Glasses that help with sensory overload.

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Two ways to initial test to get an idea of what color to start with:

1. Just keep messing with changing tints on your computer. Some programs can put tinted overlay equivalents (generally you can find these for dyslexia) over your computer screen digitally. They might help with looking at your screen, as well as making it easier to figure out what the proper color is for you. I have some installed on my android devices.

2. Buy a whole bunch of tissue paper for wrapping gifts. This will all be the same tintedness level because its actually tissue paper that you'd be looking through. Use it as a test. If you get closer on tests with a few of them, try combining them and seeing if that's even better.

irlens are something i have wanted to try for quite some time, but mostly for reading and screenwork.

i have gotten great results from 'regular' polarized lenzes, those take a big edge off of any light you get, including glare from windows, without altering colors or what have you.

i think that, should i ever go get irlens, i'd want them polarized as well.

so yeah, go try some polaroids, easier to get and probarbly cheaper then irlens, and the effect might even be better

Another potential way to test yourself would be to get some of those thin, cheap plastic overlays that people use just for reading and hold them up to your eyes in various combinations. IIRC, Edmund Scientific sells those.

Back when I had the Irlen testing (in the 90's, don't know if they've changed since) they only used looking at a page of text as the test, but I found at the increase in 3D-ness and reduced visual overload (and increase in the number of objects I could see at once) correlated with that well. I don't get migraines, so I can't speak to that.

Er, that is to say, the testing was things like words or letters jumping out of position, the rivulets of light running down the page, and shimmering of the text.

It's too bad that the Irlen people charge so much. Back when I was working I could afford it, but now (on disability) there'd be no way.

Oh, and if you have a way to tint lenses, there's a cheap place to get frames and clear lenses: Zenni Optical. I lucked out in that stock orange is close enough to what I need, so I just buy wrap around motorcycle/shooting glasses, so you might get lucky, as well.

The problem with zenni optical's lenses is that they're all coated with stuff that make it difficult to tint yourself. You can get frames from there, and get tinted lenses from your local optician and have them put into the frames from zenni optical though. That would be what I'd recommend. (Unless you're so sensitive to frames that you can't handle getting frames online like I am)

I was part of a study on Irlen lenses as a teenager - Back when they used to say the only colour that has any effect is amber. They were utterly useless for me. They didn't help at all and were really annoying. I have transitions now in my regular glasses and also prescription sunglasses with a dark grey 90% tint. They are fantastic and I couldn't cope without them. They stop everything from shimmering and moving and make it possible to go outside without getting overwhelmed by painful bright light and horrendous visual distortions. They are also non-polarised so that I can use my iPhone with them on. I recommend going to an optometrist and asking to try what they have - They should be able to give you some advice on what is available that might suit your needs. Though, having said that, I knew exactly what I needed long before I went to get them.

I just got back from an appointment with my ophthalmologist (everything is still a bit blurry from the drops, so I hope I am typing these words correctly as they are a bit blurry ) She has treated people with visual sensitivities due to autism and PTSD before. After the exam she gave me a prescription for glasses with prism lenses to try out for starters, and see how they help. As she put it, my brain is wired differently so it processes visual input differently and we just need to change what goes in. (I love it when I find a doctor who knows and understands stuff like this!) She also mentioned that I could possibly be sensetive to yellow light. So I'm going to try out the prism glasses and see how they help. She also wants me to work on strengthening my eye muscles by reading more.

Another related update. A couple weeks ago I decided to try out colored overlays for reading.
A good friend who was also my tutor and then teacher for several years, recently got a set of tinted overlays. I went over to her house and tried them out. A turquoise overlay words the best for me. I had no idea before that letters move around for me! It's no wonder I have reading disabilities when the letters won't stay still on the page for me to read them. But with the colored overlay, the letters don't move all around.