My New Coloured Filters

Colorimeter vs Irlen Method. 

New Colorimeter Filters 

When looking into Irlen Syndrome I did a bit of research on it all before I went for my screening last year. I came across Irlen filters offered through a Irlen Diagnostician and also Intuitive Colorimeter which seemed to be done through an optometrist. It was hard to find testimonials but I did find one pages saying Intuitive Colorimeter was a much more inferior process to the Irlen Method and at the time I didn't pay much attention to the site I was reading this information from. It wasn't until I had issues with my last pair of Irlen Spectral Filters that stopped working after a month and then proceeded to give me an excruciating headache through the left side of my head as a result I stopped wearing my Irlen Spectral Filters all together. 

My First pair of Irlen Spectral Filters the morning I got them before an Exam

The pair of Irlen Spectral Filters that should never have been

The last Irlen Spectral Filters that stopped working after 4 weeks

 I then went and did the Cellfield remediation and for a few months after that I had no need for any filters at all. I noticed though that I was experiencing the same symptoms and sensitivity to lighting like I used to before my Irlen Spectral Filters. I then looked in to Intuitive Colorimeter again as I had been referred to a Behavioural Optometrist here in Adelaide. It was then that I realised that the original sight I read saying that Intuitive Colorimeter was an inferior process to the Irlen Method was actually an Irlen site and the content has since been taken down. I dug further and found some wonderful testimonies about the outcomes of using colourimeter filters. I also read much of the research and studies done into Meares-Irlen Syndrome and the development of Intuitive Colorimeter. 

I took the plunge and am very happy with the outcome. 


I've had my new Colorimeter filters for 6 weeks and they are good! Glad I didn't throw in the towel entirely after my experience with the Irlen Method. The best part for me is knowing I have a 3 month warranty with these filters, meaning that if for ANY reason I feel they are not working quite right, I can go back and have the color changed at no charge. And not be told it was because of my chiropractic adjustment that the filters stopped working after a month, because one other client had that happen, and be charged $400. 

Another great thing with Colorimeter was the selection process was much more efficient and no where as fatiguing as the Irlen Method. Also I got my filters in a week rather than waiting 4 weeks. 

What did shock me is the closed mindedness of the Irlen "industry" out there, who feel that the ONLY way to successfully treat visual stress is exclusively with Irlen filters, cost to the families be damned. And who ignored and disregarded the science and success of Colourimeter to those who went in that direction. It just sickens me. What I did notice on many of those support groups though, many parents writing in saying their child won't wear their Irlen Spectral Filters because they can't see right, or they make them sick, or they get headaches. These parents are then told their child didn't listen when making their selection or that their child has had a colour shift and needs new glasses. I was so hounded about my suggestion to some of these parents to look into Colourimeter that I left the facebook groups that I decided to leave this support groups on Facebook. Then we have other groups that hound and berate those that even suggest the idea of coloured filters to help children and people with reading issues and dyslexia because of the "official" classification of dyslexia and there being no official research or classification for visual stress. It is just so sad that this happens, when something like this may actually help a child or even adult cope better in life and help them function better.

My advise is do you research go and see various practitioners and ask questions. What works for me, may very well not work for you, but you won't know if you don't research it. 

The Dyslexia Journey: Cellfield

Hello everyone. As I have posted on my blog about my experience with Irlens I thought I would talk about my experience with Cellfield, which is a remediation for Dyslexia.

At the beginning of July I went for a Cellfield assessment, the results of which showed I have certain issues with reading and comprehension. This is nothing out of the ordinary as I was diagnosed with Dyslexia in 2012, which was also not a surprise. 

After having little long term benefits from Irlens I looked at what else I could do in terms of neuroplasticity. Cellfield was recommended and I did some research in to the program. Like Irlen there were many who reported great improvement in their childs processing but there were the occasional case of there being no change to a child reading and comprehension. Finding information on adults who had done the program was not very fruitful, but I figured if it was being recommended to me then it is worth a try. I saw more benefit in try than just struggling and carrying on the way I have for 35 years. 

I really did not know what I was in for really, but my mind was put at ease and I dove right in. I did the program over five days with two, one hour session each day. The program is a visual and auditory base program with forces your brain to see passed the distraction or obstacles. In simple terms, I was looking at a screen that had dots appearing and disappearing and then either straight or waved bars tracking from one side of the screen to the other. Amongst all of this, I was directed to find words through the headphones I was wearing.
Added to all this I had to wear special glasses, some sessions one eye was patched others one eye has a red lens.

The first session was the hardest, mostly because there is no preparing yourself for the experience. I was really really tired and also famished (this is because I had burnt up a lot of brain fuel which is glucose). The rest of the sessions followed suit in terms of my coping, although by the 7th session I wasn't getting as exhausted after the sessions. What I did notice was about the 4th session I had noticed I wasn't using a process of elimination to find the words, but was actually looking for the word needed. Also I have used a decoding method for my B's and D's especially in lower case, which I noticed I wasn't having to use after the 4th or 5th session. There was an automation to my brain looking for a word I was directed to find.

Then we come to pigeon english. The most intensive section of the program for me was the pigeon english. At first I did ok as I was able to decode the pigeon sentence with little difficulty. By the 6th or 7th sessions I was reading the pigeon sentence like it was normal text, was freaked me out a little. Mostly because I was, at that point, very aware of the neuroplasticity that had taken effect.

The best part was the final session where I didn't get anything wrong.

Overall a grueling experience but well worth it. A nice little side effect is that since 2012 I have been wearing prescription specs, which I don't feel the need to wear any more. Also any visual symptoms I had with irlen Syndrome are not apparent any more. I go in for my post Cellfield assessment next week with the hope that there has been measurable improvement, but I feel there has been I just cannot articulate it apart from language connection being easier.

A Thank you card

three weeks ago I went and saw Tracey Butler at Links to Learning here in Adelaide after doing research in to Sensory Processing Disorders. I emailed her with a personal experience I had at a busy shopping centre which she felt was related to a Auditory Processing Disorder and suggested I come in for a consultation and evaluation. Our suspicious were confirmed and the following week I picked up The Listening Program to start at home remediation. I have been on the program for 3 weeks and I as well others around me have noticed a marked difference in my responses to situations of all things my stress levels. I have been plagued with high stress and anxiety levels all my life and it isn't until now that I understand why. Knowing why and having a solution is so incredibly amazing, as well as knowing The Listening Program is working.

To show my appreciation to Tracey and her team I made a thank you car for her and her staff. I was a bit surprised today to see it posted on Facebook, but I am so glad they liked the card.

More Puzzle Pieces

About two months ago I went for an Irlen screening after a number of months researching this condition. During the screening it was made quite clear that I was suffering from scientifically what is known as Scotopic sensitivity syndrome, better known as Irlen syndrome. I was given two plastic overlays sheets of turquoise and grey to help me in the interim until I could get my filters.  

I began using these overlays immediately and found an improvement in quiet reading and had less discomfort reading off a white page.  A week after my screening I went for a second consultation to establish what my filters would be for my glasses which I received four weeks later.  

The filters arrived in the morning of my one and only exam which I was quite delighted with. I was able to comfortably sit the exam and answered as many questions as I possibly could. I notice during the course of that very first day that my head wasn't hurting and I felt a lot more relaxed and lights didn't affect me as they once did.

I have now been wearing the Irlen filters for a full month and have noticed further improvements in reading comprehension retaining of information, I much calmer in shopping centres and brightly lit areas and notice a massive difference if I'm not wearing my glasses at all. During this last for weeks I have also completed an essay assignment for one of my online units which was proofread and found to have a lot less mistakes in it as well as the proof reader mentioning that the writing flowed a lot better. Unfortunately I am still waiting for my results from that essay, hopefully I don't have to wait too much longer.  To date I am very pleased with the outcome I have achieved and experienced with having the Irlen Syndrome filters, as it has made a vast improvement to my functioning capabilities.

I unfortunately have still been plagued with an auditory sensitivity when it comes to loud noises and crowds and busy shopping centres. I began investigating sensory processing disorders and found that I fitted into the auditory processing disorders.  After attending a screening yesterday V consultant informed me that she believed I definitely do have auditory hypersensitivity and that there was remediation for this condition to allow me to function better in situations that I currently am uncomfortable and tend to have an extreme emotional reaction to.

It appears I have been on this journey for the last two and half years of discovering things about how my brain works and finding out that I don't just have to put up with how I process my environment around me and that I do have the opportunity to improve my functioning in our society. The reality that something can be done about many of these neurological dysfunctions of mine is very satisfied.  Hopefully with all this work I am doing on myself I will come out of this a lot happier, a lot healthier and with a clearer understanding of the difficulties many other people in our society face.  So, bring on the neuroplasticity and let get things changing!!!

Another Piece of the Puzzle

Today has been a bit of an eye opener and somewhat overwhelming, but to clearly express why this is so, I need to start at the beginning  The beginning is the acceptance after 2 years of struggling with distance education starting in 2011, when I finally got assessed for dyslexia and was found that this diagnosis was positive. Granted this is not a life threatening condition and really only affects my ability to retain information in written form. So, from this diagnosis I was able to get a certain level of help and assistance from my college and other area , which has been very wonderful. At the end of last year, when enrolling in a new college, I was informed of the "colored glasses" thing that could help me even more with my learning experience  Through further research though I came to realize I could not afford to even consider to get the screening done. Further research since then has lead me to understand the importance of going and getting the screening done as soon as possible.

This bring us to today. The "colored glasses" thing is called Scotopic Syndrome or is better known as Irlen Syndrome. It turns out I don't just have a Irlen Syndrome I have a severe case of it, as well as general light sensitivity and most likely an auditory processing issue. There is also remediation I can do in order to help retrain my dyslexic brain to process and function more efficiently.

My reason behind blogging my experience here is is to help bring awareness to others who may be having problems.If only person reads this and believes that they feel they are struggling or they see their child is struggling with learning, do them or your self the service of getting them checked out for dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome.  It may stop a lot of frustration and unnecessary struggling, when there are options and support out there.

Family Album: Margaret Freda Stevenson

I found this wonderful photo of my paternal grandmother. Again, I do not know much about the date and purpose of the photo but think it is a beautiful photos. My grandfather is most likely the photographer, but I am not certain of this. There are many elegant photos of my grandmother, which I am itching to scrapbooking.

Again I used a more multi media technique, adding on small elements here are there, as well as using some gesso and misting templates to achieve textures on the page.

I think I will work with a photo of one of the males in the family next and see what I can achieve.

Family Album: Beach Babe Halcyon Mignon Olwage

For a few years now I have had it in mind to make a photo album/family tree of the branches of my family tree. I have a large amount of photos that are just sitting in a box, some here in Adelaide with me and some with my brother and some more with my father. It seems a pity and a waist to just have them packed away, so I have brought them out to see the light of day. I started off with a photograph of my mother, when she was much younger. I know nothing of the day the photo was taken or how old she was, but I left it was a great photo of my mother as a young person.

This page ended up being a bit of an experiment in multi media and trying out a few other methods I had seen around in various blogs and on line groups. There is just such a large amount of inspiration out there to not try new things with almost every page one works on.

Beach babe

I will also be compiling a file for each family member, noting things like date of birth  children, spouse and other things along that line. I am really looking forward to this project, as it has been some thing I have wanted to do for a long time.

Holiday Project: The joys of the Mini Album

I loved working on this project so much I started a second one while still working on the first one. What it is, is a mini album with a Hidden Hinge System from a Kathy Orta tutorial for her All Occasion Mini Album. 

The tutorial for this mini album called for quite a lot of card so, which just seemed a bit expensive. So, I visited my local Officeworks and purchased a 25pk of 210gsm A3 card for only $12. This made this much more economical and as the card was a heavier gsm the hinge and pages turned out a lot more sturdy. 

I loved this album as I was able to use some of the 6x6 inch paper pads I hadn't been able to use much before. For this first one I used my left over Black and White Timeless from Kaisercraft. 

The hidden hinge took demo and a little while to get my brain around. Once I got it though it made perfect sense. With, again, a little modifications, I got it all to work out nicely and I can now also modify it further for my own liking. 

I ended up reworking the cover design Kathy had done for her Mini Album due to not being able to get one of the items she used for the spine. I am actually happier with how mine turned out.  I also chose to use fabric for my spine rather than cardstock, as a friend who was showing how to make this mini album had two spines with card stock crack. The fabric gives a great amount of give ensuring it wouldn't be tight, crack or split.

The finished Product
I have ReAlLy enjoyed this project, and I wish I had more friends to make them for. If there is, however, anyone who is not a papercraft who wants one, please feel free to contact me to order one.

Holiday Projects: Kaisercraft Desk Organiser

Holiday Projects: Kaisercraft Desk Organiser

As I am no longer working and have finished my studies for 2012 I pondered what I could do to keep my self busy over the holidays before my studies recommence in February.  I set out a bit of a to-do list last week and work out if there were any supplies I might need, then realizing a have a rather large arsenal of craft 'stuff', started choosing papers for my first couple projects.

I had an unmade Kaisercraft Desk Organiser that has been sitting on a craft shelf for a few months now, so that was SO getting made up.The fist one I made about 12 months ago was a little too blue for me, which as given to my niece. I wanted to do some thing a bit more grown up, that would be a good canvas for me to try out some new techniques I have developed (mostly in my head) over the last 12 months.

As I have been working on this project I have been adding progress photos to My Instagram which I will also do with other projects in the future as well. These progress pictures are also added to the KJWstudio Facebook Page ('like' the page to get regular updates in your Facebook news feed)

Once the organiser is completed I will be sure to put some pictures of of the finished product.

Heidi Swapp Memory Files Chapter 2

 I seriously LOVE this project, even though I was oh_so_very_tired, but I got through it and really like what I created. I make a couple screw ups, mostly due to my oh_so_very_tired state and not paying attention to the video Heidi aired on line.

I put my own red flare to things during the making of this folder as I wanted to see how red my new red Glimmer Mist was, and

it SO worked. The pictures were shown on my Instagram Profile Page at http://instagram.com/kerryjean.

The Global Education System

The concept of learning or a purpose

 

A few weeks ago I came across this TED talk clip which was posted on a friends Facebook profile. After watching it I realized everything that Seth Godin has talked about in this presentation is all very accurate from my point of view. Our education system, globally, has been modeled on the really old backward principle of do as you are told and learn what we teach you. 

As a dyslexic and growing up in a society that was opposed and utterly fearful of what they didn't know or understand, South Africa, I endured many school days of getting belittled by school teachers for just not getting the work that was being presented by them. I remember my poor brother, Danial, struggling week after week with maths problems and home work, with further yelling and berating by our father who just has no idea how to actually present the information in a way that Danial would get. There are more people with "learning disabilities" in this world than most would like to admit, and still there is this conformist attitude by training institutes and schools out there that those with "learning disabilities" just have to learn how the subject is taught. 

A little bit of background here, I have only be diagnosed since early 2012 with dyslexia, but have had suspicions for many many years. I also do not see my dyslexia as a "learning disability", as I have a rather dynamic method of learning. I see the term "learning disability" as the inability to learn some thing which in my case is totally incorrect. I do learn, almost every waking, and some time attempting to sleep, moment of the day. If I don't know some thing I look it up, because this is a technological age with the interwebs.  Because as Seth puts it, "anything worth memorizing, is worth looking up".

So, back to the topic of the education system....

In early 2011 I set out to study again, only this time it wasn't in the creative side of this, instead it was an academic course, the Advanced Diploma of Naturopathy. I chose to do this course as a external student, no contact with any lecturer and only books to read from. Now, I was under the deluded notion that the institute I am studying through knew what they were actually teaching in this course. It turns out I was so very wrong.

In the 2 years I have been studying through this institution I have found glaring errors in course work books the most recent of which was an appalling mistake about the global symbol for health and medicine which was put in my course work book as The Caduceus, which has nothing to do with health and medicine as all. This perpetuated mistake by a medical division in the USA has made its way into my course work, which I reported to the head of the institute mentioning that hopefully it won't be on the assessment.  I eventually put this information on a discussion forum where I am advised by another student that if it is in the exam just to give the answer that was in the course work book. Has our eduction really boiled down to compliance?It has dawned on me that the institute I am studying through most likely hasn't actually written the course work book but has rather copied and pasted information from another institutes course work book. Which only makes the education system all about profit and not actually about teaching anything.

In short, we need to find better ways to teach people that the sub standard methods we are too scared to evolved out of. I will leave you with this very apt meme....