The Irlen Method
In brief: The Irlen Method is the Institute’s two-session process: a screening that selects a colored overlay, then, for those who respond, a tint assessment for Irlen Spectral Filters worn as glasses or contacts.[3][2]
What the Irlen Method is
The Institute describes the Irlen Method as non-invasive technology that uses colored overlays and filters to improve the brain’s ability to process visual information. It says it uses color spectrometer technology to make its overlays and lenses to strict standards, and stresses that the method is not reading instruction but a color-based technology that filters out what it calls offensive light waves.[5]
The steps
The Institute describes a two-session process, usually preceded by a free online self-test. Family members take part when the client is a child.[3][1]
| Step | Name | What happens | Who | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Self-test (optional) | Free online questionnaires; three or more yes answers suggest a formal assessment | Online | [1] |
| 2 | Screening (problem identification) | Perceptual tasks; severity rated slight, moderate or severe; overlay color chosen | Screener or diagnostician | [2] |
| 3 | Tint assessment (color identification) | Only for moderate to significant overlay improvement; lens tint chosen from many filter combinations | Diagnostician only | [3] |
| 4 | Glasses or contact lenses | Tint applied to lenses; usually a different color from the overlay | Lab / diagnostician | [2] |
| 5 | Yearly recheck | Filter rechecks once a year | Diagnostician | [4] |
First session
In the screening, the client does perceptual tasks with a certified screener or diagnostician. The Institute says this makes clients aware of the distortions they experience, rates symptoms as slight, moderate or severe, and selects the overlay color that gives the most benefit, which the client takes home.[2] The Institute says diagnosticians also evaluate 12 other areas at this session.[4]
Second session
Only people who show moderate to significant improvement with overlays go on. In the tint assessment, the diagnostician works through filter combinations to find a tint worn as glasses or contact lenses. The Institute says the lens color is usually different from the overlay color, that the page will still look white through the lenses, and warns against tinting glasses to match an overlay.[3][2]
What the Institute says it does and does not do
The Institute says the method can improve reading fluency, comfort, comprehension, attention and concentration while reducing light sensitivity.[5] It also says the method does not correct vision or replace glasses, that vision problems should be corrected first, and that it does not help reading problems caused by weak phonics, language differences or sight vocabulary.[2] It states that tinted lenses from optometrists are not the same as Irlen filters.[3][6]
Evidence
Independent assessments have not found that the method improves reading. A 2011 controlled study found no immediate effect of Irlen overlays chosen by an Irlen diagnostician, and RANZCO notes that the color chosen often changes on retesting.[7][8] EyeWiki says the proprietary two-step process has not been independently validated as a diagnostic method.[9] See scientific assessment.
Common questions
How many sessions does Irlen testing take?
Two: a screening that selects an overlay, then a tint assessment for glasses or contacts.
Who can do the second session?
Only certified Irlen diagnosticians.
Is the lens color the same as the overlay color?
Usually not, according to the Institute.
Further pages
Citations
- ^ a b Irlen Syndrome self-test. Irlen Institute (irlen.com). Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ a b c d e f FAQs. Irlen Institute (irlen.com). Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ a b c d e Testing & treatment. Irlen Institute (irlen.com). Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ a b Find an Irlen testing center. Irlen Institute (irlen.com). Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ a b The Irlen Method. Irlen Institute (irlen.com). Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ Irlen colored filters. Irlen Institute (irlen.com). Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ Irlen colored overlays do not alleviate reading difficulties. Pediatrics 128(4):e932–8 (2011). Ritchie SJ, Della Sala S, McIntosh RD, via PubMed. Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ RANZCO position statement on Irlen lenses (2025). Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists. Retrieved 9 November 2026.
- ^ Meares-Irlen syndrome/visual stress (MISViS), reviewed 25 September 2026. EyeWiki, American Academy of Ophthalmology. Retrieved 9 November 2026.