Tutoring a child who wears Blue Lensed Glasses?

Question

Hi eveeryone, I start a tutoring gig tomorrow with a 7yr old girl who apparently wears Glasses with Blue lenses. I've never heard or seen this type of thing before! Is it a corrective thing for Dyslexia or what? She is apparently quite smart, and has just been put on these glasses recently, and just needs a "tune up" on basic Math and Reading.

Anybody else heard of this?

Cheers!

Answer 1

I would say that this young person has dyslexia. And the lenses are Irlens lenses.

My daughter used to have a Irlens pink lenses, but now has blue lenses for dyslexia. Her teachers and I were amazed how much a difference these lenses made.

Jokin Jo has made some fantastic suggestions, especially the coloured paper for photocopying etc, (both my daughter and I use a cream or buff coloured paper).

Another tip is write each paragraph in different colours, this is very handy when the student has to write notes from the board, because we don't lose where we are up to, as we copy notes or read.  

It is important to ensure she learns to identify phonemes, and can recognize letters and how to sound out letters. Equally important is to build up her confidence, so praise often through out the session.  

My daughter learnt the letters of the alphabet with magnetic letters, (because they are bright and colourful). She learnt the sounds each make, learning the vowels first, once she learnt the sounds, she then had to place the letters of the alphabet in order, usually starting in the middle and work back towards the the beginning and then to the end. She also had to write a letter on paper, then air write it.

Good luck

Answer 2

Coloured lenses for dyslexia have been around for several years now - not always blue, they get the colour that helps them best. I know an adult pro author who uses them, it's not just a fad. He's a very down-to-earth person, he wouldn't use them if they didn't help him.

I would ask the parents beforehand - if she's got as far as coloured glasses, she's probably had a lot of specialist advice as far as what helps her goes and your best bet is to make use of that rather than trying to invent your own techniques.

Answer 3

Google  Irlen Syndrome and dyslexia. The glasses are supposed to help.

   You may be getting into something weird. There is a ton of quackery associated with this sort of thing, I don't know of any study that has ever validated the use of tinted lenses, though colored overlays have been shown to have value for some students with reading trouble.

   Don't mention them. The parents probably think that spending money on special glasses makes them smart. You are paid to be smart, start with Hop on Pop!

Answer 4

My grandson has 'rod cone dystrophy'  and had to wear yellow/gold color glasses. It is not the same color you see for sunglasses.

He has no rods or cones in his eyes. He is colorblind. He sees better in the dark. He sees things moving better than things that are still.

He is 'almost' legally blind.

I'm not sure how the color glasses helped him.

But now he has better ones that are not colored.

Maybe she has eyesight problems like this??

I have heard of colors helping dyslexic people, I am not sure how it works.

Answer 5

One of my students had blue glasses to help his dyslexia. I taught him (spelling especially) with more non-visual techniques. A few other kids in the class who needed extra practice would join in with his activities so he didn't feel so different, and they all made progress, as they used other senses (taste, touch, hearing) and not just sight. For example:

  Write your spelling words with glue and sprinkle on sand or glitter. When it's dry, trace the letters with your finger as you spell aloud.

  Have different colored paper available for the student to choose the one which is easiest to read/write on. If you photocopy worksheets, photocopy them on whichever color works for her.

  You can buy letter and number cookies. Use them to spell words and complete sums - then eat them!

  Do verbal spelling tests. She probably knows how to spell the words but might get them wrong if she has to write them.

  Use Playdoh to make snakes and twist them into letters and numbers, or cut letters and numbers with cookie cutters, to complete math and spelling activities.

  Allow the child to write in color if it helps her. It's not always acceptable (we can't always write school work in purple!), but it's good practice for her.

Answer 6

Courled Lenses are not a correction for dyslexia (because dyslexia is a problem with how the brain is 'wired'). They are a correction for a Scotopic sensitivity syndrome or, as it is sometimes called Irlen's syndome. Not only are coloured lenses used to correct this problem, but so are coloured overlays.

Basically, it's an extreme sensitivity to the glare from light.

Genereally, someone who suffers from this condition will experience:

-Eye-strain

-Fatigue

-Headaches (including migraine)

-Nausea, including visually-related motion sickness

-Problems with depth perception (catching balls, judging distance, etc.)

-Restricted field of view and span of recognition

-Discomfort with busy patterns, particularly stripes ("visual stress" and "pattern glare")

-Discomfort with extreme conditions of bright/dark contrast (i.e. backlighting)

-Discomfort or difficulty reading (reading involves busy patterns, particularly stripes. People with strong symptoms of the syndrome find it very difficult to read black text on white paper, particularly when the paper is slightly shiny.)

-Text that appears to move (rise, fall, swirl, shake, etc.)

-Attention and concentration difficulties

-Seeing the part and losing the whole

-Epileptic seizure related to strobing or pattern glare

Something I personally find helpful when working with kids who have these types of problems is:

-Letting the child choose where they sit.

-Doing everything you can to change lighting to accomodate childs needs

-Do not put work on glossy paper

If you google Scotopic sensitivity syndrome you will find a lot of info on it.

Sometimes Scoptic sensitivity occurs with other conditions like dyslexia and ADHD. Research these as well!

Good luck!

Also, from my own experience... the coloured lenses do not help much. I prefer coloured overlays. But, like another user said... you have to be smart, and not lecture the parent on how what they are doing in wrong. Acoomodate the child in what ever way they instruct you to.