Vision Screening: Why it is Important
Vision is one of the most important of all of your senses, next to hearing. If a child cannot see effectively, it will be very hard for the child to learn not only how to speak (by imitating mouth movements) and but also to see what is on a chalk board when they get into a traditional school setting. When children are infants, they have a very limited field of vision, but as they grow older, it should normally increase. That is why it is very important to do regular eye screenings, not only at birth, but also at regular intervals in the preschool setting to detect vision problems early, so that a full eye exam may take place and the child can get the required care. If a child is constantly straining to …show more content…
They can identify whether or not the child has color blindness, and also amblyopia (decreased vision in one of the eyes, also known as lazy eye) and amblyogenic risk factors (AAPOS). There are two wonderful kits from the Good-Lite Company that contain everything that you need to conduct a vision screening in a daycare setting to include tutorial CDs and face-to-face “Skypinars.” The kits are kid friendly and use symbols for small children (in both the vision screen and the color screen) and numbers and letters (color test) for older children. They also include a flip chart to check for close up vision. These charts were designed by the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus and created for pediatricians, school nurses, Head Start, Lions Clubs, and others, to use when screening the vision of children at all ages, beginning around age four, but can be used on children as young as three (if they cooperate) …show more content…
Not only is it a simple thing to do, but also very cost effective because the kits can be used over and over again. The basic kit is only $69 and the deluxe kit is $290 (Good-Lite). The eye charts have marks on them, which prescribe what line the child should be able to read at which age group. Also, because they only use four shapes (apple, house, square, circle) instead of letters for the little children, it is easy for the children to identify what each shape is on the chart. Also there are only five shapes on each line so it makes it easy for the child to follow. The color charts have pictures of bugs to identify (butterfly) for small children and numbers and letters for older children. So, as you can see, administering the test can be easy, fun, and cost
Vision is one of the most important of all of your senses, next to hearing. If a child cannot see effectively, it will be very hard for the child to learn not only how to speak (by imitating mouth movements) and but also to see what is on a chalk board when they get into a traditional school setting. When children are infants, they have a very limited field of vision, but as they grow older, it should normally increase. That is why it is very important to do regular eye screenings, not only at birth, but also at regular intervals in the preschool setting to detect vision problems early, so that a full eye exam may take place and the child can get the required care. If a child is constantly straining to …show more content…
They can identify whether or not the child has color blindness, and also amblyopia (decreased vision in one of the eyes, also known as lazy eye) and amblyogenic risk factors (AAPOS). There are two wonderful kits from the Good-Lite Company that contain everything that you need to conduct a vision screening in a daycare setting to include tutorial CDs and face-to-face “Skypinars.” The kits are kid friendly and use symbols for small children (in both the vision screen and the color screen) and numbers and letters (color test) for older children. They also include a flip chart to check for close up vision. These charts were designed by the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus and created for pediatricians, school nurses, Head Start, Lions Clubs, and others, to use when screening the vision of children at all ages, beginning around age four, but can be used on children as young as three (if they cooperate) …show more content…
Not only is it a simple thing to do, but also very cost effective because the kits can be used over and over again. The basic kit is only $69 and the deluxe kit is $290 (Good-Lite). The eye charts have marks on them, which prescribe what line the child should be able to read at which age group. Also, because they only use four shapes (apple, house, square, circle) instead of letters for the little children, it is easy for the children to identify what each shape is on the chart. Also there are only five shapes on each line so it makes it easy for the child to follow. The color charts have pictures of bugs to identify (butterfly) for small children and numbers and letters for older children. So, as you can see, administering the test can be easy, fun, and cost