The Irlen Method is a supplemental treatment (meaning it is meant to be done in conjunction with other treatments) to help children with autism better understand the world around them. According to Irlen, 50% of people with autism have sensitivity to lights, glare, patterns, colors and contrast. By filtering these things out, the patient can focus more easily and learn faster.
70% of information an individual receives is visual, and some individuals are not able to process visual information correctly. This affects how they see, feel and interact with their environment. Filtering specific wavelengths of light with colored glasses allows the brain to accurately process and interpret visual information.
First Developed:
1980
Popularity:
Approximate number of children on the autistic spectrum who participated in this treatment in 2004: Hundreds worldwide.
Approximate number of children on the autistic spectrum who participated in this treatment from 2000 to 2004 (the past five years): Thousands worldwide.
Approximate number of children on the autistic spectrum who participated in this treatment from 1995 to 2004 (the past 10 years): Tens of thousands worldwide.
Time required for the treatment:
Two to three hours
Treatment cost:
Approximately $500. Scholarships are possible. Check with your nearest Irlen Clinic. Cost for initial testing is approximately $350. Annual follow-up visits are $75. Cost for tinting of lenses is $42.
Who directs the treatment?
Psychologists, educators and counselors.
Where does the treatment take place?
80 Irlen Clinics located worldwide in the following countries: United States, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Jordan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.
Training materials needed:
An autism questionnaire, which can be completed by the parent or adult with autism, is used to predetermine if the individual may be helped by this treatment. This questionnaire is available online and can be downloaded from www.irlen.com
How success is defined by this treatment:
Success is improvement in one or more of the following areas: eye contact, depth perception, sensory integration, body awareness, communication skills, small and gross motor coordination, self-control, social skills and attention.
Biggest success story:
It was like a birthday present, our latest weapon against autism had arrived. Paul had already told me the (Irlen Filters) glasses wouldn't mean our troubles were over. "We could win a battle, a big battle, but we won't win the war just yet," he said flicking through the pages. I put on my Irlen Filters and looked at the back cover of the book Paul was holding up in front of me. "I must be feeling optimistic," I said to Paul. Usually, even the thought of trying to read a book for pleasure would make my stomach knot. I could read it from a distance from where I was sitting, without using a finger to trace each line. My eyes read each word in a line without flying off and scanning other words on the page.
At first, I said nothing but my face spoke for me. I read the line with meaning and with feeling. I read the line with pictures in my head. I looked at Paul and thought I was sailing; nothing fought it. I could feel my face was relaxed.
Paul's face was joined together. His eyes and nose and mouth and chin were all held together with equal impact in a single context. Then I noticed that his neck and shoulders and torso and legs were also joined, not bit by bit as my eyes moved along, but as a whole picture, like captured by a camera. Paul was joined together and he looked great. "Your face," I said, "It's joined together. Your head is joined to your body all at once. You look so beautiful, more beautiful than you have ever been."
We left the house. We wanted to see the world. To see it as others did. We got two steps out of the door and stopped. The street was alive but not threatening. The people were getting on with their own lives and no longer looked like things thrown at me through the screen of a three D movie. I felt safe among them. They were everywhere and I felt safe. "The world is ... so big,” I said, tears falling uncontrollably. "I know," said Paul, and I looked at him and knew he did.
- Donna Williams, an Autistic individual and author of Nobody Nowhere and its sequel Somebody Somewhere.
Web site:
www.irlen.com
Miscellaneous:
Perceptual overload can be a primary difficulty or just a piece of the puzzle. The method determines the correct color that an individual wears as glasses to reduce or eliminate sensitivity and sensory overload. The ability to determine the correct color is not dependent upon the ability to communicate. Therefore, children who are unable to talk or have difficulty understanding or have problems expressing themselves can still be tested. The testing does require that the child be able to tolerate wearing glasses.
Main concern:
No significant endorsement from the autism or medical community.