Preparing for the start of a new school year? Remember to get a new backpack, paper and pencils, and get your children's vision examined (or remind someone you know) as part of their back-to-school checklist.
Experts agree that good vision is as essential to learning as the ABC's. During a child's first 12 years, 80 percent of all learning comes through vision. And yet most children have not had a comprehensive eye exam prior to starting school. Many parents think the eye screening given at school is good enough to detect eye health problems. In reality, vision screening doesn't address most eye health issues. It can miss other critical vision deficiencies that may impact a child's eye health, development, and school and learning performance. A professional eye exam is critical for the early detection of eye disease and is mandatory for children with diabetes.
Comprehensive eye exams measure a number of visual skills that are critical to a child's healthy vision, including: ~ Using both eyes as a team
~ The ability of the eyes to focus properly when reading a book or viewing a computer
~ The ability of the eyes to move properly when reading across a page of print
~ Color and depth perception
~ Field of vision, which is the entire area that can be seen without shifting of gaze.
With proper vision, children enter school ready to gain knowledge and skills that will remain with them their entire lives. How well a child can see will have a great impact on how much and how quickly they will learn.
~ Sixty percent of students identified as problem learners have undetected vision problems. Left undetected, vision problems can not only lead to difficulties in learning, but also result in behavioral, physical and emotional problems. Many kids who suffer from vision problems are frequently misdiagnosed with learning disabilities. Kids who suffer from these types of vision problems may not enjoy school. They may avoid reading and simply not perform as well as they could.
~ An estimated 10 million children suffer from vision problems.
~ Vision problems affect one in 20 preschoolers and one in four school age children.
A child's first eye exam at 3 years old provides a baseline for comparison to future back-to-school exams, which should be annual before going back to school through age 18. Children do not have to be able to read or even speak well to have a routine eye exam that can reveal problems. Vision problems that are not detected and treated may lead to permanent damage not only to eyesight, but also to performance in school, desire to learn and self-esteem.
A child may have good vision one year and problems the next. As children grow, their eyes change shape and problems may develop. About one in five children have a problem with the eye's ability to focus. Nearsightedness, one such problem, usually appears in children ages 8 to 12 and tends to gradually worsen until adulthood. It can easily be corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses. Contact lenses may be an option for children 10 and older who are motivated enough to care for them.
Some indications that your child may have a problem seeing include:
~ poor eye-hand coordination
~ short attention span
~ squinting
~ dislike of close work
~ headaches
~ using a finger to follow along when reading
~ holding reading materials too close
~ rubbing eyes frequently
~ sitting too close to the TV
~ lower grades than usual
Children with vision problems may not complain because they often assume that everyone sees the way they do.
Glasses are Cool!
The American Optometric Association reports that approximately 58.8 million children in the United States wear corrective lenses. So if your child needs glasses, he or she will be in good company! And these days, there are so many great styles for kids to choose from. Children's Eyecare and Family Eyecare of Orland carry a variety of frames geared towards kids.