READ THIS - MORE EASILY!

[laserlight]

READ THIS - MORE EASILY!

Following my blog - first posted about four days ago, 'If You Find Difficulty Reading - READ THIS!',

hughes-syndrome.healthunloc...

here are the RESULTS followed by some tested STRATEGIES you may like to try.

Last updated: 2013-05-23 12:36 GMT+1

The numbers in brackets are the number of people who have flagged-up that particular issue as a challenge for them.

1. Misreading words. (5)

2. Skipping words and lines. (3)

3. Slow reading rate. (4)

4. Confusing letters and words that look similar. (3)

5. Putting words in the wrong order. (2)

6. Needing to reread for information. (12)

7. Poor comprehension. (5)

8. Losing place. (5)

9. Needing to take frequent breaks from the page. (7)

10. Avoiding reading. (8)

11. Needing to read in dim light. (0)

12. Problems copying from a board especially the interactive whiteboard. (1)

13. General reluctance to read. (4)

Strategies and Equipment

1. The Eye Pal Solo. Reads aloud from any text and can also output text to a computer monitor.

humanware.com/en-europe/pro...

Price: £1500 ex VAT - £1800 inc VAT.

and

The TV Mouse. 'A brilliant

gadget like a computer mouse with a camera in the base that you plug into any TV and it magnifies everything you roll it over. This is a huge

help for people who find it difficult to read normal-sized print.'

Price: £350 approx. but I'm looking into a cheaper version, more tailored to our needs.

2. Buy the most delicious, nutritious, low-sugar, high-fibre boxed breakfast cereal you can find. Discard the contents either into your stomach via your mouth or more creatively at your own whim or discretion. Carefully peel apart the glued flaps, cut out the front, back and sides then recycle the other bits.

The inside of most cereal boxes is usually either grey or brown which is ideal for our purpose. This is the 'up' side, the one we're using. Take the text you want to read and one of the box sides. With the card in landscape format, create a letterbox shape in the middle of it, very slightly bigger than the width and height of one line of text.

Put your letterbox card on the page and read one line at a time. This blocks extraneous text from your brain and forces it to concentrate only on what you're reading in the moment. The card is darker than the white page; that helps too.

3. Irlen Syndrome:

irlenuk.com

Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome:

boxofideas.org/ideas/?page_...

The translucent acetates/coloured overlays/reading rulers (Irlen Filters) are for helping people with the symptoms of Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome.

They're used in a treatment called The Irlen Method. Some people wear tinted glasses instead.

Sometimes people find it difficult to read black text on a white background owing to the stark contrast.

The text can appear to move or become fuzzy, making the reader feel dizzy and putting them off the strenuous task of reading altogether.

Using an overlay helps to reduce the eye strain. There are a variety of colours to experiment with as different people often respond better to a particular colour in a specific circumstance.

You can also get overlays for computer screens, Kindles or similar or change the background colour on Word documents.

Reading Rulers:

tts-group.co.uk/shops/tts/P...

Price: £9.95 ex VAT - £11.94 inc VAT.

and

tts-group.co.uk/shops/tts/P...

Price: £8.95 ex VAT - £10.74 inc VAT.

A4 translucent, coloured acetate sheets:

tts-group.co.uk/shops/tts/P...

Price: £24.95 ex VAT - £29.94 inc VAT.

I'd like to point out that I have no financial interest in any of the companies referred to! If you need any more information, just ask.

I hope this is useful - please let me know.

Every best wish to you,

John.

[Leigha]

John,

Many thanks for these useful ideas. Your site on Irlen Syndrome wouldn't come up but I just googled it. Seems perhaps you might be of use to some neurologists! I honestly don't know if these shall assist me with my problems as mine are not pure visual, however - many folks will fit into these categories and some of your ideas could perhaps fit my concentration problems.

Am currently in a whirlwind of doctors and pre-op appointments but wanted to respond. Appreciate it all....

Leigha

[laserlight in reply to Leigha]

Thanks for your kind words Leigha, especially during your 'whirlwind'! I don't know why irlenuk.com didn't link properly. It tests ok but if you ever have a similar problem, try reloading the whole page and clicking on it again.

It's important to emphasise that these reading issues aren't necessarily visual problems. Usually, they're more to do with how the brain misinterprets what the eyes are sending to it.

Please post your outcomes as you try the different ideas.

Best, John.