Dyslexia and Me: Ayyy! It’s the Fontz

Source: Family Guy

Maybe I should have a ‘Dyslexia: What really grinds my gears’ section because next to the ‘you should buy Irlen Lenses’ comments when I mention the visual problems I have, number two on my list is ‘you should try *insert name of font here*. I hear that it’s a great font to help dyslexic people with reading’. Well here are my thoughts. 

Dyslexia and Me: The Blue Screen and Irlen Lenses

I have discussed many times already the problems I have with my vision. I suffer from migraines when I am in an environment with fluorescent lights and when I have to read a lot. I have been told this is linked to Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome or Irlen Syndrome but have been told by specialists that Irlen Lenses would be of no help to me.

I actually find it worrying that when I mention this topic at all while looking for alternatives to help me and others like me just how aggressive people get in trying to push Irlen Lenses on me. So before I go any further, this is where I will place semi ‘warning’. Before anyone responds to this post please read ALL that is said on the reasons WHY I’ve been told they would be of no benefit to me.

Let me start from the very beginning and get to where I am now in regards to my vision. Hopefully someone will have another idea on where to go next that isn’t Irlen Lenses. 

The Letters on the Page

In the light of day
I see the shadows move.
They encircle and dance
And twist their way through
The letters on the page.

The words start to party
As the disco lights begin.
Flashing all the colours
So they don’t blend or fit in
With the letters on the page. 

Dyslexia and M(igrain)e

Hey folks,

Sorry I haven’t posted properly in a week. It’s been so crazy the last week or so I just haven’t had a chance to catch my breath. As I only get two days off split up in a week, I have to make sure I do all the household chores and spend time with my better half once in a while.

Last weekend I wasn’t feeling so great. I had a migraine at work on the Friday which carried over into the weekend. This is the third migraine I’ve had at work now. It’s due to the fluorescent lighting, the white walls and the highly patterned tiled ceiling. Those things combined with being sat in front of a computer screen all day triggers migraines for me. 

Dyslexia and Me: Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome/Irlen Syndrome Awareness Day?

A ribbon of my own design. The blue signifies dyslexia awareness while black and white are shades that I find especially difficult to look at. The coloured dots are my ‘pixel vision’

There are a number of events throughout the year raising awareness for dyslexia. The recent ‘guerilla’ campaign by Decoding Dyslexia to raise awareness through the tag #ShowMe1in5 through social media seems to have been pretty successful (there are still people sharing the links on Twitter a I write this blog). Also Dyslexia Advocacy Week has just passed where I shared a video per day featuring a variety of dyslexic people talking about their experiences and their progression and success. However, I want my blog to cover not only dyslexia, but also Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome aka Irlen Syndrome. Having searched on Google (as you do) I have been unable to find a specific day or week dedicated to raising awareness on this specific learning difficulty that has links to dyslexia. So for this reason, I have decided to set aside this weeks blog to discuss Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome in hope to raise awareness of what it is!

While 1 in 5 may have dyslexia, it has been suggested that 1 in 7 or as many as 1 in 6 of the population are affected by Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome. So here are some facts and issues linked to Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome to hopefully give you a better understanding of this specific learning difficulty.

Dyslexia and Me: A Month of Blogging

So I’ve been blogging on Dyslexia and Me for over a month now! It really doesn’t feel that long at all! It has been very exciting so far. I’ve had a lot of positive feedback and it has encouraged me to look into a career in learning support (though I am still searching for answers on where and what to do next, but my dissertation is my main priority the next month or so).

Dyslexia and Me: What you see, What I see

People often ask me what it’s like visually when I am reading. When you grow up looking through your own eyes, I guess you don’t realise that you’re seeing things so differently until someone asks. The best way I have found to describe my vision is like pixels on a computer or TV screen. Each of the pixels makes up a more solid colour through RGB. When I look at solid colours or shades, I can still see other colours flashing around, though I know it is a white wall or a red book or a pitch black room. Even when there is no light at all, I still see colours. In fact, it becomes even worse! I walk a lot slower and cautiously in the dark because my vision to make out shapes is distorted by flashing ‘pixels’ of colour that cloud my vision.