It seems that children benefit most from colour if it is offered as soon as any reading difficulty is suspected, before the cycle of failure has begun. Many 7-year-olds appear to use coloured overlays for a year or two and then discard them as unnecessary. This may be because the acquired familiarity with text makes the distortions less distracting.

Coloured overlays are sheets of translucent or transparent coloured plastic that can be placed over a page of a book so as to colour the text beneath without interfering with its clarity.

There are many factors involved. First, are the overlays obviously beneficial? If so, only a short trial period, say six weeks, is necessary, particularly if headaches have been reduced but not eliminated, and if untidy writing continues to be a problem. Under these circumstances glasses may further reduce the headaches and may well improve the handwriting.

People are often confused about the importance of glasses for children. Some believe that if children wear glasses when they are young, they won't need them later. Others think wearing glasses as a child makes one dependent on them later. Neither is true. Children need glasses because they are genetically nearsighted, farsighted, or astigmatic. These conditions do not go away nor do they get worse because they are not corrected. Glasses or contacts are necessary throughout life for good vision.

restore your focus to normal, minimizing your dependence on glasses. Most people need some form of glasses, if only to read.

Just as some colours are reported as being beneficial, others are often reported to be uncomfortable. Individuals sometimes show a marked aversion to these uncomfortable colours. Provided the appropriate colour is chosen, it seems unlikely that overlays can have any detrimental effect. The possible long-term effects of wearing coloured glasses are unknown at present.

It is essential to realise that the appropriate colour for use in glasses is not the same as that in overlays. For example, a child may choose a yellow overlay and benefit from blue lenses. The colour of the lenses can only be assessed by optometrists or orthoptists who use the Intuitive Colorimeter ?, or by the use of a very large number of coloured trial lenses. Other methods of selecting coloured lenses may be less likely to select the optimal colour.

Probably yes. If both the biological parents wear glasses / contacts, your children are likely to need glasses / contacts as well.

In our view, children should be free to wear the glasses if they find it helpful to do so, but not encouraged to wear them if they would not otherwise do so. The response to colour is subjective and individual, and the wearer is the best person to judge whether there is any benefit. In our opinion, overlays can be used regardless of any simultaneous eye exercises or medical treatment.

Children who persist in using their overlay usually find coloured glasses more convenient to use. Glasses can help with writing, whereas overlays cannot. The degree of precision in the choice of colour is critical for obtaining the best results, and the precision available with lenses is far greater than with overlays. Perhaps for this reason glasses often give better results.

It is difficult to determine, exactly, how strong a factor genetics plays in this. Sometimes "yes" and sometimes, "No".

You may have heard that coloured or tinted lenses can help a dyslexic child with reading. This is because some dyslexics find print is blurred or jumps around, a condition known as Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome. Evidence is by no means conclusive, but certainly some children do seem to benefit from this - coloured acetate sheets laid over writing can be tried first to see if this helps.

Our program overlays are designed to meet the needs of a variety of users, some blind, some partially sighted and some sighted. For those with limited sight the careful use of strong colours can help them to locate various parts of the overlays; for sighted children the use of colours is essential. As our catalogue of programs grows you will see the same program may be produced in a variety of ways.

We receive 90% of our information through our eyes. Therefore, when we wear a certain colour of lenses in eyewear, we are able to see and feel the world through that colour. Basically, we feed our body with the attributes and qualities of that colours' vibration.

Usually not for distance vision, although some patients may still require thinner glasses for fine tuning. When you are in the age range where bifocals or "readers" are normally required for close vision (usually 40-45 and beyond) you will most likely need reading glasses. This is a natural process known as presbyopia.

Yes, usually to read small print. Currently, nearly all lenses implanted in the USA are monofocal. This means they focus at only one particular distance (focusing distance depends on lens power). If your lens gives you perfect distance vision, you will have to use glasses to read. If your lens gives you perfect reading vision, you will have to use glasses to see clearly at distance.

Yes, we offer a couple of styles that are smaller or have a more aggressively curved lens. Elvex TTS, SG-15-small, Challenger Small, SG-23, fit small featured adults as well as many children. Also our models TNT SG-13, Xenon, SG-14, Trix, SG-17, Elite, SG-200 and Summit II, SG-29, offers a good fit for women and small featured adults. Click on the links below. TTS, SG-15, Challenger S-SG-23, TNT- SG-13, Xenon- SG-14, Trix- SG-17, Elite- SG-200, Summit II- SG-29,

Most parents suggested that I clean Morganne's glasses for her. They also suggested that Morganne concentrate on not breaking or losing her glasses. People also suggested a spare pair for when she (inevitably) breaks or loses them. Morganne's glasses go in a special place and, so far, she has been very good about putting them back where they belong when she takes them off. One person suggested scratch-resistant and unbreakable glasses.