Kids under the age of five don’t complain of vision problems because they don’t realise that it’s not normal.
If left untreated, these kids will miss out on much of the fun of learning and may never reach their potential – all for the sake of a simple eye test and a pair of very funky glasses!
In Australia, undetected vision problems are estimated to affect approximately one in four Australian children – or 600,000 nationally. According to international studies, these vision problems can impact a child’s ability to succeed in school and their behaviour.
Most of a child’s learning is done with their eyes – whether it’s reading, writing, whiteboard work, computers, art, playtime or sports. The ability to use the eyes together, to focus appropriately, and to move the eyes when needed are essential to development and the ability to learn.
According to the experts, a child who avoids reading or writing has lower than expected comprehension or a short attention span, can often be incorrectly suspected of dyslexia or attention deficits whereas the real problem is with their vision – and often that vision problem can be easily managed by your/our optometrist.
Regular testing
We encourage parents to bring their children in for regular testing. Most optometrists would agree that a child’s vision should be tested before they start school to check stereo acuity, colour vision, tracking, teaming and focusing. Then, at 7-8 years of age, they should be checked to ensure visual efficiencies such as their ability to change focus, track words and sentences and to screen for visual information processing ability.
Further checks should be made before entering high school and again at Year 11, when the workload significantly intensifies. Children who need vision correction should have their eyes tested annually as their vision can change quickly and often, and these changes may go unnoticed.
Frame choices
While some young children dislike the idea of wearing glasses, once they experience visual clarity they quickly change their mind – and fortunately there are so many choices nowadays.
At Eye Gallery, we want to look after your child’s eye health and this has led us to launch our Eye Gallery Kids Club at Highton. We want your child to feel part of the Eye Gallery family.
The Eye Gallery is located at 89 Barrabool Rd, Highton.
For more information, phone 5243 5600 or email info@eyegallery.net.au
