OPTICAL CORRECTION
Lenses for
learning
Dyslexia
is an important learning disability which can be exacerbated by visual
distortions of text, such as letters shimmering or moving. Non-dyslexic
children with poor colour perception can also have learning difficulties,
since educational material relies heavily on colour. Special contact lenses
from ChromaGen can help alleviate both problems, according to research by the
supplier, Cantor & Nissel.
The
term "learning disability" means a disorder in one or more of the
basic processes involved in understanding spoken or written language. An
important example of such disability is dyslexia, defined broadly as difficulty
with learning to read and spell significantly greater than expected from a
person's intelligence, despite normal schooling and health. A large-scale study
in the UK in 1980 concluded that 2 to 4% of lO-year- olds had serious dyslexia.
An on-going study in Connecticut, USA, suggests that 20% of Americans may have
some dyslexia, with 4% being severely dyslexic.
However,
many dyslexics have advantages such as visual-spatial ability (artists) and
lateral thinking (entrepreneurs and inventors). Talented dyslexics include
Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, Walt Disney, Chef, Jackie Stewart, Eddie
Izzard, Richard Branson, and Duncan Goodhew.
HELPING
DYSLEXIC PEOPLE
The
vast majority of people with dyslexia can lead perfectly normal lives if they
are given the help they need. Many dyslexic readers experience visual discomfort
or visual distortions to text. Also, some may be hypersensitive to strong visual
contrasts, such as black text on a white page. These problems can be alleviated
by patented ChromaGen Filter lenses. The haploscopic nature of the ChromaGen
system means that, by using a simple diagnostic procedure combined with l
specially treated, colored lenses, a finely tuned result can be achieved.
Colored lenses have been used to help dyslexics in the past, but the haploscopic
prescribing of ChromaGen ensures that the optimum result is more easily
obtained.
(Haploscopic
means that the filters are prescribed individually for each eye, by balancing
against the other eye whilst both eyes are open.) In clinical trials, the
ChromaGen lens system has been shown to benefit dyslexics who suffer from
perceived distortions of text, which make reading more difficult. These
distortions include blurring (which cannot be corrected by refraction), movement
of letters or words, shimmering, rapid flicker from parallel lines of text,
words sinking into the white background of the page, and patterns being formed
by the spaces between words and lines.
Although
ChromaGen is a symptomatic treatment and the underlying neurological condition
remains unchanged, ease of reading is improved for the majority of these
patients.
COLOUR
VISION DEFICIENCY
The
ChromaGen system has received FDA approval in the USA as an aid for people with
color vision deficiency. This condition affects the ability to distinguish
certain colors, such as red and green or blue and yellow. Over
3 million people in the UK are affected by some form of color vision deficiency.
Diagnosing it in early childhood may prevent learning problems, as many
educational materials rely heavily on color. The ChromaGen system is available
as either spectacles or contact lenses, through qualified opticians who are
licensed and trained in prescribing ChromaGen.
20/20 03/2001
http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/ANSWERS/ANS00990.html
Vision des couleurs
