Scotopic sensitivity syndrome
| Irlen syndrome | |
|---|---|
| Pseudomedical diagnosis | |
| Risks | Nocebo |
Irlen syndrome, occasionally referred to as scotopic sensitivity syndrome (SSS) or Meares-Irlen syndrome, very rarely as asfedia, and recently also as visual stress, is a proposed disorder of vision. It is not recognised by any scientific or medical body.
In 1980 New Zealand teacher Olive Meares described the visual distortions some individuals reported when reading from white paper. In 1983, American psychologist Helen Irlen wrote a paper about the use of coloured overlays aiding the reading abilities of some people. Similar symptoms were separately described by Meares and Irlen — each unaware of the other's work. Irlen, who was the first to systematically define the condition, named her findings "scotopic sensitivity", though in the discussions and debates over the following years some referred to it as Meares-Irlen syndrome.
There remains to this day stark controversy over whether non-Irlen-certified Meares-Irlen Syndrome and the original Irlen Syndrome are the same condition. Irlen Syndrome, for example, seems to include a broader array of symptoms, including severe variants of the core condition. Basic testing for scotopic sensitivity was tried by optometrists, opticians, and orthoptists in UK hospitals, and by optometrists and opticians in private practice employing a technique that used the Intuitive Colorimeter, developed under Medical Research Council license. An alternative approach to correct Irlen Syndrome was tried by Orthoscopics franchise in the UK, with wide colour coverage and tints manufactured by Hoyato match. Other commercial organisations have produced sets of therapeutic tints, although most have not received scientific evaluation.
The disorders have been studied in several institutions, including the Psychology Department at Essex University, the former Applied Psychology Unit, Cambridge University in England, and in the case of Meares-Irlen Syndrome, Visual Unit at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland. As of 2012[update] the Visual Stress Unit offered non-commercial diagnostic and therapeutic services to individuals, and provided advice to the Scottish National Health Service.
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