A 15 year old boy, one of my regular tutees, came to the Krist Samaritan Irlen Clinic, Houston/Galveston, for Irlen glasses. Usually he just looks through ‘slits’ as he is so light sensitive. He seems scared to open them fully. Filters helped him open his eyes. As he has 2 lazy eyes you don’t always see them, especially the left one. The Irlen colors helped both eyes to ‘pop up’ though extra color was needed to encourage the left one!
This boy usually turns head and reads using one eye, he uses the other one for distance… this is his super skill! Now with the Irlen color he can use both eyes for tracking lines when reading and they work together, moving at the same time and in the same direction. Now other therapies, such as vision therapy, have a much better chance of refining things if necessary.
Meanwhile he is exploring his new world, noticing for the first time that my office door has a pattern on it and is not just brown. He manages stairs more confidently and walks on his own without having to walk next to mom to help him judge where he is. We are all excited about the changes… and more to come!
