Children with uncorrected vision conditions or eye health problems face many barriers in life … academically … socially … and athletically. High-quality eye care can break down these barriers and help enable your children to reach their highest potential.

Vision doesn’t just happen. A child’s brain learns how to use eyes to see, just like it learns how to use legs to walk or a mouth to form words. The longer a vision problem goes undiagnosed and untreated, the more a child’s brain learns to accommodate the vision problem.

That’s why a comprehensive eye examination is so important for children. Early detection and treatment provide the very best opportunity to correct vision problems, so your child can learn to see clearly.

Eighty percent of all learning is performed through vision. Make sure your child has the best possible tools to learn successfully.
The American Optometric Association recommends that all children have a complete and comprehensive eye exam performed by an optometrist at the age of:

• 6 months: to test for excessive or unequal amounts of nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism, equal eye movements and overall evaluation of the health of the eyes.
• 3 years: to track developmental progress, evaluate for nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism, evaluate color vision, eye teaming and tracking, eye health and identify any other potential problems
• Prior to starting kindergarten: to detect any vision problems that may interfere with learning including eye focusing, eye teaming and tracking, color vision, or the need for eyeglasses.

Specialized procedures have been developed that allow us to measure the clarity of sight of children at almost any age, even if they are too young to read the eye chart or even too shy.
Understanding the Difference Between a Vision Screening and a Vision Examination
It is important to know that a vision screening by a child’s pediatrician or at his or her preschool is not the same as a comprehensive eye and vision examination by an optometrist. Vision screenings are a limited process and can’t be used to diagnose an eye or vision problem, but rather may indicate a potential need for further evaluation. They may miss as many as 60% of children with vision problems. Even if a vision screening does not identify a possible vision problem, a child may still have one.

Passing a vision screening can give parents a false sense of security. Many preschool vision screenings only assess one or two areas of vision. They may not evaluate how well the child can focus his or her eyes or how well the eyes work together. Generally color vision, which is important to the use of color coded learning materials, is not tested.

To ensure the health of your child’s eyes, contact our office to schedule an eye exam with one of our doctors today. We will gladly answer any of your questions and provide you with the best treatment options available to you and your child.