Child Eye Exam Prior to Entering School – New Eye Exam Law in Illinois

Kudos to Illinois for leading the way in children’s vision care!!!

Illinois recently passed a law that intends for ALL children to receive a comprehensive eye examination from an Eye Doctor before entering school – so no child from Illinois will fall between the cracks of the “vision screen” system.   Here in South Florida at Visionary Eyecare, we see WAY too many children that have significant visual problems that were simply NOT picked up on these school or pediatrician vision screenings.   When a child has a vision problem and it is not detected and treated early enough – this can lead to a LIFETIME of vision problems.

Please click on the above picture to sign a petition to fully support this legistlation by incorporating a Vision First Exam Form.  This exam form will insure that the children are receiving very thorough and comprehensive eye exams from an Eye Dr  before they attend school.

We want to support Illinois  every step of the way so hopefully they will support Florida on day in passing similar legislation one day for our children!!

CLICK HERE TO SIGN PETITION

For more information please visit:

Vision First Foundation: http://www.visionfirstfoundation.org/

Janet’s Journal BLOG: http://janetsjournalblog.com/

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Back to School Eye Exams

Here is some GREAT information about the Importance of Back To School Eye Exams…taken from an email sent by Luxottica Corporate Headquarters to all of the Doctors affiliated with Pearle Vision and Lenscrafters

Alabama’s Clanton Advertiser (8/12) reported, “As parents send their children back to school, one of the most important things they can do to help ensure their child’s ability to learn is to take them for an eye exam.

The American Optometric Association (AOA) recommends comprehensive eye exams especially for children entering preschool and kindergarten.” In particular, “children entering preschool or kindergarten benefit the most from comprehensive eye exams,” although “they rarely receive them early enough”.

Currently, only 14 percent of children under age six have received a comprehensive EYE EXAM, according to the U.S. Center for Health Statistics.” During an eye exam, an optometrist can detect “common vision problems, such as nearsightedness and farsightedness, as well as more serious conditions such as amblyopia (lazy eye).”

In an opinion piece in Tennessee’s Chattanoogan (8/12), Jenny Pomeroy, CEO of Prevent Blindness Georgia, wrote, “Since about 80 percent of learning in a child’s first 12 years comes through the eyes, it is very important to ensure that…school-aged children can see properly.”

Across the U.S., “five percent of preschool children have significant visual impairment,” Pomeroy noted, adding that “many of these children will develop amblyopia, or ‘lazy eye’ blindness, if their eye conditions are not diagnosed and treated early.”

Studies have shown that “sight can be saved in 98 percent of children if treatment is begun by age four. At age six, only 20 percent of children’s sight can be saved, and if treatment is delayed until age ten, these children may be blind in one eye for a lifetime,” Pomeroy pointed out.

Therefore, it is very important for parents to make sure that their children receive EYE EXAMS (not just vision screenings at school or at the Pediatrician’s office) at an early age and yearly throughout their lifetime.

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Child Eye Exams and Effective Learning are Linked

Its Back to School Time!!

Here are some pictures of our youngsters having FUN and playing with the toys in our Visionary Eyecare Office in Davie, FL (Next to Pearle Vision) during our important ….. BACK TO SCHOOL EYE EXAMINATION Time.

School starts in just a FEW short weeks and it is CRUCIAL that all school age children have a comprehensive eye examination before school begins!!  A Pedicatrician eye chart test or a school vision screening is NOT sufficient to ensure that your child’s has the clearest vision and healthiest eyes for ALL of their classroom tasks.

Here is some important information from the American Optometric Association (AOA):

The American Optometric Association (AOA) reminds parents that good vision is critical for many classroom tasks.” Children who do not have “healthy vision…can face unnecessary challenges not only in the classroom, but also to their mental, physical, social, and emotional well being.”

Some youngsters who “suffer from undetected vision problems…may even be misdiagnosed as having a learning disorder.” In fact, “[s]tudies indicate that 60 percent of children identified as ‘problem learners’ actually suffer from undetected vision problems.

According to the AOA’s American Eye-Q® survey, only 39 percent of adults understand that behavioral problems can be an indication of vision problems.” Optometrist Leonard Press, O.D., AOA’s vision and learning specialist, pointed out that “10 million school children in America have vision conditions that can negatively affect learning.”

Therefore, “[a] comprehensive eye examination for students is one of the most important ‘to-dos’ as children head back to school.”

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Children’s School Problems May Be Caused by Undetected Vision Problems

Click on the above “Fuzzi” banner to see a Video for you

and your child to view together…

Often children can not express to adults that they may be having problems with their vision. They may not even realize that their vision is blurry or “Fuzzy”.  They may be falling behind or having trouble in school…for an “unknown” reason.  That “unknown” reason may be due to possible vision problems – even if they are able to PASS the Vision Screening at school or at the Pediatrician’s office.

Click on the “Fuzzi is having trouble at School” banner above and you can watch the video with your child.   It may open up a discussion between you and your child about his or her vision.  If your child can identify with the problems that “Fuzzi” is having at school – then its time for your child to have a comprehensive eye examination.

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Children’s Vision Screening Vs. Comprehensive Eye Exam

SAVE A CHILD’S VISION = SAVE A CHILD’S FUTURE

There are approximately 4 million children entering school each year.  3.4 million of them will enter school WITHOUT a comprehensive vision and eye health examination.

Many times children may be unaware that they are experiencing any vision problems and thus do not tell their parents they may be having issues with their vision.

A Vision Screening – either done at school or a Pediatrician’s office – is NOT a substitute for a complete eye health and vision evaluation by an eye doctor (either an Optometrist or Ophthalmologist).

Its important for parents to remember that Vision Screenings are NOT eye exams.  A Vision Screening will only determine if a child may be at risk for decreased vision.  It will not determine what the issue is and it does not treat the issue.

A comprehensive eye exam will determine the child’s precise vision, will evaluate how the two eyes work together and most importantly it will check the child’s eye health.  Most eye health issues (like retinal holes or tumors in the eye) may NOT cause any symptoms – until it is too late.

Vision Screenings often give parents a false sense of security because many children may have visual problems or eye health issues and still be able to PASS a vision screening.

Vision problems in children should be diagnosed and treated as EARLY as possible to prevent lifelong visual complications.  Many potentially permenant vision problems, such as lazy eye (amblyopia), can be prevented AND corrected if caught and treated early enough.

SAVE A CHILD’S VISION = SAVE A CHILD’S FUTURE

When Should Your Child Have His or Her First Eye Exam??

This is a question that we get a lot!!

A common misconception parents have is that a vision screening at their child’s school and/or a vision check at the Pediatrician’s office is the same as an eye exam.   Vision Screenings are not the same as an Eye Exam because Vision Screenings are vision tests that are designed to ONLY check to see if a child is able to read the eye chart…they do not check for visual development problems or eye health issues.

Many children may have eye health or vision problems and still be able to pass a school vision screening or Pediatrician vision screening. Some eye health or vision problems may go undetected with a vision screening….many of these vision problems need to be detected long before age 7 to prevent permenant lifelong vision problems such as lazy eye (amblyopia) or eye turn (strabismus).

Your child should have an eye exam at ANY age if a problem is suspected.  Believe it or not, an eye examination can be performed on an infant, as young as one day old.  A pediatric eye doctor (Optometrist or Opthalmologist) can determine if a infant or very young child has any vision or eye health problems by using computerized testing – there is no need for the child to be able to communicate verbally during the exam.

At Visionary Eyecare we like to begin seeing children at age 4. Visionary Eyecare has 2 South Florida eye clinic locations in Broward County for your convenience – Pembroke Pines (Next to Lenscrafters), and Sunrise (Next to Lenscrafters – INSIDE the Sawgrass Mills Mall).   If you think your child has a vision or eye health problem BEFORE age 4 – please give us a call at any of our locations and we will be happy to refer you to a pediatric optometrist or ophthalmologist that can perform an exam on your child.

When scheduling an eye exam for your child – it is important to ask if the doctor’s office is set up to deliver vision tests to examine children.  Not all eye doctors are equipped or feel comfortable performing eye exams on young children.

It is essential that your child has an eye exam by an EYE DOCTOR at least by age 4 or 5 – before entering kindergarten.  Many forms of blindness or lazy eye (amblyopia) can be prevented if detected early AND corrected.