PSA Regarding Kids' Vision Exams

[umsami]

Please please please take your children for regular vision exams with an ophthalmologist or optometrist  (ophthalmologist if there is strabismus, amblyopia, retinal blastomas, etc.).  I say this as a person who had eye issues as a toddler (including surgery) and a Mom to a child that we didn't know had issues until it was caught at a screening at school. He had passed his vision tests at the pediatrician.  (As many kids here are homeschooled, their vision issues may not be caught by vision screenings at school.)

A cash pay eye exam here at Costco is about $60.  Call around and ask.  There may be local organizations that conduct free screenings throughout the year, too.  

You may think that your child will tell you if he's having trouble seeing, but this is their normal.  So, if I've never been able to see something clearly, that is how I assume everybody sees it.  They also may not realize what "normal" vision is.... how much better they could see with glasses.

I'll never forget when we went to pick up my child's first pair of glasses at Costco.  He spent at least 15 minutes reading all of the signs....and just being amazed at how much he could see.  It was kind of heart-breaking for me.

[Junie]

Yes, we had a similar experience.  And yes, it is kind of heart-breaking.

We took our kids for their first eye exam about 4 years ago when we got new insurance that covered exams.  We had taken some of the older kids who had vision issues, but we had not taken the little ones who seemed to be doing fine.

I was shocked to find out that dd10 (then about 6) could not read anything below the big E at the top of the chart.  In hindsight, the only clue that she couldn't see well was that she was very slow walking down stairs.  She had even taught herself how to read.

The next time I took her to the pediatrician, I asked to see the results of previous screenings.  She had failed to answer every vision question.  We had attributed it to her being very shy.  I know now that she couldn't answer the questions because she couldn't see the symbols/letters on the chart.  I also noticed that the nurse started in the middle of the chart (near the desired 20/20 reading).  I talked to the pediatrician about this and suggested that it might be better to start again at the top of the chart if the child refuses to read the line in the middle.

[Ailaena]

Early eye exams are so important that InfantSee providers offer comprehensive eye exams to kids 6-12 months old at no charge

http://www.infantsee.org/

[gardenmom5]

you can take your <12months babies to any eye doctor participating in "infantsee" for free.   these are developmental eye providers, who know what to look for better than any pediatrician - and even better than many 'regular' eye providers.

[Shoeless]

We had a similar experience!  I had no idea that kiddo's vision was as bad as it was.  He always passed the tests at the pediatrician.  No problems reading, either...because it turns out he is nearsighted. ?  He had no idea that things weren't supposed to look blurry from a distance.  He assumed that is the way the world looked for everyone.  I felt terrible about it but also really excited for him once he got his glasses.  

[Liz CA]

Ack, this is so true. I sorta knew I couldn't see very well as a teenager. I don't remember when it started though. Copied schoolwork off my friend next to me because I could not see the letters on the board.

It all came out when my mother and I were at a furniture store and I leaned way in to read the price tag...first I had glasses but that didn't work that well because I was into gymnastics so I have had contact lenses since I was 17. 

[MEmama]

DS was around 10 or 11 when I thought to ask his GP about an eye exam. I didn't suspect there were any problems, I just figured we might ought to since he would have no benchmark like school exams or seeing a blackboard, puberty was hitting, and so on.  We were totally surprised that he did indeed need glasses.

He had a hockey game immediately after we picked them up, and had the best game he'd ever played--he made passes he usually missed and scored like he never had. Looking back, maybe the need for glasses should have been more obvious! Lol. 

[Petrichor]

That happened to me too. I was in public school though, and they found my bad vision in the school eye screening. I spend over a year (2 teachers) just thinking that the teacher had really bad handwriting (I couldn't read handwriting on the overhead projector, but I could read typed material (it was usually a larger font). I think I spent >6mo squinting at everything. No clue how my parents didn't realize it.

Because of that experience, I take my kids for an eye exam yearly, even though they haven't needed glasses yet. Some places think it's strange that we do this. Not the eye doctor, but the staff. I find that strange! I've taken DS to an eye doctor since before he could read, and it was embarrassing how long he had to use the picture charts (he didn't learn the names of the letters until long after he could actually read because I taught him letters by the sounds rather than by the letter names)

[Petrichor]

My kids never had weird, noticeable eye issues (like crosseye, etc) so I never thought to take them earlier than they are able to talk. Thanks for posting about infantSEE - I hadn't heard of it before.

[umsami]

There are orgs that do exams for older kids, too.   In my area, it's called Vision is Priceless.... but here is a list:

https://www.new-eyes.org/source-of-free-eye-exams/

 

I'll also add that I know of somebody who got a free eye exam (and low cost glasses) through Medicaid.  While the exam was fine, the glasses were very basic and the shop basically up-sold them so much that she could have gotten glasses cheaper pretty much anywhere.

We're lucky to actually have an old guy locally whose been doing eye glass repairs his entire life and he always told me that Walmart was on of the best places to get good, cheap glasses.

[VaKim]

The school screenings back when I was in school were a joke. I remember in high school it was up to the gym teacher and they would have us do each other's to save time. I can remember as far back as 5th grade not being able to see what was written on the board, but I assumed I was just too far away, and I was way too shy to even ask to move. As others have said, this was my normal and I assumed everybody saw like I did. I didn't find out I needed glasses until I went to take the vision test to get my learner's permit at 15. She told me to look into the thing and read what I saw. I told her there was nothing there. Had my first eye doc appointment then and got glasses. 

[73349]

Even if a child is functioning fine, the exam may reveal that only one eye is actually doing well, and the other eye is a freeloader; glasses are needed to make both eyes work together and stave off deterioration in the weaker eye. That is the case with me and DS (same eye, though we're opposite-handed).

[gardenmom5]

there are more eye problems than just near/far sightedness.  e.g. tracking.  regular eye drs don't often test for those things.

becasue dudeling has LDs, one of the things he gets checked for, are those other developmental  issues.   his vision is good (he just tested at 20/15).  but he's had vision therapy for tracking in the past.  and a very thorough exam that included extensive testing for tracking this time.

[gardenmom5]

31 minutes ago, whitehawk said:

Even if a child is functioning fine, the exam may reveal that only one eye is actually doing well, and the other eye is a freeloader; glasses are needed to make both eyes work together and stave off deterioration in the weaker eye. That is the case with me and DS (same eye, though we're opposite-handed).

mild discrepancy is normal.   more extensive is not - and words alone cannot express how much I came to hate regular eye drs as opposed to developmental.  (during the exam, I'd want to throw up, I'd be in pain, they just "didn't get it" - they were asking me to do things I physically couldn't do.)   that is the one and only good thing I can say about my childhood ophthalmologist.  he saved the vision in my weak eye, but it is very much monocular.  I was 17 when I got to an ophthalmologist who could have done so much more, but I was too old for it to be as effective as if I was a toddler.

if your child has strabismus or amblyopia (I have both) - I wouldn't deal with anyone but a developmental provider.   I see one who only does pediatric patients - but my eyes are so bad . . she sees me too.

[umsami]

1 hour ago, gardenmom5 said:

mild discrepancy is normal.   more extensive is not - and words alone cannot express how much I came to hate regular eye drs as opposed to developmental.  (during the exam, I'd want to throw up, I'd be in pain, they just "didn't get it" - they were asking me to do things I physically couldn't do.)   that is the one and only good thing I can say about my childhood ophthalmologist.  he saved the vision in my weak eye, but it is very much monocular.  I was 17 when I got to an ophthalmologist who could have done so much more, but I was too old for it to be as effective as if I was a toddler.

if your child has strabismus or amblyopia (I have both) - I wouldn't deal with anyone but a developmental provider.   I see one who only does pediatric patients - but my eyes are so bad . . she sees me too.

I had both strabismus and amblyopia as well as a child.  Had surgery at 2-1/2.  Never realized until I was an adult was one of the reasons I found using a microscope so difficult was because of my amblyopia and strabismus.  Wish somebody would have told me. :).  If you suspect either in your child, please see a pediatric ophthalmologist.  Ophthalmologists (Eye MDs) are the only ones who can do surgery to correct it.  Earlier treatment usually leads to better outcomes.   https://www.aapos.org

[gardenmom5]

9 minutes ago, umsami said:

I had both strabismus and amblyopia as well as a child.  Had surgery at 2-1/2.  Never realized until I was an adult was one of the reasons I found using a microscope so difficult was because of my amblyopia and strabismus.  Wish somebody would have told me. ?.  If you suspect either in your child, please see a pediatric ophthalmologist.  Ophthalmologists (Eye MDs) are the only ones who can do surgery to correct it.  Earlier treatment usually leads to better outcomes.   https://www.aapos.org

I am so grateful none of my kids have my eye problems.   when I had surgery on my affected eye - the ophthal said the muscle wasn't even attached where it was supposed to be.  I was too old for it to have as much effect as it would have had I had surgery as a young child.  the ophthal my mother took me too, wouldn't even do patching.   sadly the one who did my surgery developed a health condition where he was forced to retire from treating patients. he was so good, and had patients come from out of state.  he still lectures at the medical school.

[kbutton]

Developmental vision people are the best!!! Not to get into a contest over treatments for strabismus (surgery is not always the only option), but a regular optometrist downplayed my older son's strabismus because his vision was 20/20.  A short course of vision therapy for that strabismus/convergence insufficiency changed our lives!

My second son--he had early eye screenings, but we didn't know about the Infant See program. He had the wow moment with glasses, but at age 4. Really, I seriously recommned that you see someone that does Infant See even if your kids are older. You're going to probably get a better provider overall.

Also a PSA: some eye issues are indicative of serious health issues that won't otherwise be discovered until worse symptoms come along. Marfan Syndrome, for instance, can cause displaced eye lenses, and that is OFTEN a reason that people get a diagnosis. (Scarily enough, some eye doctors still fail to refer people even after seeing this sign, even though it's nearly DEFINITIVE for the disorder.) The life expectancy for someone with UNdiagnosed Marfan is age 40. The life expectancy if you get diagnosed is very, very close to a normal life expectancy. Without a savvy doctor, the other way people get diagnosed is when they or a loved one they inherited the disease from drop dead or nearly die from aortic dissection. No one can see your aorta without a test, but they can look into your eyes and potentially detect this in a typical eye exam (though not everyone with Marfan has this feature)!

So, get a GOOD eye doc and get your exam. :-) 

[prairiewindmomma]

Yes!!! So much yes!!! Especially if parents have a strong prescription themselves, were in glasses before puberty, or if there are toddlers/preschoolers who are showing motor delays (gross or fine motor).

We discovered that one kid had neuro issues, one kid was seeing full double vision (no obvious strabismus), and one was placed into glasses. 

We now check our kids at 3 months, at 3 years, and just prior to Kindergarten. 

One tidbit we did not know early on—if you see eye issues (slight wandering eye, eyes not working together, etc.) that is covered under medical insurance, not vision insurance, under your specialist copay.

[athena1277]

I so much agree!  We didn’t realize oldest dd had a lazy eye until she was 5yo.  Her vision was so bad in her bad eye that she could only see the biggest picture on the chart. She nearly had a panic attack when they covered her good eye.  It took years of eye patching to bring the bad eye into the normal range.  

Due to our experience with her, we took DS to the eye doc as an older infant.  Turns out he is extremely farsighted.  He has worn glasses since he was 13 months old.  Because of the early screening, we have avoided him developing a lazy eye also.

[IfIOnly]

Similar story, except I had many eye exams in the public school system and no problem was detected. I found out at the DMV eye exam when I was getting my license at 19 that I vision problems. It was completely unexpected, but come to find out I have an astigmatism. Wearing glasses for the first while was so overwhelming, especially in stores. The colors were so bright! I was convinced I had the wrong prescription, that is was too powerful. Nope!

[Crimson Wife]

8 hours ago, umsami said:

 We're lucky to actually have an old guy locally whose been doing eye glass repairs his entire life and he always told me that Walmart was on of the best places to get good, cheap glasses.

Walmart has been our go-to place for basic glasses to last a child until the next time he/she is eligible for an insurance-covered pair.

[Crimson Wife]

5 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

there are more eye problems than just near/far sightedness.  e.g. tracking.  regular eye drs don't often test for those things.

becasue dudeling has LDs, one of the things he gets checked for, are those other developmental  issues.   his vision is good (he just tested at 20/15).  but he's had vision therapy for tracking in the past.  and a very thorough exam that included extensive testing for tracking this time.

For parents concerned that a developmental optometrist may push vision therapy when it's not necessary just to make $$$, I highly recommend going to the binocular vision clinic at the nearest school of optometry. I've taken 2 of my kids now to the UC Berkeley BV clinic and with both of them, the results were that no VT was necessary. One got recommended occupational therapy for fine motor issues and the other the determination was that her reading difficulties were rooted in her neurological disorder rather than a problem with her eye tracking. The university clinic only has a limited number of slots for VT so they aren't going to recommend it unless it's clinically appropriate.

[gardenmom5]

14 minutes ago, Crimson Wife said:

For parents concerned that a developmental optometrist may push vision therapy when it's not necessary just to make $$$, I highly recommend going to the binocular vision clinic at the nearest school of optometry. I've taken 2 of my kids now to the UC Berkeley BV clinic and with both of them, the results were that no VT was necessary. One got recommended occupational therapy for fine motor issues and the other the determination was that her reading difficulties were rooted in her neurological disorder rather than a problem with her eye tracking. The university clinic only has a limited number of slots for VT so they aren't going to recommend it unless it's clinically appropriate.

wow - I've been seeing this developmental OD for over 30 years.   dudeling had VT because it was necessary.  the vast majority of what we did was at home. it was another dr who noticed he had tracking problems this time - for one of three reasons.  fine motor skill deficits, tracking deficit or what is probably the case (and I know him well, also based on other things she said) - he was simply not cooperative with her.

Edited September 1, 2018 by gardenmom5

[Crimson Wife]

1 hour ago, gardenmom5 said:

wow - I've been seeing this developmental OD for over 30 years.   dudeling had VT because it was necessary.  the vast majority of what we did was at home. it was another dr who noticed he had tracking problems this time - for one of three reasons.  fine motor skill deficits, tracking deficit or what is probably the case (and I know him well, also based on other things she said) - he was simply not cooperative with her.

I was adding on to your comment about VT- should've made that more clear :-)

The biggest argument I've heard made against going to see a developmental optometrist is the fear that they are "quacks" who recommend EVERYONE get VT as a way of making a quick buck. There may be some unethical practitioners out there, but it's been my experience that using a university-affiliated binocular vision clinic is a way to avoid that happening.

[vonfirmath]

On 9/1/2018 at 1:24 AM, MissLemon said:

We had a similar experience!  I had no idea that kiddo's vision was as bad as it was.  He always passed the tests at the pediatrician.  No problems reading, either...because it turns out he is nearsighted. ?  He had no idea that things weren't supposed to look blurry from a distance.  He assumed that is the way the world looked for everyone.  I felt terrible about it but also really excited for him once he got his glasses.  

 

That sounds like my dad.

He didn't get glasses until 8th grade (or maybe it was "after 8th" like before 9th.  His parents were aware he had vision problems, but unable to do anything about it. My dad didn't realize what the teacher was doing at the board was important. He thought it was the way the teacher thought as they lectured. And it wasn't until AFTER he got glasses he realized why people liked playing baseball. He didn't see what was fun about being smacked in the face with a ball that came at you out of nowhere.

 

[EMS83]

Good timing!  I just scheduled my oldest for her first visit, and plan to do the other two in October and November.  Both DH and I have poor vision, so I don't think our kids stand a chance.  ?