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Did you know that according to the American Optometric Association, 1 in 4 school-aged children have a vision problem?  Vista Eye Care is a proud partner with the American Optometric Association’s InfantSEE program, and we aim to prevent and treat the eye and vision problems that occur so often in young children.  This program helps get young children in for their first comprehensive eye and vision exam at no cost to their parents.  While a pediatrician well-visit assesses the child’s overall health, An InfantSEE examination assesses the visual system specifically and thoroughly.  Visual acuity, eye health, visual integration, eye teaming, eye focusing, and eye tracking are all assessed at this exam on 6-12 month olds.  Dr. Abert and Dr. Pedroza will go over their findings with the infant’s parents, and we write and send a full report to the child’s pediatrician.

kids first eye exam brighton

These devices, known as ‘lens bars,’ allow our optometrists to assess your child’s vision for quick, accurate determination of their refractive error.

Parents often ask when they should take their child in for their first eye exam.  “Infants make excellent patients,” says Dr. Abert.  “They typically hold still for the exams, and are highly cooperative.  Getting an examination done early in life is crucial to assuring that the child’s vision can develop normally.”  At Vista Eye Care,  our doctors like to see children for their InfantSEE examination and then again before they start Kindergarten.  The goal of these early-life exams is to assure that the child’s visual system is in a good position to develop the way it should.  Too often, amblyopia (“lazy eye”) develops in kids that have untreated eye and vision disorders.  In fact, the prevalence of amblyopia is said to be as high as 4% of the population.  This translates to about one child in each classroom.  That number is far too high for a disease that is easily diagnosed and treated.

Amblyopia is often due to a refractive imbalance (“anisometropia”) in the eyes, meaning one eye has a much higher, or different, glasses prescription than the other.  This can usually be controlled with either glasses or contact lenses to assure that your child has a clear retinal image, and the eyes and vision processing centers of the brain develop normally.  Sometimes, our doctors may prescribe a routine of eye patching to help strengthen the vision processing in the weaker eye.  While patching can increase the potential visual acuity (i.e. 20/20, 20/50, etc.) of a patient, it will not change their glasses prescription, and those patients who are patching are still required to wear their glasses.  In patients that have untreated amblyopia, there often is no way to recover the lack of vision that occurs in amblyopic patients.  After ages 10-12 the vision system is essentially done developing, and any lack of visual acuity caused by amblyopia is typically not fully treatable.  Amblyopia is often cited as being one of the most common permanent, preventable forms of vision loss.

kids optometry visit brighton

When your child is older, we can use their input as to what they can and cannot see. Children as young as two can point to the symbols they see on the card.

So what goes on during an InfantSEE examination?  Our eye doctors start with a thorough case history.  Were there any pregnancy complications?  Has the child suffered any illnesses in life?  Is there any family history of eye disease such as eye cancers, eye turns (strabismus), or amblyopia?  Are there any medical problems that run in the family?  The InfantSEE examination is typically performed while the child sits on a parent’s lap.  Visual acuity, ocular motility (assessing the extraocular muscle movements), ocular alignment (looking for an eye turn), and pupils are assessed.  The refractive status of the eyes is assessed using retinoscopy (see the title illustration of lens bars).  This technique allows our eye doctors to determine your child’s nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism without he child’s input.  We typically put a movie on for the child to watch while we assess their eyes.  Ocular health is assessed using a magnifying lens and an ophthalmoscope.  This allows our optometrists to determine if there are congenital cataracts, concerns for glaucoma, intraocular tumors, blood vessel abnormalities, optic nerve abnormalities, or other ocular disease that occur early in life. Some minor anomalies, such as a small congenital cataract, may just be monitored, while others require specialized medical attention to ensure that the child is in a good position to have normal sensory development to occur.

Vision is a remarkably important sense.  Learning as we all know it is very challenging in patients that have vision impairment.  Identifying any vision problems early in life is key to ensuring a lifetime of healthy vision and learning.  Contact our office today at (303) 450-2020 to schedule your child’s first eye health and vision examination!

Ready to schedule your annual eye check-up?

Ready to schedule your annual eye check-up?