Children's Vision

It is vitally important to have the vision of your child checked. Eye problems in children can develop quickly, and, if left unattended, can lead to serious decrease in vision, chich can be irrepairable. Early detection of visual problems greatly increases the chances of successful treatment.

Many Children have Vision Problems:

30% of all children have some form of visual problem
40% of all children with "learning delays" have a visual problem
2 - 5 % of all children have a serious conditions called Lazy Eye.
At what age can I have my child's vision checked?

- Children can be checked at any age. They do not have to know numbers or letters to read the chart. As a broad rule:

From birth onward: Optometrists can perform a number of tests that do not require any response from the infant. Your Optometrist will check

• That the eyes are healthy and developing normally
  
• To rule out shortsightedness, longsightedness, or astigmatism
  
• That the eyes are working together
  
• To rule out a turned eye
  
• To rule out a lazy eye
  

From age 3 to primary school: Optometrists can accurately determine the vision that a child attains. It does not matter if your child doesn't know any letters or numbers. Your Optometrist will check:

• The level of vision that a child attains
  
• To rule out a turned eye
  
• To rule out a lazy eye
  
• The co-ordination of the eyes
  
• The level of fine discrmination using both eyes (stereopsis)
  
• That the eyes are healthy and developing normally
  
• To rule out shortsightedness, longsightedness, or astigmatism
  
• That the eyes are working together
  
• From primary school onward, Optometrists can very accurately measure the level of vision, and focussing ability of the eyes.

I think my child is making up symptoms because other kids at school have glasses, and they're the 'in thing.'

- This is a lot more common than you might think! Your Optometrist has a number of tests that can be used to check vision, and can easily tell if the symptoms are genuine, and if there is cause for concern. It is impossible to 'fake' through an eye exam.

What symptoms should I look for in my child?

- If you are a parent or teacher, some particular symptoms to look for include:

• One eye aims in a slightly different direction to the other
  
• Your child squints or closes one eye
  
• Difficulty seeing things you can see
  
• A head tilt or turn
  
• Clumsiness or poor hand/eye co-ordination
  
• Holding books unusually close
  
• Excessive blinking or watery eyes
  
• Inability or reluctance to read for periods of time
  
• Rubbing eyes alot
  
• Skipping lines or words when reading
  
• Learning difficulties
  

Parents often find it difficult to detect a specific symptom, so if you have ANY concern, please ensure your child has an eye examination.

What is a Behavioral Optometrist?

A Behavioural optometrist has a more holistic approach in the treatment of vision and visual perceptual problems.

A Behavioural optometrist believes that your visual status and the way you interpret what you see is not just dependent on how clear your eyesight is. Consideration must be given to all your visual , visual motor and visual perceptual skills. In this way your Behavioural optometrist will consider not only the remediation of any eyesight difficulties but also the benefits of prevention, protection and enhancement of your visual system in order to improve all aspects of visual performance.

Treatment regimes include the utilisation of lenses and prisms, visual hygiene techniques and Vision Training.