Children cannot always help themselves. Most of the vision conditions that can affect them are painless and present since birth, so they do not know that anything is wrong. They think that how they see is the way that everyone sees. Worse yet, visual disorders in children can result in serious learning problems and, at times, even behavioral issues. Think about how you would behave if you couldn’t see what everyone else is seeing. It would be frustrating at best.
The earlier a problem is detected, the better the outcome for the child. We can prevent vision loss and decrease the negative impacts that vision loss will have on our kids for the rest of their lives. Mistakenly, most parents think that the vision screenings will detect any issues.
Our teachers do a fantastic job educating our children. They are trained to teach our children, not to pick up visual disorders.
The American Optometric Association recommends an eye exam for all infants, a second exam at age 2, and another at age 4-5 that includes visual acuity, eye alignment, color vision evaluation, depth perception, refractive error, and an eye health exam. The nationwide program, InfantSEE, advocates that ALL infants should have a comprehensive eye and vision exam at the age of 6-12 months. At Lodestar, we participate in this program and this exam is FREE.
Please make sure that your children have an eye exam by a qualified eye health professional. Give them a chance at a life full of color, detail, and possibility.
