InfantSEE, developed by the American Optometric Association and the Vision Care Institute of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., is a public health program designed to ensure that eye and vision care becomes an integral part of infant wellness care to improve a child’s quality of life. We feel strongly about the importance of healthy vision and will provide a no-cost comprehensive infant eye and vision assessment within the first six to twelve months of life.
Parents frequently ask when they should first have their children’s eyes examined and are often surprised when we tell them during infancy. An InfantSEE assessment between 6-12 months of age is recommended to determine if an infant is at risk for eye or vision disorders. Since many eye problems arise from conditions that can be identified by an eye doctor in the infant’s first year of life, a parent can give an infant a great gift by seeking an InfantSEE assessment in addition to the wellness evaluation of the eyes that is done by a pediatrician or family practice doctor.
One in every 10 children is at risk from un-diagnosed eye and vision problems, yet only 13% of mothers with children younger than 2 years of age said they had taken their babies to see an eye and vision care professional for a regular check-up or well-care visit. Moreover, many children at risk for eye and vision problems are not being identified at an early age, when many of those problems might be prevented or more easily corrected.
InfantSEE is filling a void in preventative healthcare for young children. Eye assessments are an important component of the infant wellness routine that America’s parents provide for their babies. They complement the routine wellness of care that a baby receives at the pediatrician’s office by broadening the review of an infant’s vision and eye health status.
