Irlen Syndrome professional. If their problem is not identified they often become the victim of ridicule by their peers. This is then the beginnings of decreasing self esteem and confidence. #irlensyndrome #poorselfesteem #lowselfconfidence #hastroublereading #hatesreading #visualprocessingdisorder #headaches #eyestrain for further information go to www.irlendyslexia.com

10.01.2022 IMAGINE THIS SCENARIO.. your child is quite smart, is good at maths and does not have any difficulty understanding what the teacher is saying in class or what you are saying to him at home. BUT.. your smart child cannot read without making mistakes like; leaving words out, putting words in, mismatching the correct sounds to the correct letters, missing lines, and/or changing the word altogether to something totally different from what is on the page. As well, he cannot rememb...er what he has read on the page so his comprehension of the WRITTEN WORD is poor, but his comprehension of the SPOKEN WORD is perfect. So the big question is WHY?? Most parents, when faced with this situation look to the following professionals for help; optometrists/opthalmologists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, teachers, school counsellors, psychologists, dyslexia experts and/or their medical doctor. Sometimes, one of these professionals may find a reason for their difficulties and will recommend a treatment or course of action. This often results in an improvement with some of the problems, but if their problem is actually the result of a Visual Processing Disorder they will continue to struggle until that is identified and corrected. If this is the problem, the child DOES NOT have to go through a specific therapy or programme that may require months of sessions and training. Instead, the child's visual processing disorder can be identified and corrected by Certified Irlen Consultants. Irlen Consultants HAVE TO HAVE a University degree in Teaching, Education, Psychology, Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy or other related professions. Their Irlen Certification is the result of specific Post Graduate training through the Irlen Institute in California. #Irlensyndrome #visualprocessingdisorder #comprehension #poorreading #dyslexia #irlenspectralfilters #irlenlenses For more infomation about the Visual Processing Disorder known as Irlen Syndrome go to http://ow.ly/Z2gR50CCpKm

10.01.2022 HOW CAN YOU HELP YOUR CHILD TO BECOME MORE CONFIDENT AT SCHOOL? If your child is having problems reading at their current class level, then look for a book that they feel comfortable reading and that is at an earlier level. It is important that they can experience success when reading. If they are trying to read at a level above their reading ability, they will be making mistakes, someone who is listening will be saying NO and correcting their mistake too frequently, and eve...ntually, your child will give up and refuse to keep reading. Remember, SUCCESS BREEDS SUCCESS! You need to find the reading level where your child can read without too many mistakes. Even when they do make mistakes, DO NOT CORRECT THEM EVERYTIME THAT THEY MAKE A MISTAKE! That is just destroying their confidence. Leave any corrections until the end of the paragraph or page and then go back and ask them to look at the word again, and tell you what it is. There is a very high chance that they will not get the word wrong when they are looking at it in isolation. It is often when they are reading along the line, tha they make mistakes, and this is often their reading "technique" rather than them not knowing the word. Ask them to make sure that they look at each word with their eyes as they move along the line (a bit like pointing with their finger, but in this case, they are simply pointing with their eyes), and also, take the pressure off them in terms of fluency. Being accurate is much more important than fluency when they are learning to read. It is no good having a fast reading rate when most of the words being read are incorrect. This is the best way to increase their confidence when reading. It is important for you to be your child's "helper" and support. #readingfluency #makesmistakes #sayswrongword #leaveswordsout #putswordsinwhenreading #getswordsmixedup #reversesletters #getsbanddmixedup http://ow.ly/Pw0h50BCeGY has self tests that can be used to investigate Irlen Syndrome

09.01.2022 I WORK OUT THE ANSWER BUT WHEN I WRITE IT DOWN, I MAKE A MISTAKE! This happens to many students (both children and adults) who have a problem with their Visual Processing that results in symptoms identified as Irlen Syndrome. This can happen when doing both mathematics and literacy. In the case of mathematics, the calculated answer may be "638" but when written it may be written as "386" and the person's brain DOES NOT recognise the error. The same thing can happen when wr...iting sentences. The person creates the sentence in their head, but when they write that sentence on paper, the words can be written in the wrong order, so that the sentence does not make sense. This is very frustrating for the person involved, and actually interferes with their progression in any academic situation because the teacher does not know that this is happening. In other words, a person can be quite smart and intelligent, but because of the Visual Processing difficulty, they CANNOT show this on paper. All of the information that I have written above is about writing on WHITE PAPER! Generally, once the correctly coloured paper is used instead of white, these errors do not occur. WHY?? On white paper, the brain is distracted by the white, so by using coloured paper, the brain is NOT DISTRACTED, and can focus on the task at hand. #getsmathswrong #knowstheanswerbutwritesitincorrectly #sentencesdonotmakesense #getstherightanswermentallybutnotonpaper. #dyscalulia #dyslexia #dyslexiaawareness #irlensyndrome #visualprocessing for further information on the problems caused by Visual Processing go to http://ow.ly/b3bo50BIsUL

09.01.2022 DID YOUR CHILD HAVE IRLEN LENSES WHEN YOUNG BUT DECIDED IN THEIR TEENS THAT THEY DID NOT NEED THEM ANYMORE? This is quite common, and of course, parents usually are reluctant to try to force their child to wear them and usually, by then, their child is coping at school, so they don't bring them back for a recheck of the tint. They often do make their way to the clinic again, when they reach HSC level at school and they want to apply for special provisions and they need an up-...to-date report. When they do come in to satisfy their need for the report, we always do a recheck of their tint and invariably, they realise how easy it is to focus on the written word. nine out of ten will then decided that they actually do need/want to wear their specifically tinted Irlen lenses. I always feel a bit sad because they have usually been working far too hard in the years since they stopped wearing their lenses. They often do not understand that by not wearing their lenses, they are actually making their brain work far too hard just to do the normal day to day work that school requires. SO if you have a child i this situation, please convince them to at least come to the clinic so that we can check their symptoms and find out whether they actually DO still need their lenses. For more information about Irlen Syndrome go to our website listed on our Facebook page #irlenslenses #spectralfilters #colouredoverlays #colouredpaper #fatigue #excessivelytired #headaches #migraines

08.01.2022 FINGER GRIP IS SO IMPORTANT WHEN WRITING BUT MANY TEACHERS AND PARENTS UNDERESTIMATE ITS IMPORTANCE. Many children and adults have a pencil grip that involves them "wrapping" their thumb around their index finger while writing. Many of these also use their middle finger as well as their index finger to hold their pencil. Both of these methods create sore hands and aching arms. WHY? Because both of these grips require movement of the whole hand and the use of muscles in the a...rms that should not be involved in handwriting. If we look at the evolution of mammals, the development of the "opposing" thumb gave greater flexibility to holding objects as well as manipulating objects of all sizes. By using the two methods described above, we are actually removing the flexibility of the "opposable thumb". It seems that concentrating on the correct pencil grip is not seen as an important part of early schooling these days, maybe because there is so much more in the curriculum that has to be taught. There are a number of different types of pencil grips to help a child hold their pencil correctly. Unfortunately, many of them simply make the pencil/pen thicker and do nothing to place the fingers in the correct position. Find grips that will place the fingers in the correct position at the following link http://ow.ly/JCGr50BxwOg See more

07.01.2022 Depth perception issues can make playing sport or going up and down stairs difficult!

06.01.2022 It is really important for children to know the sounds for each letter of the alphabet. Many parents think that they are giving their children a "headstart" for their move to "big" school by teaching them to recite the alphabet. This is often done by teaching them the "alphabet song". There are two things wrong with this assumption. 1. Unless the parent "points to" the correct letter on an alphabet chart (or similar) as the child says each letter name, the children don't ...learn to put the picture of the letter to the names of the letters. Otherwise if we point to the letter "B" and ask them to tell you it's name, they won't be able to tell you. 2. We don't use the names of letters when we speak. For this reason, it's important that they learn the "sounds" of each letter and again, if we point to each letter, they need to be able to make the appropriate sound for each. In order to provide a "headstart" for learning to read, knowing the sounds is the most important because we can use those sounds to help to "decode" unknown words. Knowing the names of the letters will not help decoding. #alphabet #cannotread #readingdifficulties #decoding #readingskills #lettersounds further information at www.irlendyslexia.com

05.01.2022 VISUAL PROCESSING is involved when the brain has to "work out" the signals it receives from the eyes. Most of us take for granted that what we "see" is the same as what others "see" when we look at the same thing. This is a major assumption made by parents and teachers when they are listening to their child or students reading to them. A number of parents comment to us, "I tell him what the word is but when he sees the same word on the next page he doesn't know it!" We tell ...them, "The problem is that you don't know what the word looked like for him when you told him what it was on this page and it could look totally different on the next page." This is an example of how we assume that what we see is the same as what everyone else sees. For people with the Visual Processing Disorder that results in symptoms that we know as Irlen Syndrome, they DO NOT always see what we assume they do. If your child is demonstrating this symptom when reading to you, you should consider that they may have Irlen Syndrome. Ask them "How do the words look for you when you look at them on the page?" That simple question can provide the opportunity for you to understand what the problem is for your child when reading. #reading #readingdifficulties #visualprocessing #irlensyndrome #visualdistortions #cantrememberthewordfromthepreviouspage Further information can be found at www.irlendyslexia.com

05.01.2022 IS THE VISUAL PROCESSING DISORDER KNOWN AS IRLEN SYNDROME CONSIDERED A DISABILITY? According to the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 the definition of a disability includes "a disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning differently than others" . It does not specifically mention reading, but as we know, Irlen can affect reading BUT importantly, it can affect many other aspects of life. These include LIGHT-INDUCED conditions like... * headaches and migraine...s * epilepsy * sleepiness * dizziness * nausea * fatigue * anxiety * poor concentration * fidgety So, if you or a family member experience any of the above without an identified medical problem, PLEASE consider that it may be the result of the Visual Processing Disorder that results in symptoms that are known as Irlen Syndrome. Many of our clients (both children and adults) have these symptoms relieved by wearing Irlen Spectral Filters, that are worn as glasses. If you would like to understand more about how parts of the spectrum can cause the problems listed above go to https://www.irlendyslexia.com/light-irlen-syndrome/ #disability #migraines #fatigue #colouredpaper #headaches #dyslexia #dislexia #disleckea

05.01.2022 If you have a child with Irlen lenses, please ensure that they have their tint checked at least every 18 months to 2 years. There are a couple of reasons for this.. 1) the lenses can fade over time and because the tint is so specific, just a slight change can make a big difference in the effectiveness of the lenses. Often, this change is so gradual that it is not noticed until it starts to affect the distortions experienced. 2) as children grow, their perception changes and s...o, the particular tint that they selected at the initial lens assessment is not optimal for them now. Sometimes they feel that the present tint is still working and is "perfect" but when they are presented with an alternative during the recheck appointment, they find something that is actually better than the present tint. This also happens with adults as well. Often, once receiving their first set of lenses, their brain "settles down" and the tint that they require changes as time goes on. #irlensyndrome #irlentint #recheckoftint #visualdistortions #visualprocessing #perception #growthspurt for further information go to http://ow.ly/2ZH550Bxw7z

04.01.2022 IRLEN SYNDROME IS NOT JUST ABOUT READING!! The symptoms known as Irlen Syndrome are the result of a Visual Processing Disorder that affects our whole body because it is our BRAIN that is having problems coping with the stress of bright lighting in our workplace, school, and home. The following are things that people with the Visual Processing Disorder that has symptoms known as Irlen Syndrome experience. * dizziness * nausea * light-induced headaches and migraines * increased... restlessness and fidgeting * "zoning out" so that they are unaware of what is happening around them * anxiety * photophobia * poor comprehension of the written word * forgetting faces, even of family members * experiencing "auras" around people * movement of the environment e.g., trees, the ground, walls etc. * poor depth perception, so catching a ball on the full is difficult * experiencing "sparkling" wherever you look * experiencing "dots" wherever you look * difficulty in concentrating on tasks * difficult in focusing (easily distracted) * feeling always "on alert" (never really feeling relaxed) * feeling tired when working under bright lights * feeling "antsy" in bright artificial light So, you can see, that Irlen Syndrome affects MUCH more than READING! Most adults who experience some of these difficulties just accept it.. they think .. "IT IS JUST ME".. #FATIGUE #concentration #anxiety #dyslexia #migraines #headaches #dislecksia #alwaystired www.irlendyslexia.com