Paediatric Comprehensive Eye Examination
Your child will be thoroughly examined and evaluated for any eye health problems, including evaluating active disorders or congenital anomalies. Vision is our most valuable sense. 90% of a child’s learning is through their visual system. Early detection can save years of struggling and harmful impact on your child’s ability to learn. We recommend an eye exam at any time that a child appears to have a problem-no matter what age, but all children should have an eye exam at 5-years of age.
Children's Exam
1 in 4 children are at risk from
undiagnosed vision problems!
Many vision screenings test only for distance visual acuity. It does not give any indication as to how well the eyes focus up close or team together for the child’s schoolwork demands. It also does not give any information about the eye health.
A change in vision is often not realized until your child can’t see the board at school or has trouble reading a text book.
Children often do not know their eyes are not working efficiently and are unable to communicate that a problem exists.
The increased stress on the child’s inadequate visual system can cause fatigue and lack of overall desire to do their schoolwork
can result in less than optimal grades and behavioral disorders.
We are asking parents to make appointments now for their children to reduce eye and vision problems going undiagnosed and untreated in children.
The Optometric Association encourages comprehensive eye exams for children entering kindergarten or enrolling for the first time in public, private, or parochial elementary schools.
Since comprehensive eye exams are the best way to diagnose eye and vision problems in children early, before they interfere with a child’s ability to learn, we agree that an exam is a crucial step in ensuring that students perform to the best of their ability in the classroom, and through their growing years.
Please have your child’s eyes checked annually.
Schedule your child's eye exam today.
Eye examinations for Children
A comprehensive eye exam measures visual acuity, refractive status, eye health, eye tracking, eye focusing, and eye teaming.
Visual acuity measures how clearly a child sees objects. Refractive status measures for nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism.
Eye tracking is the ability of the eyes to
fixate, smoothly follow and look between objects or printed words.
Eye focusing is the ability to efficiently
change and sustain focus while reading.
Eye teaming is the ability to coordinate both eyes accurately and without fatigue or excessive effort. Accurate eye teaming is also important for accurate two-eyed depth perception or stereopsis.
Early detection and management is highly
recommended to prevent vision loss
or eye disease and to provide
appropriate vision development.
Did you know?
• An undiagnosed vision or eye health problem can interfere with their ability to learn.
• 80 per cent of learning is visual, which make having a comprehensive eye exam an important start to a child’s learning journey.
• Children with vision problems are often misdiagnosed as having learning or
behavioral disabilities.
• Eye health problems are detected through an eye exam.
• The sooner problems are treated, the more likely they can be corrected.
• Some conditions have a critical period and once the window passes, permanent visual loss can remain.
• Children are often unaware they have a vision issue as they believe what they are seeing is normal.
• 43% of children who have a vision or eye health problem can pass a basic vision screening or sight test.
• Children may have one eye that is doing most of the work, hiding the fact that the other eye is not functioning properly.
EVEN IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY NOTICEABLE SYMPTOMS, ALL CHILDREN SHOULD HAVE AN EYE EXAM AT THE AGE OF 5!
PAEDIATRIC VISION
Vision is our most valuable sense and 90% of a child’s learning is through their visual system. Early detection of visual disorders can prevent permanent visual impairment and the associated complications this may bring.
We recommend an eye exam when a child, at any age, appears to have any of the following problems:
• Struggles with reading, writing or learning.
• Performs below ability level at school
• Loses place while reading or uses finger/marker to guide eyes.
• Places head close to books or desk while reading or writing.
• Has a short attention span for age.
• Dislikes or avoids close or detailed work (LEGO, drawing, etc.).
• Has poor eye-hand coordination.
• Turns or tilts head to use only one eye; covers or closes one eye.
• Blinks or rubs eyes excessively.
• Suffers from headaches, nausea, dizziness.
• Complains of burning, itching or blurry eyes.
• Has double vision.