ASSESSMENT & TREATMENT OF VISUAL READING PROBLEMS

One aim of our research is to elucidate how basic visual processes contribute to reading skills and to use this knowledge to perfect techniques for improving these skills in dyslexics. Our work is benefiting many children and adults with visual reading problems.

We offer dyslexia assessments which form part of our research. On average these take about 2 hours, usually split into two appointments. We take a full medical, visual and reading history with special attention to visual symptoms when reading, such as letter movement, blur, colour changes, glare, headaches or other visual discomfort. We also ask about family history of reading and any neurological, immunological or psychiatric problems.

Our psychological assessments consist of short tests of reading, spelling, and basic intelligence to look for discrepancy between intelligence and literacy progress. Next we examine the eyes, how clearly they see, the way they work together and we record how well the eyes can fixate a small target and track a moving one, both sideways and in depth. We then examine the way in which different colours, in particular deep yellow or blue, may affect vision, eye movements and reading speed.

Then we measure visual motion sensitivity using random dots moving in different directions. We have shown that visual motion sensitivity correlates well with people's visual (orthographic) reading skills because high motion sensitivity is necessary for stabilising the eyes when reading. Sometimes we also measure contrast sensitivity and visual evoked eye or brain waves to get extra information about subjects' visual function and what treatment is likely to benefit them most.

On the basis of these tests we can suggest treatments to improve any visual problems (usually using yellow or blue coloured filters, fixation or tracking exercises). In subjects with visual reading difficulties we have shown that we can usually more than double their rate of reading progress. In a recent study of severely affected dyslexics whose reading was more than 3 years behind their age before treatment, using our treatments they had caught up with their peers within a year.

We would like to emphasis that all the results we obtain remain entirely confidential, and nothing we may publish or talk about could ever be identified with individuals. For appointments and further information please ring Dr. S. Fowler 0118 958 5950.