Pediatric Exams
We welcome children of all ages, even infants because healthy eyes and good vision play a critical role in how infants and children learn to see. Infants with eye and vision problems can have developmental delays. Furthermore, good vision is the foundation for academic success. 80% of learning happens visually.
Pediatric Exams
Great Comfort and Vision
As you can imagine, pediatric eye exams (we define a pediatric exam as an exam for children aged 6 and under) are different from adult eye exams. These exams usually take longer than an adult eye exam both because we want to build rapport with your child first and engage with them by turning examination procedures into a game. These exams may also take longer because they present their own unique challenges such as:
- the child may be non-verbal or too shy or nervous to talk
- the child may not know his/her alphabet
- the child’s responses may be aimed at trying to give the “right answer”
- the child’s responses may be geared towards trying to obtain or avoid glasses
Fortunately, we are able to determine a prescription for children without relying on their responses. Likewise, we can tell when a child’s responses are biased towards receiving or avoiding glasses. To obtain a prescription, we shine light into their eyes and watch how it reflects back. It is essential that we dilate the child prior to this procedure to obtain accurate results.
HOW TO GIVE YOUR KIDS THE BEST POSSIBLE EXPERIENCE
- bring a lovie
- avoid scheduling the exam close to snack time or nap time
- avoid scheduling next to a family member’s appointment. We are likely to lose their attention if they have to sit through a family member’s exam. Likewise, they may get scared watching another family member dilate.
- discuss dilation drops in advance
- load an episode of their favorite cartoon on your phone for us to use as a fixation target during the exam
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The American Optometric Association recommends that children receive their first exam between ages six months and one year. The second exam should occur at least once between ages three and five. If everything is healthy and no prescription is found, the next exam should occur before first grade and then yearly thereafter.
No. The American Optometric Association states that these screenings provide less than 4% of information obtained by a comprehensive eye exam performed by your eye doctor. These screenings only tell you how far your child can read down an eye chart, but vision screenings do not check:
- Ocular health
- Binocular vision (how well the eyes work together)
- Focusing ability
- Oculomotor control (how well your child can move his/her eyes)
- And much more.
It is important to realize that visual acuity (the ability to read small letters on the eye chart) is only 1 of 17 visual skills involved in learning. Furthermore, on average, 25% of children who pass a vision screening have a vision disorder significant enough to require treatment, and vision screenings can miss up to 75% of children with vision problems.
Not necessarily. Children interpret whatever they see as normal, even if all they can see is the big “E.” They simply don’t have a basis of comparison.
Likewise, they may be able to see clearly out of one eye, but not the other. Since they don’t walk around covering one eye, they don’t even realize that one eye is blurred. These children are at high risk for developing amblyopia (lazy eye).
Some children who need glasses do not have any symptoms. Other children may display the following signs:
- rubs eyes excessively
- blinks eyes excessively
- closes or covers an eye
- has difficulty maintaining attention
If you notice any of the following signs, please contact us right away. These signs may indicate that your child has a vision threatening, or in some cases, even life-threatening condition:
- white pupil
- misaligned eyes after the age of 3 months
- excessive tearing
- abnormally large or small eye
- redness or crusting of the lids
- extreme light sensitivity
