Colored Overlays for Reading: Full Page Overlays

Colored Overlays can help overcome glare and tracking problems caused by dyslexia and other disabilities.

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Colored Overlays from Crossbow Education have been developed in consultation with the top research scientists in the field. They can be of help when readers experience words, letters, or even whole lines "jumping" on the page; colored "auras" or white patterns interfering with the text; headaches, nausea, irritated eyes and other reading discomfort. Crossbow colored overlays are evenly spaced around the color spectrum, enabling the maximum number of effective combinations of tints to be achieved.

Colored Overlays and Irlen Syndrome articles on this site:

Colored Overlays, Dyslexia and Irlen Syndrome
Visual Stress FAQ
Colored Overlays: their care and use
Colored Overlays: How big does a colored overlay have to be?



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Yellow   colored overlays can help with reading

Sky Blue

 
Celery         Pink  
Grass Green         Magenta  
Jade Green         Orange  
Aqua Blue         Purple  

 

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Colored Overlays: some history.

Colored overlays  have been recognised as an effective intervention for certain reading difficulties for about 25 years, since their  discovery, independently of each other,  by Helen Irlen  (USA) and Olive Meares (Australia) in the early 1980s. In the UK, Professor Arnold Wilkins carried out further extensive research in the effectiveness of colored overlays from 1993. His findings have been published in several peer-reviewed academic jounals and collated in his book "Reading Through Colour," establishing beyond doubt that  reading speed can increas by up to 25% for about 20% of all schoolchildren, if a colored overlay of the correct tint is used. Crossbow Education have worked in close consultation with Professor Wilkins in the development of their colored overlays and Eye Level Reading Rulers.


NEW COMPLETE ASSESSMENT PACK FOR COLORED OVERLAYS
     
Includes overlays, assessment and recording material, manual, background information, and research bibliography 
in tabbed hardcover binder. Launch price only $59.00. NO ADDITIONAL TRAINING NEEDED.  

When to use full sized  colored overlays

Full sized colored overlays can be preferable to the smaller, more convenient reading rulers in a number of cases, either where factors of age (elderly or young), dyspraxia, or other disability cause co-ordination problems which make it difficult to move a reading ruler down the page to track text; or when both hands are engaged while text or other representations are being followed. Common examples of this use of tinted overlays are sheet music and knitting or other machining patterns. Overlays can easily be cut in half to use with smaller pages.

Disclaimer and guarantee: Ten colors are available. By experimenting with different combinations (guidelines are given on the pack of ten colours) it is usually possible to meet individual needs, although there may be a small number of individuals who would benefit from a tint that cannot be produced from combining the tints that we offer. If your overlays are not the colour you expected you may return them for a full refund, provided that they reach us IN UNUSED CONDITION within two weeks of our shipping date.

Glare and transparency

One side of the overlay has a matt coating. Some matt coatings can reduce the transparency of a tinted overlay, but overlays from Crossbow Education have been subjected to stringent testing to ensure that maximum print clarity is retained while  reflected light from the overlay surface has been significantly reduced. Nevertheless, some people prefer using the gloss side of the overlay.

Packs and prices   

 Overlays can be purchased three ways: