mearers irlen/dyslexia using coloured paper in school

Wyre

If you use facebook, join this group (it says channel islands but that is just where it started) https://www.facebook.com/groups/247066392135883/ - lots of knowledgeable and friendly people there.

My 15 yr old has this, diagnosed at 7 too. The school were brilliant whilst at primary, but not so at secondary. I really, really had to push to get them to do anything. When I spoke to their SENCO she honestly said to me 'Is your daughter on my list?' Checked 'Oh yes she is. I didn't realise as she doesn't cause any bother'. I was fuming. I found out they had laptops for the kids to use in class, sat in a cupboard not being used as the teachers didn't know about them. She now uses one of them and changes the background of the programs she uses to the colour that suits her (a kind of gold). She also gets extra time and reader for non-reading exams and lots of extra time for reading ones.

Get on to the SENCO and push for all you are worth, and be ready to do it all again at secondary school. Feel free to pm me if you think I can help at all.

arbrighton

Cuilean wrote: »

At my school, we have loads of coloured lined paper which we use for some of the more dyslexic children, although I've never seen a coloured paper exercise book. Perhaps if you can prove to the school that such a thing exists,

Last school I worked in had a variety of colours for paper in exercise books, both lined and squared.
example here http://www.thedyslexiashop.co.uk/irlen-coloured-paper-exercise-books.html

rubytuesday

Dyslexia Action may be helpful.

http://www.dyslexiaaction.org.uk/

Or The British Dsylexia Association.

http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/

Just found this too from an old thread on NetMums.

http://www.irlenuk.com/

http://www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/advice-support-40/special-needs-disabilities-support-502/190245-mears-irlen-syndrome-all.html

Quackers1

I'm a teacher - one of my Upper Sixth pupils has recently been accessed for coloured lens after I made a comment to his Mum about being able to read his writing more clearly if he was writing in green. He already had a severely dyslexic diagnosis but no-one had ever mentioned colours. He now wears his glasses and says that the letters don't move around the page.

Could you get a coloured paper book for your son to try at home before making the suggestion at his school?

Good luck.

nedmundo

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, has your child had a normal eye exam to exclude any other visual defect?

sooty&sweep

Hi
My son was tested & prescribed tinted lenses just before christmas. They tested his sight first which was near perfect.
Jen

iammumtoone

nedmundo wrote: »

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, has your child had a normal eye exam to exclude any other visual defect?

Yes his eyesight is fine, we had to check this first before they would test him.

sooty&sweep wrote: »

Hi
My son was tested & prescribed tinted lenses just before christmas. They tested his sight first which was near perfect.
Jen

Do you mind me asking how much the glasses were?

dingdongsaving

Just confirming the above - tinted lenses once a diagnosis is firmly established (esp. necessary for writing on white paper as an "adult" and looking at white screen documents on computers), coloured overlays for reading and shaded papers for writing...even just cream can help.

Schools can buy this from normal school stationary supply lines. My school buy pale blue and pale yellow boxes of paper and photocopy lines/graph etc. templates on to them as required for each lesson.

*The school should be providing stationary needs (just as for any primary age child) but will not be required to provide glasses for reading (again, just as for any primary age child).

sooty&sweep

Hi

We paid roughly £200 for the test & the glasses. Not cheap but frankly we took the view that if it helped it was worth every penny.
My son has just turned 14 & although he could use overlays & coloured paper that doesn't cover reading off the board etc etc.
Jen

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Not sure what other schools (or even departments) do, but I spend as much money as possible on different coloured paper, as I write timetables and produce a lot of posters - there is absolutely no point in putting information onto white paper, as the vast majority of kids just won't notice there's anything there.

If a kid needs different colours, they can choose between brights, pastels or neons - no bother for me.