Successful Irlen Screenings...

Tom returned today. Looking good & strong. He still has some healing to do, but is ready to get back out in the world. We completed his Irlen Screening. He was a little indecisive about the colors, but we were able to narrow them down and discover his best color combination. If you recall, Tom has struggled with reading for years. Irlen seems to be a big piece of the puzzle for him. It was fascinating to watch his facial expressions and posture change as we went through the screening process, and then the color selection. Tom will be experimenting with his overlays over the next couple of weeks, and then we hope to refer him to an Irlen Diagnostician if he sees significant improvement in his reading and other activities.

Another student just finished his Beacon lessons. Preston's word recognition has improved by one year, and he is also using Irlen overlays. This young man has just begun the second grade. One of the biggest barriers to his success has been his confidence in his ability to read. Once we demonstrated to him how much more fluently he reads with his overlays, we were able to convince him to use them on a regular basis. This combined with his Beacon instruction has had a tremendous effect on his reading. He reads more often, more fluently, more successfully, and with much more confidence. Preston's teacher is so thrilled with the difference that the overlay's make for him that she has purchased several overlays various colors and allows her entire class to experiment with them. This is wonderful, not only for those unidentified students, but also for Preston as it takes some of the stigma off of doing something "different" than his peers. Preston is an absolute delight, one of the best students to ever grace our doors. He had a great attitude (though, like any boy his age, he wasn't always thrilled with the extra work)and always came in ready to work with a smile. It is always bittersweet when we lose a student like him - we know we have accomplished our goals in getting him on the right track, and yet, we will no longer enjoy his company. We will just have to be satisfied in knowing that we were able to play a small role in his success.