A4 Coloured Overlays
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A4 Coloured Overlays –
Pack of 5 Make print clearer.
Reduce glare. Support comfortable reading.
A4 Coloured Overlays are
designed to make printed text easier and more
comfortable to read for children and adults who
experience text related visual discomfort or
reading difficulties. They are
intended as an
accessibility adjustment, not a reading
intervention.
The full A4 size allows
the entire page to be viewed at once, making these
overlays particularly useful for worksheets,
information sheets, music notation, and extended
texts. They may also be easier to handle than
smaller reading rulers for younger children, older
students, or individuals with coordination
difficulties. Overlays can be cut in half for use
with smaller pages. What’s included This pack contains the
five most preferred colours:
By trying
different colours and combinations, most
individuals can find a tint that meets their
needs.
Designed for clarity
and comfort.
Research by Apple and
Microsoft has influenced
the inclusion of coloured tints as accessibility
features in tools such as iPads, iPhones, and
Microsoft Immersive Reader,
highlighting their value
for reading accessibility.
SCHOOL
AND EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE ORDERS ONLY.
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How coloured overlays may
help
Some
children and adults experience text-related visual
discomfort when viewing high-contrast, repetitive
patterns, such as black text on a white background. This
can include glare, eye strain, headaches, or text appearing
blurred, unstable, or difficult to look at for long periods.
For some people, placing a
coloured overlay over the page can:
- Reduce visual discomfort or
glare.
- Make text feel easier to look
at.
- Help with reading stamina or
tolerance.
Who might find overlays useful?
Coloured overlays may be helpful
for:
- Children or adults who complain
of eye strain or headaches when reading.
- People who find high contrast
print uncomfortable.
- Readers who say text looks too
bright, shimmery, or hard to focus on
- Readers who experience fatigue
when reading.
Dyslexia is a lifelong
difference in how the brain processes written language. It
cannot be cured, and coloured overlays do not treat
dyslexia or change core reading skills such as decoding,
spelling, or phonics.
Coloured overlays are best
understood as a comfort and accessibility support, not a
cure.
Alignment with Australian
education and inclusion frameworks
The use of
coloured overlays as an optional accessibility support aligns
with Australia’s inclusive education obligations under the
Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) and the
Disability Standards for Education 2005, which require
schools to provide reasonable adjustments so students
with disability can access learning on the same basis as their
peers.
Providing
coloured overlays as a choice-based environmental adjustment
supports students who experience text-related visual
discomfort, helping to reduce barriers to accessing printed
materials. This approach is consistent with the principles of
Universal Design for Learning (UDL), which encourage
flexible options for how information is presented to meet
diverse sensory and perceptual needs.
Coloured
overlays are not a treatment for dyslexia and do not replace
evidence-based literacy instruction. Instead, they may be
offered as a low-cost, non-invasive adjustment to
improve visual comfort and engagement for a subset of learners,
alongside appropriate teaching, intervention, and support.
*Please note the colours shown in the picture may not be an
exact representation of the colour in real life and can only be
used as an estimate.
