Archived Pediatric Eye Care Articles
Vision Training Camp For Your Child
We all go through special training. For example, our Pittsburgh football team is right now in training. Much like the team is practicing and honing in their skills so that they can put up a successful title defense, our eyes have to go through a similar training program to become successful in perceiving the environment. The first day of vision training camp begins with the opening of our eyes. I personally recall at the time seeing the difference between day and night. Okay, you got me; I wish my memory was that good. But you can imagine, vision like memory is very primitive at that time in life. Luckily, our parents gave us brightly colored crib mobiles to look at so that our days wouldn’t be so dull; this allowed our color vision perception and tracking eye movements to develop. As we made it to the six months milestone in life, we got the freedom to crawl on the floor and play with floating rubber ducks. This actually aided in our development of eye-hand-foot and body coordination. With the dawn of turning 1 year of age, on came more fun activities like riding toys that we pushed with our feet. While we were having happy times crashing into things, we were actually helping our depth perception and peripheral awareness abilities. We were all little Picasos at age two to three with our crayons and fingerpaint. These kitchen floor masterpieces along with coloring books actually aided in the development of our ability to distinguish various shades of colors. Around age three is when we started to learn the alphabet and recognize letters. During this time we were also actively engaged with puzzles like ‘connect the dots’. As a result of these activities, our fine visual acuity began to sharpen. Training camp for vision literally continues throughout the rest of life. But around Kindergarten age is when a child should come in for their first eye examination to evaluate their visual progress. An ophthalmologist can at that time evaluate depth perception, color vision, eye movements, and visual acuity. I also advise parents to bring their child in earlier for evaluation if they note any of the following: wandering or crossed eyes, tilting of the head to use only one eye, constant rubbing of the eyes, unusual light sensitivity, complaints of headache, and inability to see things others can see. In our family eye care practice we have “Student Saturdays” and evening hours to help accommodate students during the school year.
When to Screen Children For Vision Problems
Parents often ask the question when should my child be screened for vision problems. Preschool children should be evaluated at least once by their Pediatrician . School age children should be evaluated at least every two years all the way into high school. Children with special disorders such as Down Syndrome, Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, and Diabetes should be seen by an Ophthalmologist as they are at high risk for vision problems. Early identification of certain problems can prevent vision problems later in life. One particular treatable condition common in children is Amblyopia. This condition is commonly known as lazy eye and can be treated successfully with early detection. It is important to remember that children often do not know if they have a vision problem. Sadly, children can go through many years of school without their vision problem being detected. Hopefully, an observant teacher, parent, school nurse, or classmate picks up the vision problem and recommends evaluation by an Ophthalmologist. At the eye doctor’s office, vision screening is performed along with tests for color vision, eye muscle balance, depth perception, and farsightedness. In addition, all parts of the eyes such as the cornea, lens, and retina are examined for disorders. If needed, glasses are prescribed.
Screening For Lazy Eyes
I would like to tell you about a worthwhile screening program that I am currently participating in as a volunteer. This screening program is conducted by the Pittsburgh Vision Service and its goal is to detect amblyopia in pre-school aged children. We will be performing this screening at numerous day care centers in western Allegheny county. Amblyopia is an eye problem that causes poor vision in children. The problem begins when a child sees considerably better out of one eye. This stronger eye gets all the attention from the developing brain. Consequently, the weaker eye gets ignored preventing its visual development and this is the reason that amblyopia is also known as ‘lazy eye’. Preschool is a good time to screen children for amblyopia. At this age range, the brain is still developing. So if a weaker seeing eye is detected and appropriately corrected, then useful vision can be allowed to develop. It is much more difficult to correct amblyopia in children that are older because the brain pathways for vision development are in the final stages of completeness. Even worse is when amblyopia is detected after the brain visual pathways are complete, because a child will then have poor vision for life. There are multiple causes of amblyopia. They are all related to factors that cause poor vision such as high farsightedness, astigmatism (‘football shaped eye’), strabismus (“crossed eye”), cataract (“cloudy lens”), or droopy eye lid. Therefore, to adequately treat amblyopia, the identifying problem must be determined and treated appropriately. Glasses can correct some problems, but sometimes surgery may be needed for cataracts, droopy eyelids, or crossed-eyes. After amblyopia is detected and the underlying problem is addressed, the preschooler will need to use the weaker eye most of the time to make it become stronger, One way to allow the weaker eye to catch up is to put a patch over the stronger eye. Another alternative is the use of drops or special glasses to blur the stronger eye. If you feel that your preschooler may be favoring one eye over another or that you get a report from our volunteer screening that amblyopia is a possibility, then it is recommended that an appointment be made with an eye care professional. Your preschooler will definitely thank you for it.
