Grow and See

03/08/2026

🌈 Give Your Eyes a Break with the 20-20-20 Rule! 🖥️✨

Are your eyes feeling tired, dry, or strained after hours in front of screens?

Whether you're working hard, gaming, or scrolling, digital screens place constant strain on your visual system.

Here is a quick optical secret to give your eyes the reset they deserve: The 20-20-20 Rule! 👁️💙

⏱️ How It Works:

• 🕒 Every 20 minutes: Take a short pause from your screen.

• 👀 Look at an object 20 feet away: Find a window, a distant hallway, or something across the room.

• ⏳ Focus for at least 20 seconds: Let your gaze rest on that distant target.

🎨 How It Relieves Eye Strain (An Optical Perspective):

• 🌿 Relaxes Focusing Muscles: When you stare at close-up screens, the tiny focusing muscles (ciliary muscles) inside your eyes contract constantly to keep images sharp. Looking 20 feet away allows these muscles to fully relax and release built-up tension.

• 💧 Restores Natural Blinking: We naturally blink up to 50% less when focusing on digital screens! Taking a 20-second break encourages complete, natural blinks, helping spread a fresh film of tears to soothe dry, irritated eyes.

• 🎯 Eases Eye Coordination Strain: Looking at near objects forces your eyes to turn inward (converge). Viewing something far away lets your eyes realign into a neutral, comfortable resting position, drastically reducing headaches and eye fatigue.

✨ Give your eyes the love and space they need throughout the day—your visual wellness depends on it! 👓🌟

– Grow and See

29/07/2026

The Visual Stress Assessment broken down.

•A full up to date eye examination is all that needs to be in place. This eliminates other factors such as prescription needs, or binocular vision abnormalities.

•I travel to your home or other safe space.

•I take a full history of medical, optical and Visual Stress issues. This is relevant to ensure certain tests are safe to perform and to consider other issues that could be impacting.

•A pattern glare test is used. This is a diagnostic tool which helps identify the presence of Visual Stress. This test will only be carried out if safe to do so.

•An intuitive overlay assessment looks at a wide range of coloured overlays (including combined colours)

•The wilkins rate of reading test quantifies the percentage improvement given by the use of the overlay, but i am looking at behaviour, i am listening to fluency and I always ask the parent to be present as they are always the best judge of the huge difference it makes for their child. For adults they are always shocked when they see how much easier reading is.

•I stock overlays and they are recommended for a period of at least six weeks.

•I produce a full report for school/college/uni/ workplace. This report identifies reasonable adjustments that need to be implemented to ensure equal access.

•Should working with these adjustments lead to your child (or you) deciding that precision tinted spectacles would be a more comfortable and convenient solution I will be working in practice using the Colorimeter. This finds the precision tint required for spectacles. This amazing piece of equipment designed by Arnold Wilkins has over 100,000 colour combinations.

• Working collaboratively with other professionals I can help with other diagnostic pathways.

Why choose Grow and See?

• Qualified Dispensing Optician FBDO
•Experienced Visual Stress and Colorimetry Practitioner
•SEN qualifications
•At home assessment.
•No time restrictions
•Movement breaks encouraged
•calm and gentle approach.

27/07/2026

Is your child sitting the Kent/ Medway Test in September.
Its not too late to have them assessed for Visual Stress. Reasonable Adjustments put in place will ensure they have the best chance to achieve their full potential

23/07/2026

As a qualified Dispensing Optician and experienced Visual Stress Practitioner I noticed the difficulty in accessing these assessments.

Now I bring Visual Stress Assessments into the home, with no time restrictions, extra SEN training (as well as lived experience as a SEN parent) and a calm relaxed approach.

Travel included within ME postcode (small supplement for further) ✅
Calm relaxed approach✅
Movement breaks✅
SEN trained ✅

I will be in practice at Whitstable Eyecare monthly to follow your journey through to colorimetry after a successful period with coloured overlays.

Have a read below about a Visual Stress journey.

Visual stress can make reading black text on white paper uncomfortable, with words that blur or “move”. Here’s how we spotted it in my daughter, how colourimetry (Intuitive Colorimeter) identified her exact tint, and how tinted lenses improved her reading.

22/07/2026

👩‍⚕️55% of those diagnosed with Visual Stress consulted two or more professionals before finding the right support

🌈1 in 5 suffer from Visual Stress

Get in touch to discuss your concerns about Visual Stress.

20/07/2026

I am going to be taking a break for a few weeks during the summer due to ongoing health issues. I will still respond to emails and messages as quickly as possible, and be taking bookings . Enjoy your summer.

18/07/2026

Did you know that changing the colour of a piece of paper can completely transform a student’s learning experience? 📝✨

For individuals with Visual Stress (sometimes linked with dyslexia or dyscalculia), looking at black text on a stark white page can actually cause physical discomfort. Words might seem to dance, blur, or vibrate, leading to eye strain, headaches, and fatigue.

That’s where the power of coloured paper comes in!

🌈 Here is how shifting away from white paper makes a massive difference:

✍️ Elevating Handwriting & Presentation
When text stops jumping around, tracking across the page becomes significantly easier. Using the correct coloured paper or overlay helps with spatial awareness, meaning:

• Better alignment on the lines.

• Improved letter formation and spacing.

• A noticeable boost in handwriting neatness and confidence!

⏱️ Levelling the Playing Field in Exams

Exams are stressful enough without the pages blurring. When exam papers are printed on a student's assessed colour, it reduces visual distortions.
This means they can read questions faster, understand them more accurately, and focus their energy on the answers rather than fighting the page.

📋 How to Get the School On Board
An official assessment report diagnosing Visual Stress, is a powerful tool!

This report acts as formal evidence that can instruct schools to put Access Arrangements in place.

You can use your report to request that the school:

• Print daily worksheets and resources on the recommended colored paper.

• Request modified (colored) papers from the exam boards well ahead of GCSEs, A-Levels, or other formal tests.

• Provide colored overlays or laptops with tinted background software.

A simple change in colour isn’t a luxury—it’s an essential accommodation that unlocks a student's true potential.

16/07/2026

| From the Cerium Archives

This week, we're opening the Cerium archives with one of our early-generation Intuitive Colorimeters.

Once at the forefront of colour assessment, this instrument represents an important chapter in our 35-year journey. Since then, we've continued to refine both the science and the technology, developing new generations of instruments that offer even greater precision, flexibility and an enhanced clinical experience.

Looking back reminds us how far we've come - and how innovation continues to shape the future of colour assessment.

Do you remember working with one of these? We'd love to hear your memories.

13/07/2026

Get in touch to arrange your childs Visual Stress Assessment.

Give them the tools for a confident return in September

10/07/2026

A Visual Stress (also known as Irlen syndrome) Assessment. 📖

An up to date eye test is all that is required.

At Home Assessments £50.

Travel included within ME postcode. (Further afield a small supplement)

Full History- Optical, General Health, Diagnoses (or suspected conditions) and Visual Stress Symptoms.

Pattern Glare Test - A diagnostic tool created by the institute of Optometry to identify Visual Stress. (Used only when deemed safe to do so due to high contrast patterns)

Intuitive Overlay Assessment- Using coloured overlays to find the colour (or combination of colours) that significantly reduces or completely illuminates Visual Stress Symptoms.

Wilkins Rate of Reading Test - Designed Educational Psychologist Arnold Wilkins (youve heard me mention him lots ) to quantify the improvement given by the use of a coloured overlay. I will also be looking at behaviour, confidence, listening to changes in reading fluency, accuracy and the working distance.

Diagnosis and Full reports- Reasonable adjustments to be put in place at home/ school/ college/ university or the work place including:

- Lighting changes
- Extra time in exams
-coloured paper for writing and worksheet printed on coloured paper
-screen tinting
-larger print

Referral -
To other optical services- Support with other visual issues such as binocular vision Abnormalities and tracking of Visual stress is not diagnosed.

Colorimetry - I will be working in practice once a month carrying out Colorimetry, which finds the precision tint required for spectacles. This applies the colour without the need of using overlays. (Following assessment and diagnosis)

To trusted Dyslexia Assessors - Visual Stress commonly occurs with Dyslexia.

•If you or a child in your life is struggling with reading. Has headaches. Migraine. Travel sickness.

•If words letters and numbers move on the page.

•If a standerd eye examination shows no reason for these visual difficulties

Get in contact to ask me about accessible at home Visual Stress Assessments with Grow and See.

• qualified dispensing optician
•experienced colorimetry practitioner
•sen qualifications and experience
•no time restrictions
•relaxed approach in the comfort of your home.