Visual Stress

What is visual stress?

There is a strong correlation between visual stress and learning differences. It is always worth considering if this is impacting on a students ability to engage with their learning.

There are a variety of visual issues. They can be

• poor eye focusing ability (binocular stability)
• poor eye tracking ability (eye movement control)
• visual stress from sensitivity to glare, pattern and flickering (a processing issue rather than a vision issue)

It is common to have more than one of these issues, so it’s important to see someone who can look at all aspects.

Being at school for a number of years can place strain on a student’s vision, so this is important to consider across this age range, not just when they first start school.

Visual stress is NOT dyslexia. Dyslexia is a language-based learning difficulty, however both can make it harder for a student to engage with reading.

Visual stress issues

You need to check all visual issues to know if they are impacting or not.

1. Visual issues

To check visual issues, you go to a qualified optometrist who can check the eye focusing and tracking abilities.

2. Processing issues

Reducing glare can help ease visual stress. This can include using coloured overlays or coloured paper for printing, or reducing glare from classroom lighting or whiteboards.

This can be referred to as Irlen Syndrome. Support for Irlen Syndrome can attract mixed opinions (some overly strongly expressed), and it can also be expensive if specialist lenses are purchased.

Because of this, it’s often best to trial low-cost strategies first. Using coloured overlays or coloured paper over a period of time allows you to see whether there is a noticeable difference before committing to more expensive interventions.

Feedback from children, young people, adults, and parents suggests that for some individuals, visual glare creates additional cognitive strain when reading or processing text. In those cases, colour-based supports have helped reduce that load and increase comfort, focus, and engagement with reading tasks.

This approach does not replace dyslexia support, which should always be considered and addressed as a separate intervention.