A willing and hardworking student, Hannah always found reading a challenge. Throughout primary and secondary school, her difficulties with reading and learning were attributed to her being lazy, thus affecting her confidence in her abilities. Hannah, in fact, believed she was failing at something which she could see her peers breeze through and she could not understand why, despite all her hard work, she was unable to keep up.
The turning point for Hannah came at the age of 17, when she was referred to a dyslexia consultant, who was also a certified Irlen Diagnostician.
The consultant immediately recognised the evident symptoms of Irlen Syndrome and proceeded with prescribing Hannah her very first set of Irlen Spectral Filters. Unlike other tinted lenses, the spectral filters are precision tinted to perfectly filter out the type of light which upsets the brain.
Wearing the lenses for the first time, Hannah was able to see the world as it should be: no moving floors, no bright flashes of light and the words on the page didn’t jump around anymore.
The migraines also disappeared and Hannah’s confidence in her abilities grew very quickly, so much so that she decided to go on to college to study for a top-up degree in Animal Sciences.
“The spectral filters have completely changed my life. I am able to do even the most basic things, such as going out for walks, going down an escalator and reading a book. These are things that most people would take for granted, however those who have experienced Irlen Syndrome know how impossible these tasks may be without the help of the spectral filters”, commented Hannah.
Hannah believes it is important to raise awareness of Irlen Syndrome, so that other children can be helped early on in their education journey, and has been campaigning with her local government.
Hannah added: “There is an opportunity to help people with Irlen Syndrome. It is crucial that people, including medical and teaching professionals, be made aware of this condition. Talking about it and explaining that, whilst it is a debilitating condition, there is an effective treatment pathway will make a huge difference to those affected by this condition and will help them lead a normal life”.