![]() In this article, we provide a brief, concise review of the literature on colored overlays as a remedy for visual stress in reading. One of the reasons that brought the role of visual and perceptual skills in reading to attention was the observation that some dyslexic individuals are affected by a perceptual dysfunction, called Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome and also known as Meares-Irlen Syndrome and Visual Stress (MISViS Evans, 1997). Although the theoretical debate on the causes of reading difficulties and dyslexia has given a primary role to the “phonological hypothesis” – since the efficiency of the processes of phonological processing is among the best predictors of reading skill acquisition ( Wagner and Torgesen, 1987 Snowling et al., 2000) – the role of visual and perceptual skills has gained attention (e.g., Watson et al., 2003). The role of colors in reading has a few decades of history, dating back to 1958, when Jansky (1958) reported the case of a student with a reading deficit who was unable to recognize words printed on a white paper but was able to recognize words printed on a yellow paper. Here we provide a concise, critical review of the literature. Furthermore, the very nature of the Meares-Irlen syndrome has been questioned. Also, according to some researchers, the results supporting the efficacy of colored overlays as a tool for helping readers are at least controversial. Despite the wide use of colored overlays, how they exert their effects has not been made clear yet. Thus, colored overlays have been largely employed as a remedy for some aspects of the difficulties in reading experienced by dyslexic individuals, as fluency and speed. This condition would interest the 12–14% of the general population and up to the 46% of the dyslexic population. These effects would be particularly evident for those individuals affected by the so called Meares-Irlen syndrome, i.e., who experience eyestrain and/or visual distortions – e.g., color, shape, or movement illusions – while reading. ![]() It has been argued that colored overlays applied above written texts positively influence both reading fluency and reading speed. In this article, we are concerned with the role of colors in reading written texts. 2Dipartimento di Psicologia dello Sviluppo e della Socializzazione, Università degli Studi di Padova, Padova, Italy. ![]() 1Dipartimento di Storia, Scienze dell’Uomo e della Formazione, Università degli Studi di Sassari, Sassari, Italy.Arcangelo Uccula 1* Mauro Enna 1 Claudio Mulatti 2
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