Meares Irlen Syndrome: Pathway and process

South Lanarkshire Council (Education) follows an agreed pathway with regards to Meares Irlen Syndrome or Visual Stress, which was created by a cross Local Authority group from North and South Lanarkshire Councils, and included representatives from Education, the NHS and Psychological Services.

The purpose of this pathway is to make clear the process for parents / carers, and their children, to ensure that they can access the correct and appropriate advice and guidance in respect to Meares Irlen Syndrome or Visual Stress.

We would encourage parents / carers to use this information and the resources on this web page freely, but particularly in advance of making any financial decisions to private individuals or business.  The pathway is also designed for school staff in Primary and Secondary Schools to use within a framework of Staged Intervention.

There are a number of different documents contained below and a short explanation exists for each one. The first is the Pathway guide for the assessment and support of children and young people who may have Visual Stress or Meares Irlen Syndrome.

• Pathway guide: Assessment and support for children and young people who may have Visual Stress or Meares Irlen Syndrome

The following items are diagrams of the Pathway for each individual agency:

Education Pathway diagram:

• Pathway diagram: Education - Meares Irlen

Health Pathway diagram:

•  Pathway diagram: Health - Meares Irlen 

Optician & Optometrist Pathway diagram:

• Pathway diagram: Optician & Optometrist - Meares Irlen

Assessment by a 3rd Party Pathway diagram:

• Pathway diagram: Assessment by a 3rd Party - Meares Irlen

The full diagram of the Pathway, which shows the links and approaches for all agencies, can be accessed here:

• Appendix 01 - The Meares Irlen / Visual Stress Pathway Diagram

In addition to this there are a number of appendices which can be used as guides and tools.

• Appendix 02 - The General Vision Screening Tool
• Appendix 03 - The Consent to share information form
• Appendix 04 - Visual stress in children & young people: Advice leaflet
• Appendix 05 - Pro-forma for Optometrist
• Appendix 06 - The Northway Visual Discomfort Screening Tool
• Appendix 07 - The Request for Assistance form
• Appendix 08 - Meares Irlen / Visual Stress questionnaire & information for teachers
• Appendix 09 - School evaluation form
• Appendix 10 - Orthoptist Evaluation Form