Irlen Visual Learning Center of Maryland Testimonials: Color My World
Comments by clients, parents of clients and professionals providing referrals
Dr. Armine speaks about Irlen distortions and psychiatric diagnosis
January 18, 2011
To whom it may concern:
I am a physician and have a son who six years ago was diagnosed with bipolar disease and schizoaffective disorder. During that time he was recalcitrant to numerous traditional and alternative therapies in that those therapies failed to ameliorate his visual hallucinations and fluctuations in his mood. My son is an extremely intelligent and motivated individual with a high IQ who loved to read and enjoyed the intellectual challenge of high school and college. His disease robbed him of his ability to concentrate on his reading causing extreme distress and his inability to remain in school. He had consistent headaches and anxiety. For several semesters we needed to medically withdraw him from classes and he was unable to progress in his studies.
At the suggestion of his recent psychiatrist, we were asked to investigate Irlen's Syndrome. Upon reading the website and performing the self tests it was apparent that my son could possibly be suffering from Irlen's syndrome. His symptoms included the printed word being fuzzy, letters moving around, the background competing for his attention, visualizing in two dimensions rather than three dimensions, difficulty in night vision, difficulty in depth perception, etc.
We were directed to an expert in the field, Shoshana Shamberg, OTR/L, MS, Certified Irlen Diagnostician, who performed an evaluation and within two hours found the combination of tints that ameliorated his visual difficulties. I was able to observe my sons inability to read and visual hallucinations reversed by the use of these tinted lenses.
Within two weeks we had a set of glasses with the proper tinting and my son showed immediate improvement. He was able to read without difficulty, his anxiety decreased significantly, his visual hallucinations were eradicated, his headaches (which were apparently caused by him concentrating very hard on each word to make it stop moving) were relieved and, for the first time in several years, he was able to complete his semester.
Clearly, Irlen’s syndrome is a true entity that causes numerous visual, learning, and psychiatric manifestations. In children with the aforementioned difficulties, Irlen’s syndrome should be placed within the differential diagnosis and screened for. I am grateful that we have found the existence of Irlen syndrome and I'm grateful for the expertise of Shoshana Shamberg, OTR/L who was able to so expertly discern a treatment method. My son has his ability to read returned to him and many of his troublesome symptoms have been relieved from the treatment of Irlen’s syndrome
If you have any questions or need further explanation, kindly contact me at any time.
Sincerely,
Dr. Jess P Armine
We are so lucky to have Shoshana Shamberg OTR/L, MS, FAOTA in our area - there are few Irlen Diagnosticians in the US. The closest to us for Irlen diagnostic referrals in the Washington Metropolitan area was New York and North Carolina - so we Irlen screeners were thrilled to have her add her services in Baltimore and Reston. While screeners are a first step for Irlen overlay remediation, it was unfortunate to have to send clients for Irlen lens assistance so far away. Shoshana offers a variety of services with quality client care first in her mind.
Why do we need Shoshana? Is it Dyslexia? Is it just a headache? Is it really ADHD? Is it Irlen (also called Scotopic) Syndrome?
Light can play tricks with what we see and no one person sees the world the same as another. Irlen is about light. Light sensitivity can cause people to see print distortions or even distortions viewing the world in its 3-D form. The person who has migraines or feels ill or tires when reading for a long time may also have Irlen syndrome.
Irlen Syndrome is a neurological condition that many do not notice as a cause of reading problems until students are struggling in middle or upper grades or into adulthood when reading demands are greater. It can accompany learning disabilities, brain injury, autistic spectrum disorders or other conditions that make learning difficult. It can happen to the gifted person or to average folks with no special education issue.
I have been a reading specialist since the 70s and an Irlen Screener since the early 90s. I have seen the ecstatic faces of clients using Irlen overlays for the first time when they suddenly see the world more clearly.
Because this is not an eye problem per se, your eye doctor may not treat it. The first step is Irlen screening - that is testing by a trained screener to see what combination of special colored overlays will filter the light spectrum to make reading more comfortable and less stressful. The next step is a visit Shoshana, an Irlen diagnostician, who can similarly assess the client and prescribe lenses or contacts - to change the world for the better.
Lainge Bailey, Nexus Coordinator
Member of the Mount Vernon Council of Citizens' Associations' Committees
For Education and for Health and Human Services
Clinical Reading Specialist, Irlen International Institute - Screener, FCPS (Ret.)
Dear Shoshana,
I spoke with my administrator and she's afraid our county will not embrace learning more about the screening process because once they offer it, the financial burden falls on the school system. (Comment: The Irlen Screener Training cost is minimal and would considered continuing education for professionals. The overlay cost is $5, and if purchased in bulk $2.50, so that argument is not a rational or truthful one and if fact could save the school system thousands of dollars in support services that she is already receiving). Kristina took her reading benchmark test using her overlay on Tuesday. When she took the reading test in the fall she scored a 60%. This time she scored an 85% just using the overlays. Thanks so much for getting us on the right path to help her. She's so much more confident in such a little time.
Sincerely, Meg S., mom of Irlen Client
Today I cannot imagine life without Irlen lenses. My symptoms without them: I have a constant mild to moderate headache on the top of my head. I can't see but about three letters clearly at one time and my eyes don't "glide," which makes reading tiring and makes it impossible to scan for information. Under fluorescent lights, I feel hyper and feel like I'm talking too much. Driving at night and having to look at car lights makes me just about weep from the stress. And my depth perception isn't really 3-D, which makes me a very cautious driver in a parking lot. With Irlen lenses, I don't have these symptoms unless I'm under strong fluorescent light and there is a lot of "light leak" around my lenses. I'm also calmer in general wearing lenses. My husband kept asking me if I felt okay because I was so much quieter after I got my Irlen lenses.
Despite my symptoms, which came on in mid-life, I would never have guessed I was sensitive to light (We don't know how others experience light) or had Irlen syndrome because I still considered myself a good reader and I had excelled in school. (Looking back, I think I developed mild Irlen syndrome after some head and neck injuries and the symptoms worsened at mid-life.) In fact, I took my son for an Irlen screening and reacted to the testing much worse than he did. Even though I then realized I had a problem with visual stress, I thought the lenses were too expensive. I didn't use the overlays because they weren't quite right and they were putzy. (The help from lenses is so much more precise and lenses are easier to keep track of. Plus they help with all visual stress, not just reading.) Over the next few months, I began to realize how much I was compensating for my light sensitivity and the symptoms bothered me a lot more once I realized there was help. For example, I began to realize I didn't read long because my eyes would become stressed, not for some other excuse.
I became an Irlen screener and got my first lenses at about the same time in early 2002. I'd say my first and second lenses were good, my third lenses were very good and my fourth lenses, which I got a couple of years ago, are excellent; they also include a .5 prism, which relieved more visual stress and probably doubled my reading speed. (My theory is that I am light sensitive plus my eyes don't work together well. The Irlen lenses alone helped the eyes work together, but the prism adds even more help.)
People spend $2,000 each for hearing aids, often out of pocket, so really the cost of Irlen lenses isn't so bad. And the improvement in quality of life can be tremendous.
Until we moved to the Minneapolis area in 2006, my husband, a speech-language pathologist, and I, a public relations consultant, were the only screeners in central Minnesota and brought knowledge of the syndrome to central Minnesota through seminars, outreach and the media. We even had diagnosticians to come from out of state and had them stay in our home for a few days so they could help people with lenses.
The work I've done as an Irlen screener has been perhaps the most gratifying work I've done in my life. I could tell you many miracle stories about children and adults whose lives had been changed by overlays or Irlen lenses. The most dramatic change I saw in a child was a little girl whose reading scores rose from Grade 1 to Grade 6 because an overlay made the letters stop swirling. And most dramatic change I saw in an adult was a young man with a high IQ who would fall asleep whenever he tried to read.
My son didn't have enough Irlen symptoms to bother with overlays in 2002, but when he was about 13 a couple of years later, he began getting terrific headaches from sunlight. (Most people have worse symptoms from fluorescent lights, but his worse symptoms are from sunlight.) He'd lie on his bed and moan until some pain meds kicked in. We took him for Irlen lenses right away. I suppose if we hadn't known about Irlen lenses, we'd have taken him to medical professionals and gotten chiro treatments and acupuncture and biofeedback and probably meds and who knows what for him. He never had a reading issue or depth perception problem. When my son was 18, he created a YouTube video about IS that the Irlen Institute has on its web site. It's also on the home page of this web site. His website is www.ReadingAndLight.com.
Son and I are both grateful for Irlen lenses. It has been amazing how many of our friends or people we just run into have visual stress. I once watched a woman at a conference and mentioned light sensitivity to her. It turned out she has a neurological problem. Now she wears Irlen lenses and has improved balance and less stress. When I talked with one school board member, she said she'd always read in the dark and squirmed in her seat; now she "craves" her Irlen lenses. A friend who's an Army major loves his overlays. A tax accountant friend who used to trick her clients into reading numbers to her now reads numbers and the tax code with ease with Irlen lenses. And the list goes on.
Julie Evans, Bloomington, MN
Writer, editor, communications consultant
Irlen screener and lens wearer
Scientist speaks of daughter's Irlen Syndrome and SATs/reading problems
January 17, 2011
Dear Shoshana,
I just wanted to thank you for providing us with a resource for Irlen screening and diagnostics. My daughter was initially identified as having scotopic sensitivity when she was in 6th grade. Reading was becoming difficult for her and we couldn't figure out why she didn't like to read. She couldn't focus on reading for more than a few minutes at a time, which worried us that she'd fall behind in school. The Irlen filtered glasses that she got after her testing with Maxine Jaubert helped her so much. She was able to focus on printed material for a longer stretch of time without getting a headache. Unfortunately, the coating on the lenses didn't last forever, which was why we came to see you for re-testing and re-tinting of the lenses. My daughter is now in 11th grade, doing wonderfully, and the new filters/tints she got have helped her tremendously. I don't know how she'd ever be able to take AP History with all the reading required without these special lenses. She has been wearing the glasses almost constantly since we got them in December because she feels they are better for all around 3D visual perception.
Irlen/scoptopic sensitivity syndrome is a very curious condition. It cannot be diagnosed by an opthamologist as it has nothing to do with the physiology or cellular function of the eye and its attendant structures. Rather, it appears to be more of a visual perception issue that must occur at in singular neural locus in the brain. Until we have better tools to diagnose these visual perception issues, it would be such a simple thing to have children screened in school or at the pediatrician's office, much like we do auditory screening tests. It certainly would have saved us a lot of time, but unfortunately, until children begin to exhibit difficulties in reading or eye-hand coordination, one doesn't really think of Irlen. At the very least, we need to do a better job of educating teachers and pediatricians on what to look out for when otherwise bright and driven children experience difficulties in specific areas.
Thanks for all you do and for taking such care with Deenie's Irlen lens diagnostics.
Ethel Rubin, PhD
Shoshana;
I first learned about Irlen Syndrome in Donna Williams’ book “Like Color to the Blind” (1996). Ms. Williams is an adult with autism who has written and spoken around the world about her experiences growing up with autism and being misunderstood. Her beautiful descriptions of her unique visual perceptual understanding of the world around her literally and metaphorically opened my eyes to the unique visual experiences of children and adults with autism. Her specific experience of suddenly being able to visually perceive the entirety of her fiancé once her Irlen lenses were in place (rather than just being able to visually perceive and process one facial feature at a time—can you imagine? And this woman was driving!)
I began to explore this phenomenon of Irlen Syndrome in the literature. It appears that it is embraced more readily in Australia and Europe but there is a growing body of evidence and acceptance in the U.S. now. Entire American school districts are requiring Irlen screening. Given that as many as half or more of “typical” classrooms may have unidentified visual perceptual issues (I learned this at an AOTA presentation many years ago from an Israeli OT who screened all the 7th and 8th graders in a nearby typical school), it is apparent to me that we as OTs are missing an opportunity to empower children and adults to achieve more and be more functional. Irlen Syndrome is one of those visual perceptual issues that we need to be trained in to best provide complete assessment for our clients. Something as seemingly easy as a colored overlay may make the difference to a student between reading easily for comprehension and a headache after only 5 minutes of reading without it. It could mean the difference between a safe driver wearing colored Irlen lenses and an unsafe one missing the visual cue of the changing light or the pedestrian in a crosswalk. I encourage all occupational therapists to research this phenomenon for themselves and then attend the training to become an Irlen screener or diagnostician. For more information, go to www.irlen.com and also check out Helen Irlen’s book “Reading by the Colors” (1991).
01/11/2001 Christine L. Achenbach, MEd., OTR/L, Academic Fieldwork Coordinator, Occupational Therapy Department, Elizabethtown College
Dear Shoshana,
Meredith's glasses have made such a difference in her life. Not only has her driving has improved, as she has better depth perception, she has fewer migraine headaches, which were overwhelming her life. Her reading has improved, which means her grades have improved. She calls her glasses her "super-hero" glasses. She even said that she is less exhausted at the end of the day as she doesn't have to concentrate and focus as hard all day long. She tells anyone who will listen, how wonderful her glasses are and what a difference her Irlen glasses have made in her life. Her only regret is that she didn't find out about Irlen Visual sooner, which would have made high school a lot easier. Thanks so much Shoshana! I'm also so glad the doctor that tested her originally was actually informed about Irlen.
5/4/10 Leslie V., mother of 20 year old Meredith (see her testimonials as well) an Irlen client using spectral filters since 10/09.
Shoshana,
I'm now going on 20 years with my lenses. They changed my life back then and they continue to be a very important part of my life now. I have to say I wouldn't be where I am now, an Art Teacher with Fairfax County Public Schools if it wasn't for my mother taking me to get screened in 1990 in Harrisonburg VA. I was struggling my way through college as I had done through High School. I can still picture my mother crying when I read for the first time with color overlays as I read for the first time, at age 20, without hesitation, stopping at simple words and skipping my way through sentences. Not to mention understanding what I was reading as I was reading it. It has also made a huge impact on the way I feel I fit into the world. Before I got my lenses I saw the world but didn't feel like I fit in. Once I got the colors right, for the first time in my life I could experience myself in the area I was in and not work so hard at trying to understand it. To say the least, my lenses changed and saved my life all at the same time. I'm not sure what I would have done without them. Thanks has to go to '60 Minutes' TV broadcast for showing a segment on Irlen and for my mother, after watching that program, tracking down how she could get me tested. Thanks for all you do, too.
Brooke being new to her lenses is doing very well with them although she hasn't gotten into a routine she can keep up with yet. She says keeping up with her reading and the ease at which she reads is much better. Her enjoyment is also going up which is what I hope will help her get into a better routine over this summer.
4/28/10 Derek P. and daughter, Brooke, 11 years old. Teacher and Irlen spectral lens user for over 20 years. His daughter has been using Irlen spectral filters for three months.
Dear Shoshana,
H. said that his time with you was very valuable and validating. He was so relieved to hear that you understood him and that he wasn’t the only one. He told me that he is using the filters at home, but he didn’t want to take them to school for fear of losing them. We are going to try using colored paper for his handouts at this point and see if that helps a little.
3/1/10 Deborah L. R, Director of Academic Support, Community High School
Shoshana, 
Elizabeth’s Irlen filters have made all the difference in the world. She no longer suffers from extreme light sensitivity. Her daily migraine headaches have been 99% reduced.
12.24.09 Dr. Joseph Annibali, parent of IrlenVLCMD client with Irlen Syndrome Liz Annibali and director of the Amen Clinic of DC and neuropsychiatrist. Liz, 22 year old college student, has been wearing Irlen spectral filters for the past 7 years.
Shoshana,
I have referred a number of patients for Irlen screening and treatment. Others of my patients were diagnosed with Irlen Syndrome before coming to me. Typically, patients with Irlen Syndrome experience dramatic relief in light sensitivity, headaches, and reading strain, when they use their specially-prescribed Irlen filters. This little-known condition deserves to be understood by all physicians, educators, and parents.
12/24/09 Dr. Joseph Annibali, father of Irlen Client Liz Annibali and director of the Amen Clinic of DC and neuropsychiatrist. Liz, 22 year old college student, has been wearing Irlen spectral filters for the past 7 years.
Shoshana,
I love my glasses. My headaches have decreased and I have noticed that my motor skills are quicker! When I play video games I am quicker and see the TV better. I also do not get a headache when watching the TV or when I am on the computer.
12.24.09 Meredith , 20 year old college student with traumatic brain injury and severe migraines and coordination problems. She has been wearing Irlen spectral filters in glasses since October 2009. Her condition is closely monitored by neurologists, educational psychologists and support services and she is functioning much better in college.
Shoshana,
All going well, I haven’t yet had the chance to go to the movies to really test them out, but a visit to the theater was very comfortable. I also will put them on at work if I start to feel I have some eyestrain or I have to talk to someone wearing a striped shirt. So yes, a definite improvement . Here are the areas of excellent (5) improvement with Irlen Spectral Filters:
Comfort level with lighting indoors - Strain or Fatigue - White stands out/sparkles - Headaches - Problems looking at the computer screen
10/27/09 Louise, middle aged, using Irlen spectral filters since July 2009. Bothered all her life with visual perceptual problems, aversion to striped patterns, headaches and eye strain, and trouble feeling calm and comfortable when watching movies, theater and TV.
My mother made me get Irlen glasses cause I kept complaining about lights hurting my eyes and being stressed at school. I have read and done my homework in a dark room with only minimal lighting, since I had an eye injury a few years ago. I almost lost my eye, but now I am blind and very light sensitive in the injured eye. Darker rooms feel better. With my Irlen glasses I can take tests with less tiredness and more accuracy . They make everything easier to see and relieve the stress I always used to feel in my eyes, especially at school, where I cannot control the light levels and there are bright, florescent lights everywhere. I also feel better watching movies and using the computer/TV monitors at school. I really like my Irlen filter and I am now happy my mom, an Irlen Diagnostician, made me get them. The test was really long and sometimes frustrating and boring, but worth it now.
11.09 Dovid Shamberg, age 15 years old, son of Shoshana Shamberg, Irlen Diagnostician, athlete, honor roll student in honors classes. He sustained a paint ball injury to one eye when he was 11 years old and is legally blind in one eye and has greater then 20/20 vision in the other. He has different tints for each eye.
Shoshana,
I just wanted to keep you up to date with everything. My glasses have been such a blessing! I have notice an improvement in my driving, my school work, and my overall well- being. Last week I went on a conference in Boston and ended up leaving my glasses there. Luckily they were shipped home to me in only three days. But the three days I did not have my glasses I did notice my migraines came back, I was not able to be a passenger in a car with another person, class time was miserable, and homework was extra hard. I do not want to make my glasses a crutch, but I do believe my life has been improved because of these glasses.
The purpose of this e-mail is to update you on how I am doing with my glasses, but also you mentioned back in the fall about a brain trauma test with the glasses and being a volunteer for the Irlen program. I have talked to so many people at school and it seems that a lot of people would benefit from these glasses. I am really excited about this! If I cannot help I understand, but just know these glasses are just great! Its nice to go one day without a headache (it’s a weird feeling for me).
3/1/10 Meredith, 20 year old college student with TBI after wearing lenses for a few months.
Mrs. Shamberg,
We had such a nice visit to Irlen Visual Learning Center of MD in November 2009. Thank you! Joy is thrilled with her glasses. It was a little while before she made a habit of wearing them all the time. When she had worn them for about a week of schoolwork, regularly, she lifted them up to scratch her nose and said, "Oh my gosh, Mom! All the words all ran to the middle of the two pages!" I hope you, your coworkers and family are all well. God bless. Nanette
2/6/10 Nanette, mother of 11 year old client with severe reading problems but above average intelligence. She has compensated with an excellent memory and problem solving ability. She is also extremely light sensitive and is presently home schooled due to the stress of the school environment.
Shoshana,
It is hard to believe that a group of colored lenses (different tints in each eye as well) make such a difference in my balance, coordination and visual perception after 8 years of suffering from the effects of my stroke. I have seen neurologists and visions specialists, spent thousands in alternative and traditional interventions, worn expensive RX glasses that only helped minimally, and until you tested me for Irlen Syndrome, I had no relief.
I have been unable to safely navigate stairs, uneven surfaces, read comfortably for sustained periods, work at my computer and do any close up work involving eye hand coordination with out extreme stress and migraines. I have compensated for my severe double vision and depth perception problems, but with much effort and anxiety.
Thank you so much for introducing me to the Irlen Method, I am very much looking forward to using my Irlen spectral filters which I will wear over my RX glasses as needed. For the first time in 8 years I can see the computer screen without working to keep the words/images from moving, walk confidently and gracefully along uneven surfaces, and walk up and down stairs with ease and comfort. Fluorescent lighting is finally tolerable and bright lights are not glaringly uncomfortable. When I get tired my right leg drags and I can easily trip. As we both saw, when I put the lenses on my leg felt stronger and I did not limp and I could see where I was going with much greater accuracy. How do colored lenses on my eyes affect the coordination of my leg and whole body balance?
The combination of different colored lenses does not feel like sunglasses, so my vision feels normal inside and outdoors. As an artist I am grateful since I still see the beauty of the colors around me accurately, and I paint and draw with greater ease and comfort and much less distortion, yet the lenses are a dark color. Amazing. I really am surprised at the results. As a medical professional, I am even more amazed that they worked better for me then so many other traditional treatments by my doctors and therapists.
Joy B, PA
retired physician's assistant and former college administrator of student support services. She suffered a stroke at 50 years of age, 8 years ago and has compensated for her visual perceptual and balance problems with much stress, but has maintained a high level of functioning presently as an artist, in spite of her deficits.
For years I suffered from stress related illnesses - IBS, Fibromyalgia, TMJ - and I had trouble with driving due to my lack of depth perception and spacial judgment. I was a chronic insomniac; my body was forever tense. I was always extremely light sensitive especially when under fluorescents but who wasn't? Or so I thought. When I first heard of Irlen I was skeptical to think that some colored plastic could help me with so many seemingly unrelated issues. However, when I went to get tested for glasses I could not believe my eyes (pun intended)! I walked along the sidewalk and on longer feared falling off (trust me, it used to happen - often)! The sun was no longer my enemy; snow no longer blinded me; I could make a right turn while driving and not fear taking off others’ side mirrors! To my utter surprise, I felt tired at night; I slept full long restful sleeps. Secretly, I wished my color lenses would turn out to be orange (my favorite color) but instead I ended up with some beautiful layered shades of purple - I now had a reason to wear that purple necklace that's been sitting in my jewelry box for years! Of course I went out and bought some cute purple tops to match! But on a more serious note, I do not know how I lasted so long without my glasses or what I would have done had I never gotten them! They changed my life and I highly recommend to anyone who has vision, learning and/or stress related illnesses to get yourself tested. It will do no harm and it has the potential to change your world like it changed mine!
5. 13.2010 Tova B., highly intelligent and creative teacher's aid, musician, and office manager of Irlen Visual Learning Center of MD and PASS trained for Irlen Syndrome. She has been wearing Irlen spectral filters since the Fall of 2009.
Dear Helen Irlen:
I would like to take the time to thank you and to show you my gratitude for inventing the Irlen method. Your Irlen Spectral Filters for my glasses have made more that a world of difference for me and have given me a whole new lease on life altogether. Before I was diagnosed and treated with Irlen Syndrome I had an extremely difficult and complicated life. During my childhood I suffered from medical problems such as ADHD, epileptic seizures and dyslexia, which caused severe learning difficulties in the classrooms. I was extremely hyperactive, unfocused, had poor social skills and had a hard time making friends in grade school and getting good grades in school.
My doctors had me placed on Ritalin to help me stay focused, Zarontin and Dilantin to help manage the seizures. This helped me to manage the symptoms of my medical problems. I was just barely getting through school with the help of my parents and tutors enough to pass to the next grade level each year. As I approached adolescence my self-esteem continued to plummet as my anxiety levels continued to soar to new heights. By the time I started 7th grade in Jr. High School I did see some improvement in my school work but still had a great deal of problems with anxiety. I did not have very many friends and was severely depressed to the point that I no longer felt that I had a reason to live.
