What is Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome?

Scotopic Sensitivity, also known by some as Irlen Syndrome is a perceptual problem that keeps many people from reading effectively, efficiently, or not at all.  Until recent times, this syndrome has caused much confusion in the medical and education communities due to its complex diagnosis, and symptoms.  It is believed that this syndrome effects up to 12% of the population and that it is caused by the eye and/or brain not processing/interpreting what the eye is seeing.  Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome was first identified by educational psychologist, Helen Irlen, while she was working with adult learners in California in the early 1980's.  She observed that some of her students read more easily when they covered a page of print with a colored overlay.  Her discovery stimulated the interest of many educational and medical researchers, who continued to further research this phenomenon.  Presently, medical research is being conducted at various universities worldwide.  Irlen's method of treating Scotopic sensitivity syndrome is now used to help more than 80,000 people in 36 countries.