"So, since some people seem to think that Irlen Syndrome is pseudoscience, hi. I’m Tom, and I’m diagnosed with Irlen Syndrome.
Without my glasses, I can’t see everything in the world. Grass or bricks all look the same shade, clouds look flat, and I can’t even tell that a duck’s head is iridescent. With my glasses, I can see all of these things. The first time I saw them it was almost unbelievable to me.
In the post earlier, many people were saying it’s normal to be able to still see things after you close your eyes. With my glasses, I can still see the light imprinted onto the retina. This is completely normal. I can also still see phosphenes, which are the colours some people see when they close their eyes.
Without my glasses, I can still see the whole room for a few seconds when I close my eyes. This is what is meant by visual processing, which is what the post was talking about.
Even my balance improved when I put my glasses on. I’m a martial artist, my balance is crucial. This wasn’t a placebo or pseudoscience, it was a noticeable change in how easily I could process my balance. Reading was also far easier, the letters stopped wriggling. I wasn’t expecting the balance, or the reading, so how can that be a placebo?
When I talk about Irlen Syndrome with doctors, and even opticians, they’re often surprised, but even then few say that it doesn’t exist. Many of them say it’s not properly understood. If even doctors and opticians say it isn’t fully understood, then yes, Irlen Syndrome is open to pseudoscientific bollocks. But, so are many other things. Just because it’s open to pseudoscience, doesn’t mean Irlen Syndrome itself is pseudoscience.
On the earlier post, so many people were speaking about something when they clearly didn’t have any clue. Maybe after this post, from someone who actually has a diagnosis of this condition, people will know better."
By Tom Schofield.
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