Parents FAQ

Young children with vision problems often do not know that the way they see the world is not the way everyone sees it. This coupled with the fact that vision problems don’t cause physical pain, means that many vision issues go undetected. Since 80% of what a child learns is visual, good eyesight is essential for learning; which is why you need to know that your child is vision ready for life.

• What is vision screening?
• What are the risks if I do not have my child’s vision screened?
• How important is vision screening?
• Isn’t vision screening done by my child’s school or pediatrician?
• What are some signs that my child may have a vision problem?

What is vision screening?

In younger children, a vision screening will usually consist of an examination for the red reflex to check for cataracts and retinoblastoma, eye alignment and eye movements. Other testing may include the corneal light reflex test, in which a light is directed at the bridge of the nose and the light reflex is examined to make sure it is symmetrical or shines in the same spot on both eyes. A “unilateral cover test” may also be performed to determine if an infant or young child will follow an object while one of the eyes is covered. In older children, the unilateral cover test is also useful to check for strabismus.

What are the risks if I do not have my child’s vision screened?

The statistics tell the story. One out of every four children suffers from some vision problem, including 2.4 million children ages 0-4 and 5.3 million ages 6-11. More than 430,000 children have problems such as lazy eye (amblyopia) or eyes that are either crossed or turned outward (strabismus) that can cause permanent vision loss if left untreated. Many of these can be easily treated with glasses or patching to prevent permanent disability. To prevent irreversible impairment or blindness, these and other vision problems must be detected and treated early, before the age of 8.

How important is vision screening?

It is important enough for the American Journal of Preventive Medicine to rank children’s vision screening at the same level of importance as mammography for women. Early vision screening is the best prevention against the possibility of blindness and other vision problems, 95 percent of which can be corrected when detected and treated early.

Isn’t vision screening done by my child’s school or pediatrician?

Vision screening is not as commonplace as many might believe or the screening is not adequate. A distressing aspect of low screening rates is the fact that 80 percent of the information that children learn is visual. Yet 20-25 percent of children enter school with vision problems that can affect their development and progress in school. In addition, 70 percent of school-age children who have a learning disability have some form of visual impairment.

What are some signs that my child may have a vision problem?

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, some of the most common signs that a child may have vision problems are:

• Eyes turning inward (crossing) or outward
• Squinting
• Headaches
• Not doing as well in schoolwork as before
• Blurred or double vision
• Losing place while reading
• Avoiding close work
• Holding reading material closer than normal
• Tending to rub eyes
• Eyes tiring when reading or doing schoolwork
• Turning or tilting head to use one eye only
• Making frequent reversals when reading or writing
• Using finger to maintain place when reading
• Consistently performs below potential

Children from ages 6 months and up should be screened during all their well-child visits with their Pediatrician. Ask your Pediatrician about PediaVision® and how you can get your child screened today.