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WE NEED YOUR HELP!
A coalition of industrialists, environmentalists, and energy specialists is banding together to try to eliminate the incandescent light bulb. There is legislation proposed in California, Canada, and Australia to sell only fluorescent light bulbs. While this legislation helps the environment, it hurts people.
Nearly one-quarter of the world's population will suffer negative physical effects if this legislation is allowed to pass. For this portion of the population, fluorescent light triggers headaches, migraines, stomachaches, fatigue, eye strain, anxiety, and irritability. Fluorescent lights can also negatively impact the immune system, literally making people sick. Energy conservation is an important goal that we should strive to achieve, but there are ways to conserve energy that do not hurt 25% of the population. Please don't let your government hurt the people you love. Please sign the petition and send this information to others asking them to sign the petition.
Please read the following information on the toxicity of fluorescent lighting. It was a real eye opener to me; and once you read it, I am sure you will agree and will want to sign the petition immediately!
Environmental Hazards
Fluorescent light bulbs have a toxic substance in them (mercury) and MUST BE RECYCLED IN A MOST RESPONSIBLE WAY. The lack of recycling will put this mercury into landfills where it will leach into drinking water sources and contaminate landfills. Presently, there are no city collection services for toxic substances and each person must go to waste disposal sites, driving miles to safely dispose of them. Casually throwing these bulbs away in the trash may cause untold mercury contamination in the future! It is inevitable that some bulbs will break in the home, contaminating the area with toxic materials such as mercury vapor and exposing the people, pets, and the environment to these hazards. The discussion of this issue has been practically blocked.
Mercury has long been known to have toxic effects on human and wildlife. Mercury is a toxic, persistent, bioaccumulative pollutant that affects the nervous system. As it moves through the environmental media, mercury undergoes a series of complex chemical and physical transformations. Local, state, and federal agencies should be working to reduce the amount of mercury in the environment, not promoting more usage of this highly toxic chemical. No one currently knows how many fluorescent bulbs are in landfills at this time. If we expand their usage, we are adding to a monumental mercury pollution problem.
With all of us working together on this and not procrastinating, hopefully we will achieve success. Such obstacles are worthy of efforts to counteract them.
Thank you,
Helen L. Irlen, MA, LMFT
Executive Director
Irlen Institute International Headquarters
Pilot Project at Edwardsville Elementary: This pilot study looked at presence of Irlen Syndrome/Scotopic Sensitivity in children in School District USD 204. Of the 30 students evaluated, 21 showed evidence of moderate Irlen symptoms and showed moderate-significant improvements in visual perception with colored overlays.
None of the students evaluated were in Special Education. Nevertheless, they were struggling with reading, headaches, frustration, and discomfort from bright lights. The study indicates that a number of children in Edwardsville Elementary School demonstrate Irlen Syndrome. Evaluation and treatment of this condition is likely to lead to improved reading skills and less frustration for many of these students. There should be at least one staff member in each school who is trained to screen students and use the Irlen interventions. Kay Shevling, School Board Member.
State and National Standardized Testing Accept Colored Overlays: The GED, TABE (Tests of Adult Basic Education by CTB McGraw-Hill) and CASAS Test of Life Skills ALL accept colored overlays and lighting modifications to be used during testing at the student’s request.
Colored Overlays Accepted for Standardized Testing: California Department of Education’s website lists colored overlays as a standard accommodation (www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/sa/documents/matrix5.pdf,) Oklahoma also has a website listing colored overlays as a standard accommodation. The easiest method for getting to this website is to do a google search for “colored overlays” and find “accommodations for Students on an IEP or 540 Plan Oklahoma CORE” which will directly link you to the website: www.se.sde.state.ok.us/ses/3-21yrs/accommodationhandout.pdf. The Standards and Assessment Division of Riverside Publishing Company of the Woodcock-Johnson Test list colored overlays are a Category 2 accommodation allowable to all students with an IEP or 504 Plan.
Irlen International Diploma Course. For those of you who are interested in pursuing further study and qualifications, we are pleased to announce the International Diploma of Irlen Institute (IDII). This is a diploma on learning difficulties of which Irlen is one of eight units. The course runs over 18 months and will be conducted on-line through a password-protected portal on the website www.irlenwa.com.au. For information and application form, please email Steve Stanley at steve@irlenwa.com.au.
Books. Margit Tuabenschmid, Visuelle ahrnehmungsschwache und Ir;en-Syndrom (Visual perception condition and Irlen Syndrome);ISSN 1431-7273; ISBN 3-631-52374-2, A German book edited by Univ. Prof. Dr. Richard Olechowski. In the introduction, Univ. Prof. Dr. Richard Olechowski states that the study on Irlen Syndrome is an “important research result for special and remedial education.” The placebo controlled research study proves the significant advantages in reading rate and reading accuracy using Irlen coloured overlays for children with Irlen Syndrome.
LouAnne Johnson, author of the best selling book that inspired the movie Dangerous Minds, has written another book, the Queen of Education, in which she states, “In my own experience, about one-half of a given class of remedial readers showed signs of scotopic sensitivity and responded positively and immediately to using overlays to read. Other teachers have reported similar success.”
Community College Research. Brenda Elliott, an Irlen Screener at one of the community colleges, has been testing and providing overlays to her students in GED or Adult High School programs. She has them take the TABE testing without overlays and then with overlays within less than a week. Improvement ranged from 1.5 grade levels to 4.7 grade levels. The mean improvement was 3.4 grade levels.
Brain Research. Initial results of brain scans of a few individuals with Irlen Syndrome. showed a 4 standard deviation in hyperexcitability and delayed processing. Over excitability alters the input which leads to difficulty with visual integration and visual processing.
Navy Research. The U.S. Naval Education and Training Command (NETC) are sponsoring the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory (NAMRL) to assess the prevalence and possible impact of Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrom or Irlen Syndrome. They also plan to assess the effectiveness of colored overlay intervention.
Courses. Irlen Center Boston with Cambridge College Professional Development, The Distance Learning Program (DLP). “The Brain and Irlen Syndrome” EED641 Course may be taken separately or as part of the Applied Neuroscience Certificate Program. For details contact www.irlenboston.com.
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