An Australian study examined the experiences of adult students with Irlen Syndrome and dyslexia to help education institutions provide better support to those with both.

Collaborative research was carried out by Queensland Dyslexia’s Jacquie Caskey and Peter Freney of the Irlen Clinic on 22 adult students with dyslexia from across five Queensland Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Colleges. Six presented with Irlen Syndrome and a further 10 participants exhibited symptoms, including a reaction to light when using computers, migraines when reading books or doing other visual work and difficulty in concentrating on written work for more than one hour.

The report published in the European Journal of Education Studies reviewed the challenges for academics when supporting students with Irlens Syndrome, noting, “It is a quandary for educators who support adult students with dyslexia, in preparing lesson plans for inclusion when there is limited research in the field of education and MIS.”

Over 20% of dyslexic Australians are also believed to have Irlens, a visual processing disorder which tends to run in families and has not been identified through other standardised educational or medical testing, according to the Irlen Syndrome Foundation.