Individuals with a diagnosis of SSS may have difficulty fluently reading a text or may quickly become fatigued while reading. Colored filters are intended to relieve these issues and improve reading performance.
Many schools used pastel coloured paper for worksheets and handouts to alleviate these problems. The use of buff-coloured paper, for example, can cut down on visual anomalies and can support reading fluency and text access. “ The use of colour to treat reading difficulties elicits strong views.
Dyslexia is not a vision based disorder but if children feel a (placebo) benefit from using coloured overlays then there is no harm, but they should never be used as the only form of support and certainly never as a substitute for an intensive program of individualised Structured Literacy.
Most will have a preferred paper colour, which may not be yellow. Users with dyslexia, other specific learning difficulties or visual impairments are most likely to find materials printed onto coloured paper helpful. It is an erroneous belief that yellow paper benefits all individuals with dyslexia.
Help with reading for people with dyslexia
Many dyslexic people are sensitive to the glare of the white background on a page, whiteboard or computer screen. This can make the reading of text much harder. The use of a coloured background or coloured filters can make reading more comfortable.
The reason some people find it hard to read black text on a white background is because “their visual cortex is oversensitive to certain wavelengths.” When people with dyslexia or visual stress read black text with an overlay over it, the text becomes clearer while headaches or migraines can be reduced.
Participants without dyslexia tend to prefer color pairs with a higher color and brightness contrast while people with dyslexia read faster when color pairs have lower contrasts.
Use dark coloured text on a light (not white) background. Avoid green and red/pink, as these colours are difficult for those who have colour vision deficiencies (colour blindness). Consider alternatives to white backgrounds for paper, computer and visual aids such as whiteboards. White can appear too dazzling.
Studies have found that students with dyslexia may benefit from using different color paper or paper overlays because it reduces stress on the eyes.
Students may find that using a specific color paper, such as light blue or green, makes it easier for them to read and write. The use of color adds a bit of novelty to the stimulation-loving ADHD brain.
The 4 types of dyslexia include phonological dyslexia, surface dyslexia, rapid naming deficit, and double deficit dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disorder where the person often has difficulty reading and interpreting what they read. It is neither infectious nor brought on by vaccinations.
Irlen Method technology uses colored overlays and filters to improve the brain's ability to process visual information. In people with Irlen Syndrome, colored overlays can improve reading fluency, comfort, comprehension, attention, and concentration while reducing light sensitivity.
People with dyslexia and astigmatism may have issues reading light text on dark backgrounds. For people with dyslexia, total contrast — white text on a black background, or vice-versa — can be difficult to read. Many dark themes use total contrast.
The page color is supposed to make text easier to see, not to add any other difficulties. Bottom line, the page color can influence the readability of font, and by using light colors, the reader may find it easier to read for long periods of time and not have as much eye fatigue from glare.
Students who take a math test printed on colored paper will perform better than students who take the same math test printed on white paper. Students who read text printed on colored paper will perform better on a reading comprehension test than students who read the same text printed on white paper.
The dreaded red, a color we've all seen throughout our education. The red marker used to highlight our mistakes is all too familiar for people with dyslexia around the world. Associations have chosen this color to take back its meaning and globally promote dyslexia awareness.
Red is the colour of dyslexia awareness.
The effects of blue light in dyslexia
It is therefore likely that blue light, selected optimally to recruit melanopsin RGCs, will have the greatest effect on improving alertness and concentration and may therefore be the best for remediating the impaired attentional responses seen in dyslexia.
People with dyslexia are excellent at identifying and remembering complex images. They are able to connect separate components to create complex systems and to identify similarities that others may not see. Dyslexics can also simultaneously process multiple thoughts.
Avoid putting black text on white a background if possible as this can dazzle dyslexic readers. Consider using cream or off-white instead. Pastel colors such as peach, orange, yellow or blue are also suitable.
Blue paper, blue ink, or blue highlighting can be used to help improve reading comprehension too. Blue in general it seems is a relaxing and calming color, but lighter shades will seem more 'friendly' while darker ones seem a little more somber.
Spanish, Italian and German, on the other hand, are much more transparent languages with clear letter-sound correspondence. This makes reading and spelling easier. German has the additional advantage of having a sound system that is very close to English and the two languages share a large number of words.
Excessive amounts of sugar and synthetic food additives (such as those described as "E" numbers) can effect a persons ability to concentrate. A dyslexic child needs to be able to concentrate more than a non-dyslexic child in order to take in the same amount of information.
e.g. 'their' and 'there', 'pane' and 'pain'. Irregular words don't follow phonic rules e.g. spelling 'does' as it sounds 'duz'.