Abstract
ABSTRACT Purpose: to provide an integrative review of indexed articles published from 2009 to 2019 on the effect of spectral overlays on visual parameters and reading ability. Methods: keywords were used to search seven databases. Duplicate entries, reviews, literature reviews, editor's comments, and congress abstracts were excluded, as well as papers that were not relevant, based on their titles and abstracts. A total of 52 articles, which were read in full, were eligible at this stage. Of these, 12 articles, published in Portuguese or English from 2009 to 2019, were included. Results: all 12 articles included evaluated the effect of overlays on the reading rate. There was an improvement in different visual parameters (ocular accommodation and eye movement), facial recognition, and reading (reading rate, relative efficiency, and comprehension). The use of overlays reduced visual stress regardless of refractive, orthoptic or cognitive disorders. The associated conditions investigated were autism spectrum disorder, Tourette syndrome, stroke, deafness, dyslexia, and auditory temporal processing disorder. Conclusion: the effectiveness of overlays in improving reading quality is consistently demonstrated in the literature. The reviewed articles showed that the overlays’ effect is more expressive when the visual stress is associated with conditions that present sensory alterations and cortical hyperactivity.
Highlights
Visual stress is a perceptual disorder that causes visual perceptual distortion symptoms, which are manifested when the person reads texts and are expressed as visual discomfort, rapid fatigue, photosensitivity, irritability under fluorescent light, and deficit in depth perception[1,2,3]
This study aims to offer an integrative review of the indexed articles published throughout the last decade on the effect of the spectral overlays on visual parameters and reading abilities
Adults with visual stress, using spectral overlays, improved their reading rate by 9.9% and reduced the accommodation delay, which did not happen with the asymptomatic control group
Summary
Visual stress is a perceptual disorder that causes visual perceptual distortion symptoms, which are manifested when the person reads texts and are expressed as visual discomfort, rapid fatigue, photosensitivity, irritability under fluorescent light, and deficit in depth perception[1,2,3]. The above mentioned visual manifestations cause reading difficulties and require an attentive interdisciplinary evaluation to reach a diagnosis differentiated from that of nonvisual reading disorders[1,7,8,9]. Spectral overlays (colored transparent sheets placed over the text) have been used to reduce visual stress, to minimize distortions and visual discomfort when reading. This material is made of acetate and its resistance makes it fit for daily use in the classroom. Since no color generally improves reading performance for all, it is necessary to individually present the overlay options and its superimposing combinations, which is a specific and consistent idiosyncratic selection process[2]
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