Vision screenings are an important part of keeping children healthy, and good vision can help with learning and development. It is therefore important to make sure that children receive regular vision screenings. With Vizavance, you have the opportunity to get free vision screenings for your child.
Benefits of Free Vision screenings for Children
Vision screenings are a crucial part of your Child’s health– not only do they help ensure children have the visual acuity and clarity needed for learning, but they can also detect eye diseases or potential vision issues like lazy eye. Free vision screenings can provide these benefits at no cost to parents at Vizavance.
Free vision screenings for children have many potential benefits:
- Better Academic Performance: By ensuring that children have crystal clear visual acuity at an early age, their academic performance is likely to improve dramatically versus if their vision was impaired or blurred due to a treatable condition.
- Reduced Financial Burden: We offer preliminary vision screening for free to detect vision issues early on. In some cases we can also help with the expense of glasses.
Types of Vision screenings for Children
Vision screenings for children can vary depending on the age and visual needs of the child. Regular comprehensive vision screenings are important for children to ensure an accurate diagnosis, as well as proper correction of any vision issues. Different types of vision screenings for children include:
- Refraction – This type of exam is used to determine a prescription for corrective eyeglasses or contact lenses, if needed. It usually begins with measuring how well a child can see at various distances without any optical aids, such as eyeglasses or contact lenses. Then, drops will be applied to the eyes so that different lenses can be tested until your optometrist finds the right prescription that lets your child see best with glasses or contacts.
- Visual acuity – This measures the sharpness or clearness of central vision. The doctor will ask your child to read increasingly small letters from a chart placed 20 feet away from him/her and assess his/her ability to distinguish objects at various distances away from them.
- Binocular Vision Evaluation – Since binocular vision refers to two eyes working together, evaluate his/her ability to clearly use both eyes together behind a binocular scope and assess when one eye gazes either inward (esotropia) or outward (exotropia).
Common Eye Conditions in Children
It’s important to be aware of common eye conditions that may affect a child, in order to ensure they receive the best care possible. Eye conditions can range from severe visual disabilities to mild ocular irritations that are short-term and resolve quickly.
Below is a list of some of the more common eye conditions seen in children:
- Astigmatism – This is a refractive error where light entering the eye is not focused properly onto the retina. It can cause blurred or distorted vision at all distances, depending on its severity. It might cause headaches or eyestrain for your child, but it can usually be corrected with glasses or contact lenses.
- Strabismus – This is commonly referred to as ‘cross-eyed’ and occurs when the eyes are misaligned in different directions, meaning both eyes cannot focus on an object at once. Therapy involving glasses and/or occlusion (the covering of one eye) can help correct this condition.
- Amblyopia – Also known as ‘lazy eye’, this is an uncorrectable decreased vision usually in one eye due to either poor development during infancy or equal focusing power of each eye encouraging amblyopia rather than the development of normal binocular vision. Early detection and intervention are key for optimal visual development in children with amblyopia.
If you have any concerns about your Child’s vision and how it may be impacting their daily school activities please give Vizavance a call: 405-848-7123
