To Colour or Not to Colour: 



Reading Difficulties in Higher Education



5th June 2007



London, W1



10am-4pm



Booking Details Below



We look forward to seeing you there. 



 



Dear Colleagues,



 

Obstacles to reading, particularly within the context of SpLD, have several determinants. One of these is found in the cluster of problems around visual processing, where students can experience problems with tracking, words blurring, sore eyes, and for some headaches are a constant feature of student life.

 

Identifying difficulties due to visual processing, as distinct from other sources, as well as what form relevant adjustments take, considering the need to have proper eye care, as well as how these adjustments are funded, by the DSA, by the student has always been a subtle and complex problem. 

 

Hence following recent discussions on the issue of visual stress, a conference is now being convened to bring the debate to practitioners in Higher Education: 



	This conference will be of particular interest to:



	 



	Needs Assessors



	Disability Officers,  



	LEA Officers



	Educational Psychologists and others undertaking SpLD assessments, 



	Dyslexia (SpLD) Support Tutors, 



	Assistive Technology Trainers



	 



	More widely, the material will be of interest to anyone concerned with the question of how visual perceptual problems affect reading and learning. 



	 



	Date:   5th June 2007, 



	Time:   Registration 10am, 



	           Conference opens 10:30am 



	 



	Venue: University of Westminster,

	             "Old Cinema" 



	             Regent Street, London W1. 



	             Underground: Oxford Circus



	 



	Admission Fee:   £110 per person (institutions) £60 privately funded individuals  (including lunch) 



	 



	Conference Convener:   Penny Georgiou    



	Conference Secretary:   Shyama Joshi  



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	                                       Tel: 020 7915 5427



	Booking Form:               http://www.wmin.ac.uk/ccpd/docs/tcncbf.doc <http://www.wmin.ac.uk/ccpd/docs/tcncbf.doc> 



	 



	Conference organised with the support of the  Central London Assessment Service and the North London Regional Access Centre. 



	

	Key Objectives: 



	 



	1 - That needs assessors, working within the parameters of DSA funding, are well informed about how visual perceptual problems affect reading/learning. It is also necessary to be aware of the pros and cons of each of the referral pathways, in terms of delivering the most effective improvements in reading/study for students. 



	 



	2 - That disability practitioners offering general advice students on support issues are similarly well informed. In this way, advice to students can be coherent and support the delivery of the most effective adjustments.



	 



	The day will be organised in terms of looking at both the science and the practice of delivering effective adjustments. 



	 



	The morning session will host presentations of the medical and scientific approaches to the question of visual stress. (visual stress has been adopted as an umbrella term for issues related to colour and not colour: glare, flicker, convergence, accommodation etc.)



	 



	After lunch, presentations will be heard from service providers working directly with students in making adjustments to their reading and learning environments. 



	 



	The day will close with a plenary session in order to summarise the necessary constituents of best practice. 



	 



	Programme: 



	

	Morning Session: 10:30am-12:45pm 



	 



	Vision Science: Eye Care and Reading Difficulties in Perspective



	

	Bruce Evans - Institute of Optometry 



	John Stein - University of Oxford - 

	Arnold Wilkins - University of Essex 



	 



	Afternoon Session: 1:45pm- 3pm 



	 



	Service Delivery - Students and Learning



	 



	Institute of Optometry



	Irlen UK

	Tintavision 



	 



	Plenary and Discussion 



	 



	Close at 4pm