Our Services

Irlen syndrome diagnosis and intervention

WHAT IS IRLEN SYNDROME?

Irlen Syndrome (also referred to at times as Meares-Irlen Syndrome, Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome, and Visual Stress) is a perceptual processing disorder. It is not an optical problem. It is a problem with the brain’s ability to process visual information. This problem tends to run in families and is not currently identified by other standardized educational or medical tests.

Irlen Syndrome can affect many different areas, including:

Academic and work performance
Behavior
Attention
Ability to sit still
Concentration
This problem can manifest itself differently for each individual. This problem is not remediable and is often a lifetime barrier to learning and performance. If you suffer from any of the following, Irlen Syndrome might be your problem:

Print looks different
Environment looks different
Slow or inefficient reading
Poor comprehension
Eye strain

Fatigue
Headaches
Difficulty with math computation
Difficulty copying
Difficulty reading music

Poor sports performance
Poor depth-perception
Low motivation
Low self-esteem

Symptoms of Irlen Syndrome

Light Sensitivity:

Bothered by glare, fluorescent lights, bright lights, sunlight and sometimes lights at night
Some individuals experience physical symptoms and feel tired, sleepy, dizzy, anxious, or irritable. Others experience headaches, mood changes, restlessness or have difficulty staying focused, especially with bright or fluorescent lights.

Reading Problems:

Poor comprehension
Misreads words
Problems tracking from line to line
Reads in dim light
Skips words or lines
Reads slowly or hesitantly
Takes breaks
Loses place
Avoids reading

Discomfort:

Strain and fatigue
Tired or sleepy
Headaches or nausea
Fidgety or restless
Eyes that hurt or become watery

Attention and Concentration Problems:

Problems with concentration when reading and doing academic tasks
Often people can appear to have other conditions, such as attention deficit disorder, and are given medication unnecessarily.

Writing Problems

Trouble copying
Unequal spacing
Unequal letter size
Writing up or downhill
Inconsistent spelling

Other Characteristics:

Strain or fatigue from computer use
Difficulty reading music
Sloppy, careless math errors
Misaligned numbers in columns
Ineffective use of study time
Lack of motivation
Grades do not reflect the amount of effort

Depth Perception

Clumsiness
Difficulty catching balls
Difficulty judging distances
Additional caution necessary while driving

Distortions:

Words on the page lack clarity or stability; i.e., may appear to be blurry, moving, or disappear

KEY FACTS

Symptoms of Irlen Syndrome Include:

Sensitivity to bright and fluorescent lighting and glare
Slow or inefficient reading
Poor reading comprehension
Poor attention and concentration
Eye strain
Fatigue
Headaches and migraines
Poor depth perception

Comprehensive Assessments and Evaluation

Conducting a thorough evaluation and administering the right assessments is the first and most important step in designing an effective intervention. Alef Centre focuses on deeply studying the case of the individual with learning difficulties by gathering all the necessary information that can lead to design the right intervention for the individual who suffers from learning difficulties. The information gathering process includes two steps:

Thorough interviews with the individual and his/her direct circle of personal relations (parents, care givers, teachers…etc.) to pinpoint the type of difficulty and decide on the type of assessments required.
Administering the necessary formal assessments. The following assessments are available at Alef in addition to various screeners:
- Irlen screening and diagnosis
- Behavior rating scales
- Individual Academic achievement tests such as:
  - Woodcock Johnson cognitive and achievement tests
  - Wechsler Individual Achievement Test®-Third Edition (WIAT®-III)
- Individual cognitive abilities tests such as:
  - Woodcock Johnson test of cognitive abilities
  - ECAD
  - CAP
  - Portage

Early intervention

According to recent research the early intervention was proven to be the most successful in helping individuals with learning difficulties cope with their abilities and make great achievements. Alef Centre pursues every opportunity to raise the society’s awareness on the importance of early diagnosis of learning difficulties and applying interventions at early ages so as to reduce the burden of the challenges on the individual and his/her caregivers. Alef provides comprehensive diagnosis and intervention plans to support young children with learning difficulties and behavioral challenges.

Behavior management

The number of children with behavior problems is increasing around the world as recent research indicated due to different social, psychological and environmental factors. Behavior problems are considered one of the heaviest loads that parents and teachers have to deal with on a daily basis. Alef Centre provides the following services to help reduce the burden on parents and teachers’ shoulders:

Thorough investigation and assessments and analysis to find out the underlining causes of behavioral problems.
Developing behavioral management programs/ plans
Developing and monitoring individual educational plans (IEPs) in collaboration with schools to help improve the student’s academic, social and behavior performance.
Parent consultation and training (individual or group sessions).
Designing and monitoring behavioral intervention plans.
Training for teachers, special education teachers, shadowing teachers or other paraprofessionals who work with the individual with behavioral problems.

Parents support

Since parents, siblings and caregivers are in direct and daily contact with the individual with learning challenges, they become the most influential factor in the intervention process. Interventions only succeed when there is a supportive environment at home that caters for the needs of the individual with learning challenges. This happens when those people clearly understand the problems and feelings of their beloved one with learning challenges and know how to help him/her. At Alef Centre, we believe that the first step in any intervention is to support the caregivers with sufficient knowledge and case related training to help them successfully deal with the situation and ease the burden on their shoulders.

We present parent support programs that consists of:

Consultation
Awareness and training workshops specific to each type of difficulty (individual and group sessions are available)
Design individualized home interventions (including case study, setting dynamic intervention plans, strategy modelling, follow up)
Training on study skills (for parents and students)

Learning Support Assistant training

Outreach Inclusion Programs and Teacher Training

At Alef Centre, we believe that every child is able to learn and that every child deserves to be included in the mainstream education within a supportive learning environment. We also believe that because teachers play a great role in supporting their students, then every teacher deserves to be supported and equipped with the sufficient knowledge, training and strategies to be able to cater for the needs of children with learning difficulties in her/his classroom.

Alef Centre provides training sessions for teachers on the following domains:

Types of learning difficulties (dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, ADD, ADHD, visual processing disorder, auditory processing disorder, giftedness, etc.)
Accommodations specific to types of difficulties
Developing Individual educational plans (IEPs)
Classroom interventions
Classroom management
Behavior management
Shadow teacher training

Additionally, Alef centre provides outreach inclusion programs in collaboration with schools.

Social skills groups and training for children

Remedial programs for students with average or above average (high) intellectual abilities but are not performing well in school. Typically, remedial students are not struggling because of their intellectual abilities instead because they are struggling with one subject area like reading, writing or mathematics. Remedial programs are designed to help give the students the individual attention that they need to build their skills and their confidence so that they can live up to their potentials.

Training and workshops

We conduct various Workshops and Training, such as:

Workshops for the mother & teachers
Behavior modification workshop.
Learning support workshops
Skills development Workshops
Irlen Syndrome training:

Irlen® screening
Irlen® diagnostics

If you’re looking for other workshops, kindly whatsapp us on +971567783020

Learning support services

Alef strives to help individuals with learning difficulties to overcome their learning barriers and use effective strategies to understand, recall and apply the academic information they find hard to acquire at school. At Alef Centre, individuals will learn how to use their strengths and high abilities to achieve their academic goals and objectives. Alef provides learning support programs and sessions in all academic subjects according to the individualized needs of each person. Alef also provides skills enrichment sessions on reading, writing and math. All support sessions at Alef are multi-sensory, hands on and interactive. Sessions can be conducted in 1:1 or small groups.

ALEF CENTRE