Vision Screenings Are Not Enough
Your child needs an eye exam. Here’s why.
I frequently hear this from parents/guardians at their child’s first ever eye exam:
“We’re here because the pediatrician/school picked up on a possible need for glasses but my child’s never had a problem seeing.”
Vision screenings especially those done at school are exactly that: they pick up LARGE problems of blurry vision but provide little or no information on equally critical components of a child’s visual system necessary for them to develop normal 20/20, binocular vision:
refractive error (need for vision correction)
strabismus (eye turn or misalignment)
amblyopia (lazy eye)
eye movement disorders
near focusing issues
color vision deficiency
pathology such as congenital cataracts
learning related vision disorders
Children do not have a reference point for how CLEAR their vision should be unless they have a huge vision difference between their 2 eyes. Most kids, in my experience, are asymptomatic with a few developing compensatory behaviors that the parent or guardian can observe such as: head turning or tilting, eye rubbing, squinting or headaches.
The American Optometric Association recommends exams at 6 months, 3 years, before starting school and every year onwards. A child’s visual development starts before birth and continues up to the age of 7. The catch? This hinges on their eyes seeing clearly, equally AND their eyes moving as a team effectively.
A dilated exam will identify eye health issues, need for corrective glasses and any underlying visual or binocular deficits that may interfere with this development. Early intervention and close monitoring can ensure your child’s vision reaches its fullest potential - and with it, their academic success and athletic pursuits!
