Tabby’s journey with Irlen Syndrome

“Prior to having an Irlen assessment, I had not heard of Irlen syndrome and didn’t think there was anything wrong with my visual perception. Before my assessment I experienced lots of difficulties when reading, for example I would get extremely tired, have headaches, I found it difficult to concentrate on the words, the words would go blurry, and most of the time I wouldn’t even take in what I had read, having to re-read it again. I had my eyes tested at the opticians and everything came back okay, so I didn’t think there was anything abnormal about this and presumed everyone experiences visual stress and there was nothing you could do about it.

When I found out about Irlen Syndrome, I immediately wanted to have an assessment to see if it would help with my reading. I found out I have Irlen Syndrome and require grey overlays when reading to reduce the visual stress I experience. Since the assessment I still cannot believe how much easier it is reading with a coloured overlay and the huge difference it makes; the words look so much clearer and I no longer become tired or get headaches when reading. I also understand what I read so much more as I’m not having to put as much effort into reading the words. If anyone experiences the difficulties I had when reading and cannot understand why, I would highly recommend looking into Irlen syndrome as it has made such a positive difference for me, making my work life and completing my degree so much easier!”