I have described how some students that are labeled with a reading learning disability are actually suffers of scotopic sensitivity syndrome. This means that they are sensitive to light. These students find it very painful to read.
In may last article I discussed how students with scotopic sensitivity syndrome are good at listening, working in groups, and comprehension. However, when you ask one of these students to read aloud you will see the child change completely. He or she will often begin to wiggle around in his or her seat. He or she may rub his or her eyes and squint. The child may try to cover the book to shade it or frown. He or she may hold the book further away or closer than normal. The student may blink quickly or continue to lose the place during the reading. In some cases these students are thought to have dyslexia. When the students are given tutoring skills for coping with dyslexia they do not improve. The pain from reading still exists.
Astounding result differences have been found all across the country when teachers allow students to use reading overlays during reading tests. Overlays help keep the glare and the contrast from the text while reading. Many companies offer reading overlays through teacher material magazines.
In most studies about half of the children who were in remedial reading classes showed improvement and responded positively and immediately when given a reading overlay to use.
There are several sites on the Internet that offer information about scotopic sensitivity syndrome. There are also some sites that offer a self-test for the syndrome. Dr. Paul R. Whiting ahs also published some articles about his studies of scotopic sensitivity syndrome.
Keep in mind that just because a child passes a vision screening does not mean that there are no vision problems or issues that exists.