Understanding the Role of Colored Lenses for Dyslexia
August 9, 2024 • 6:19 PM
Dyslexia makes it harder to read and write, and living with the condition can be a real challenge. This learning disability causes distortions in how a person perceives written words, making spelling and understanding written sentences more difficult.
There’s no shame in struggling with dyslexia. It has nothing to do with how smart or capable you are, as you can still excel in work and school with the condition. Still, dyslexic people can benefit from treatments that make it easier to learn and communicate, including tinted lenses.
Colored lenses are an alternative treatment option for writing and reading problems caused by dyslexia. Let’s look at the science behind their impact on dyslexia, whether optometrists recommend them, and what other treatments are available.
What Is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a learning disability that can make it hard to recognize words and spell them correctly while writing. Life with this form of visual stress can have unique challenges, especially in the office or the classroom. For kids with the condition, reading difficulties can make school extremely frustrating.
The symptoms of dyslexia can affect reading, writing, speech, and even perception of shapes and colors. The earliest signs of dyslexia are difficulty reading, needing to slow down to understand written sentences, or making mistakes when reading aloud.
Additionally, kids with dyslexia sometimes actively avoid reading, as it can be a source of significant frustration.
What Causes Dyslexia?
We don’t exactly know the root causes of dyslexia. We do know that it often runs in families and is associated with differences in brain anatomy. People with dyslexia have less activation in the parts of the brain related to speech and language processing, including Broca’s area, Wernicke’s area, and the occipitotemporal cortex.
These parts of the brain are normally connected through strong neural pathways. In cases of dyslexia, the connections are weaker, which can lower a person’s reading ability.
The symptoms caused by these issues can range from mild to very severe, with some people experiencing extreme trouble reading and writing. This is often the case for young children who struggle with this learning disability, especially if it hasn’t yet been diagnosed.
Can Your Environment Impact Dyslexia?
Research shows that a child’s environment can make them more prone to developing dyslexia. For example, early reading and speaking skills are linked to early language exposure in childhood.
In other words, being read to and talked to by parents and caregivers might positively impact reading skills in the future. On the other hand, limited exposure to speech and writing at a young age could contribute to dyslexia and other learning difficulties.
How Is Dyslexia Diagnosed?
Dyslexia is often easy to spot in childhood, but it requires a professional diagnosis by a pediatric doctor. Potentially dyslexic children usually undergo a series of tests that give their doctor a sense of their ability to recognize words on a page and communicate verbally.
In addition, parents, teachers, and optometry specialists often examine school performance — mainly in reading and writing — to pinpoint dyslexia symptoms.
Can Colored Lenses Help With Dyslexia?
Colored lenses are sometimes used to treat dyslexia, but this approach to the learning disability is still very new. Doctors who recommend colored lenses do so based on an emerging view of dyslexia that is still contested.
Medical professionals who support colored lenses as a treatment for dyslexia believe that the learning disability often coexists with a theoretical perceptual processing disorder called Meares-Irlen Syndrome. Sometimes, doctors conclude that a child is dealing with this condition, not dyslexia.
Irlen Syndrome, named after psychologist Helen Irlen, is believed to cause visual distortions like halos around words, the impression that words are jumbled or jumping around on a page, and blurred words while reading.
However, not all doctors agree with this diagnosis, and there’s still plenty more research to be done on the link between Irlen Syndrome and dyslexia.
While some people with dyslexia swear by specialized Irlen lenses, others find that the glasses don’t help much. Irlen syndrome and dyslexia are thought to be two separate conditions with distinct symptoms, and colored lenses target issues in perceiving visual information caused by Irlen syndrome.
Right now, Irlen syndrome is considered completely hypothetical, with ophthalmologists reminding us there’s no scientific evidence it exists. That’s important to remember when looking for the best treatment for dyslexia.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Colored Lenses for Dyslexia?
At this point, most of the evidence about the benefits of colored lenses for dyslexia is anecdotal. However, many people who deal with dyslexia say wearing tinted glasses has changed their lives.
On the other hand, there are critics of this treatment in the scientific community. Skeptics argue that the impact of tinted lenses on dyslexia could be a placebo effect. Right now, there isn’t enough research to tell us otherwise. That means it’s up to you to decide whether colored lenses are worth a try.
Even if you don’t find that colored overlays or lenses help with your dyslexia, you can still wear them to express yourself and support your confidence. Tinted glasses and sunglasses look cool and can protect your eyes from UV wavelengths of light. They may not be confirmed to help with dyslexia, but colored lenses can definitely help you find your signature style.
How To Get Colored Lenses
Some companies sell specialized “dyslexia glasses” that they claim will help with everything from reading speed and comprehension to visual distortions. However, we encourage you to stay skeptical about claims like these.
As you now know, there isn’t enough evidence to back up the treatment of dyslexia (or Irlen syndrome) with tinted lenses. Because of the limited evidence, we think it’s better to wear tinted lenses for style rather than function.
If you want stylish colored overlays to pair with your eyeglasses, Pair has you covered. Our fashionable Sun Tops come in many different styles and colors, all with tinted polarized lenses with 100% UVA and UVB protection.
As a bonus, the lenses come with a hard front coating, providing superior scratch resistance while keeping the glasses nice and lightweight.
What Are Other Interventions for Dyslexia?
The bottom line on colored lenses for dyslexia is that the jury is still out. At Pair, we want to follow the science wherever it leads, so we’ll hold off on recommending this treatment for now.
Luckily, there are plenty of alternatives that you can try, including phonics-based learning for children, occupational therapy for adults, and vision therapy for everyone.
Phonics-based teaching is a unique approach to English education that focuses on breaking down and understanding words. This form of English teaching is considered a better fit for dyslexic kids. It’s a staple in many private schools, but phonics-based classes can be harder to find in the public school system.
For adults, occupational therapy can be life-changing with its impact on dyslexia. Occupational therapists can help dyslexic adults work through visual distortions, improve their visual processing abilities, and build confidence in their ability to do high-quality work. If you feel like your dyslexia is holding you back, occupational therapy might be the ideal choice for you.
Vision therapy for dyslexia, which involves many of the same vision exercises used in occupational therapy, can benefit kids and adults alike. It’s an investment, but the results speak for themselves.
Reading, writing, and speaking more confidently than ever is worth the time and money it takes to go through therapy.
Takeaways for Dealing With Dyslexia
As a final disclaimer, we can’t recommend lenses with a colored filter to treat dyslexia. Optometric professionals agree that the evidence isn’t yet where it needs to be.
That’s why we encourage you to go with tried-and-true treatments for this learning disability, especially vision therapy. The exercises you’ll learn from your vision therapist can help your eyes and brain adjust to perceptual distortions and make reading, writing, and speaking easier than ever.
Finally, if you’re just looking for a stylish pair of glasses with colored filters, there’s no better place to go than Pair. Our magnetic Top Frames make switching from standard lenses to colorful tints fun and simple.
Plus, there’s more to love in our Top Frame collection than just colored lenses. We’ve got something for everyone, including patterns inspired by legendary fandoms like Star Wars and Harry Potter. Explore everything Pair has to offer and find glasses that work perfectly for you.
Sources:
Dyslexia Basics | International Dyslexia Association
No scientific evidence that Irlen Syndrome exists, say ophthalmologists | RANZCO
Irlen syndrome: systematic review and level of evidence analysis | NCBI