When we started the reading today and it was a white screen with black letters Ryan immediately said he couldn’t see the words. He started to squint and to get closer to the screen to see. I asked him if he wanted me to change the background color as soon as I changed it to grey he was able to read the story.
When we finished today I pulled out several different books and had him try to move his finger along the words in the proper order. He immediately started to rub his eyes and said he couldn’t see the words and it made his eyes hurt which made his brain hurt. I had a blue overlay that I put over the words and he was able to not only follow the words on the page but he was also able to pick out words on the page. We tried this with several books with the same results each time.
I must tell you how awesome this is! In the past he would have gotten frustrated and then gotten mad and said he would never be able to read, there would have been tears. For the first time he was able to communicate to me what the issue was and to ask me to correct it before frustration set in. He went through the books and overlays with me in front of his big brother which in the past would have caused him to be very angry as his brother is a good reader. When his brother asked him why he he was trying the overlays he told him the black words on the white page hurts my head but if I do it with the blue I can see the words and read them! His confidence and belief in himself and his ability to do this has soared! Thank you so much for the work and time you have put in to this program. It is so awesome to see Ryan finally believing in himself!
Thank you!
Coloured overlays help readers with contrast sensitivity