Dyslexia can affect anyone and more importantly should be considered to be be a gift rather than a burden to you and your life. Dyslexia is now firmly established as a congenital and developmental condition. Its cause has not been fully confirmed but the effect is to create neurological anomalies in the brain. These anomalies bring about varying degrees of difficulty in learning when using words, and sometimes symbols.
About 60% of dyslexic people have phonological difficulties and struggle to sort out the sounds within words. This means that they have problems with reading, writing and spelling. The majority of dyslexic children have difficulty with language, memory and sequencing processes of basic mathematics.
The main problem with dyslexia is that because it is neurologically-based, children are born with dyslexia, but it is when they begin to learn using words, and sometimes other symbols, that it becomes a noticeable problem.
Each dyslexic person's difficulties are different and vary from slight to very severe disruption of the learning process.
Symptoms of Dyslexia:
There are many symptoms associated with dyslexia and you may recognise many of them. The following list will give you an idea of some of the most common symptoms of dyslexia but are by no means exhaustive. A Harris Foundation assessment will also give a clear indication and identify any reading difficulties but a formal diagnosis of dyslexia from an educational psychologist is required in order to get an individual education plan (IEP) that addresses the key areas in place.
The following are very often found in dyslexics and are a good reason to consider an assessment or formal diagnosis.
1. A child that is intelligent but that is consistently performing badly at reading and writing skills
2. Generally reduced self-esteem or reduced confidence in comparison to their peers (especially in an educational environment when literacy tasks are required)
3. A family history of dyslexia or reading difficulties
4. Poor handwriting and spelling skills
5. Losing their place when reading or often repeating the same line when reading. (Many persistently use their finger or other pointer to mark their place on a line when they are reading)
6. Complaining of words moving on the page or seeing the spaces between lines and paragraphs as white rivers (when the page itself is white) or wiggly worms running through the text
7. Distraction techniques such as clowning around to cover up their difficulties
8. Appearing not to be paying attention
9. Inappropriately being labelled as stupid, difficult or lazy
10. Delayed speech and/or mobility development in early childhood
11. A significant difference between spoken and written language ability
12. Apparent hearing problems. Some may even have passed a standard hearing test. In particular there is a concern with those suffering from Auditory Processing Disorder (A.P.D.)
13. Poor sense of direction, difficulty telling right from left
14. Clumsy and poor coordination, such as not being able to catch a ball or throw darts accurately
How Harris Filters can help you:
Harris Filters are an advanced form of David Harris's award winning range of special lenses that reduce or eliminate the visual distortions that Dr Harris believes are responsible for the reading problems encountered by 74% of dyslexic sufferers.
Developed from his earlier work in 1976, extensive research demonstrated that his lenses could significantly ease reading difficulties. He has gone on to identify the optimum range of spectral transmissions within which to develop his lenses. David explains that people have got very fixated on the use of colour for dyslexia when in fact it is the effect of transmitted light that causes the changes. The Harris filters contain no visible colours and look very much like a pair of normal sunglasses which is of huge cosmetic benefit to the wearers.
How do Harris Filters work?
Dr Harris describes the effect as being like two cars driving side by side, they must both be travelling at the same speed in order to maintain contact. The Harris Filters alter the speed of transmitted signals to the brain, re-synchronising the neural pathways so that the brain receives the correctly balanced message. In order to achieve the maximum visual benefit the right and left lenses will always be different and this is known as dynamic haploscopic balancing. What can I expect during a Harris Filters Assessment?
The testing will take around an hour although time to talk and ask questions of your practitioner may be added. At the start of the test a baseline reading will be taken using a standardised reading test called The Wilkins Rate of Reading Test. This will measure the current reading ability without any intervention. Each eye will then be tested separately to find the lens that gives the best result and finally a retest using both prescribed lenses will indicate any increases in reading speed and ability over the baseline. Orders for Harris Filters will be made up in a special laboratory and despatched within 7-10 days.
For help and advice, to book an assessment, or to become a Harris Foundation Practitioner please contact us on 0845 230 1771