Back in 2016 when Daisy was 7 years old, she and mum consulted me for an eye examination as Daisy was having difficulty reading and learning.

She came across as, and is, a very clever, friendly girl. She demonstrated many known symptoms associated with Visual Stress – words moving and using her finger as a marker to follow print. This was holding her back in her enjoyment of and confidence in reading. For a full list of the symptoms read here.

I carried out the eye examination and noted a small Hyperopic correction with a degree of astigmatism which, when corrected, duly gave a small improvement to her vision.

Straight after the eye exam, we carried out a Visual Stress Assessment using Coloured Overlays. Daisy and mum were surprised by the additional improvement to the speed and fluency of reading using her preferred overlay. She tried the Overlay for a month and was so happy with her new ability to read that she and mum returned to proceed to advanced Visual Stress assessment using Precision Tinted lenses – PTL.

Daisy, as a seven-year-old, told me that she didn’t mind doing these tests as she just wanted to read better, she was a perfect example of enthusiasm and wasn’t in the least phased by the large light box. In fact, she performed the test without hesitation – she knew exactly what she wanted the test to achieve.

Any bullying attempts in the beginning, at school, regarding wearing tinted lenses were met with a “SO WHAT, I CAN READ BETTER WITH THEM” from Daisy.

Roll on to 2022, with the recommended annual reviews, during which the PTL changed colours, Daisy is now at Secondary school and is still wearing her tints fulltime. She still gains the same advantage for reading and learning from them as well as the confidence to read out loud in class, she plans to continue using them.

Mum’s comment was that every parent whose child has reading and learning difficulties should explore the Visual Stress assessment pathway as it has been a gamechanger for Daisy.

Well done, Daisy, it has been a pleasure treating you.