CHILDREN’S EYE AND VISION EXAMS FACT SHEET
Early diagnosis of serious and potentially blinding disorders, such as amblyopia, or lazy eye, can literally save a patient’s sight. During the first 12 months of life, infants begin to gain visual skills that are vital to their long-term development. Eye and vision disorders also can be more easily corrected it treatment begins early. Therefore, a baby’s first eye exam should take place at six months of age. Unless problems are detected, the next exam should be at age three.
Amblyopia is highly treatable and preventable if caught early on. However, it remains the leading cause of blindness in Americans under 45. Optometrists are on the front lines of eye and vision care and are best able to diagnose and treat amblyopia and other vision problems. If these and other problems are diagnosed and treated early, children can grow up to have normal, healthy vision and, therefore, lead more complete lives.
· Approximately 86 percent of children age 12 and under have never had an eye exam Yet, approximately 25 percent of school-age children have vision problems.
· Nearly 70 percent of the children identified during vision screenings as needing professional eye and vision care or treatment actually comply with the recommendations and receive that care.
· Amblyopia is highly treatable and preventable if caught early, but it remains the leading cause of vision loss in Americans under 45.
· Half of all children with amblyopia are diagnosed after the age of five, when successful treatment is often times no longer effective.
· Even the most sophisticated vision screenings do not test for the necessary learning-related visual skills, such as visual alignment, binocular fusion and color vision. Additionally, severe problems, such as amblyopia, retinoblastoma, strabismus and even cancer, can go undiagnosed with screenings. Comprehensive eye exams are administered by an eye doctor, such as an optometrist, and are much more thorough.
· Comprehensive eye exams are critical for the diagnosis and treatment of eye and vision problems that can lead to poor vision, poor performance, and even vision loss—all issues all issues that affect a person’s quality of life.
· The U.S. Department of Health And Human Services (HHS) announced in December, 2011 that pediatric vision care in the 2010 Health Care Overhaul law is centered on a comprehensive eye exam, not a screening offered alone or as part of a “well child” visit.
· In Kentucky, where comprehensive children’s eye exams are mandatory for all students entering kindergarten 3.4 percent of children were found to have amblyopia, 2.3 percent of children were diagnosed with strabismus and 13 percent of children were identified as needing vision correction.
Good vision is critical to learning. The Oregon Optometric Physicians Association (OOPA) is committed to supporting legislation to truly improve children’s vision in Oregon. It would use the successful model established in Kentucky and require all children entering Oregon’s school system to have a comprehensive eye examination by an eye doctor prior to entering the school system. Periodic comprehensive vision screenings would be conducted in the school districts with a referral for those children who fail the screenings to an eye doctor for a follow-up examination.
Oregon Optometric Physicians Association 4404 SE King Rd, Milwaukie, OR 97222 Phone: 503-654-5036 www.oregonoptometry.org Tracy Oman and Bill Cross, Oregon Optometric Physicians Association, February, 2012