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Kids Eye Exam

According to experts, 80% of learning is visual, which means that if your child is having difficulty seeing clearly, his or her learning can be affected. This also goes for infants who develop and learn about the world around them through their sense of sight.

Children should have their first eye examination at 6 months of age.

Some eye conditions are easier to treat when they are caught early while the eyes are still developing. So, it is important to diagnose any eye and vision issues as early as possible. Following the guidelines for children’s eye exams and staying alert to any signs of vision problems can help your child to reach his or her potential.

In addition to basic visual acuity (distance and near vision), our Eye Doctor will test other visual skills that are required for learning and mobility:

  • Binocular vision: how the eyes work together as a team
  • Focusing
  • Peripheral Vision
  • Color Vision
  • Hand-eye Coordination
  • Tracking

The eye doctor will also examine the area around the eye and inside the eye to check for any eye diseases or health conditions. This would also be a good time to share with the Eye Doctor any relevant personal history of your child such as a premature birth, developmental delays, family history of eye problems, eye injuries or medications the child is taking. Please also share, if you have noticed any concerns or issues that your child has that might indicate a vision problem.

Eye Exams from Birth – 24 Months

During the first few months of life,

  •  A baby has to learn to focus and move their eyes.
  • The brain needs to learn how to process the visual information.
  • It is also the time when the child develops the hand-eye coordination.

You can schedule a comprehensive infant eye exam at 6 months.

At this exam, the eye doctor will –

  • Check if the child is seeing properly and developing on track
  • Look for conditions that could impair eye health or vision (such as strabismus (misalignment or crossing of the eyes), farsightedness, nearsightedness, or astigmatism).

It is especially advisable to book an eye exam if your infant was born premature or is showing signs of developmental delay.

Eye Exams in Preschool Children: 2-5

This is a period when

  • Children experience drastic growth in intellectual and motor skills.
  • Develop the fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and perceptual abilities.

During this age, parents should check for possible signs of –

  •  lazy eye (amblyopia) – when one eye doesn’t see clearly or
  • crossed eyes (strabismus) – when one or both eyes turn inward or outward.
  • delay in object, number or letter recognition,
  • delay in color recognition or coordination
  • squinting, rubbing their eyes frequently,
  • sitting very close to the TV or reading material, or
  • generally avoiding activities such as puzzles or coloring

If you notice any of these signs, it would be a good idea to book an appointment with an Eye Doctor. The earlier these conditions are treated or corrected, the higher the success rate.

Eye Exams in School-Aged Children: Ages 6-18

Undetected or uncorrected vision problems can cause children and teens to suffer academically, socially, athletically and personally. If your child is having trouble in school or afterschool activities there could be an underlying vision problem. Proper learning, motor development, reading, and many other skills are dependent upon not only a good vision, but also the ability of your eyes to work together. Children that have problems with focusing, reading, teaming their eyes or hand-eye coordination will often experience frustration and may exhibit behavioral problems as well. Often they don’t know that the vision they are experiencing is abnormal, so they aren’t able to express that they need help.

In addition to the symptoms written above, signs of vision problems in older children include:

  • Short attention span
  • Headaches
  • Frequent blinking
  • Avoiding reading
  • Tilting the head to one side
  • Losing their place often while reading
  • Double vision
  • Poor reading comprehension