Symptoms:
Symptoms of visual stress can include regular headaches, difficulty with tracking, and most of all moving/blurry/fuzzy print, distortions of text/graphs and discomfort when focussing on text after a short while. It is not a ‘part’ of dyslexia but dyslexics can often experience it. It makes reading uncomfortable and most of all, reduces the stamina for reading.
Neurology:
Visual stress originates within the visual cortex and is not related to acuity of sight, which is tested by an optician visit. MRI scans shows that when there is visual stress there is abnormal activation in the regions of the brain which processes visual motion, and when processing still stimuli such as text (parvocellular and magnocellular pathways). This is exacerbated by glare, black/white contrast.
Treatment:
Overlays have been found to mitigate against the symptoms. Wilkins has been the key researcher into this:
https://www.essex.ac.uk/research/showcase/transforming-the-lives-of-those-suffering-visual-stress
Assessment:
The most common visual stress assessment done in schools and in educational psychology assessments, when appropriate, uses the Crossbow Visual Stress Assessment. Their website also gives further information on visual stress.
https://www.crossboweducation.com
High Street Opticians can offer such an assessment as an extra but not always so you need to specifically request this.
Behavioural optometrists often cover this in their assessments, and these assessments can be accessed privately or through a referral via your GP (from the age of 8).
Visit www.babo.co.uk for a general register of behavioural optometrists.
Legal Aspects:
Under the Equality Act 2010, visual stress meets the definition of a disability (part 2, chapter 1, section 6, paragraph 1). Although sufferers may not consider themselves, nor wish to be identified as, ‘disabled’; since in many cases visual stress is an impairment that has a limiting effect rather than a prohibitive one on a person’s ability to read or work at a computer screen. Nevertheless, at the heart of the Equality Act disability discrimination law is the employer/school’s duty to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ (where necessary) for their employees/students who have any such impairment.
https://www.visualstresssolutions.com/equality_act
Reasonable adjustments:
Part 2, chapter 2, section 20, paragraph 5, Equality Act – makes it clear that a reasonable adjustment includes the provision of an auxiliary aid to assist an employee/student with a disability or impairment (such as Visual Stress) and the failure to provide such an aid is discrimination under law (section 21 paragraphs 1 and 2).
