School Screening versus Eye Exam

Q. What is the difference between a school screening and an eye exam?

A. It is a common mistake to assume that if a child passes a school screening there is nothing wrong with their vision. While school screenings are useful in identifying some of the most obvious and basic vision problems, many vision screenings test only distance visual acuity, or how well someone sees at a distance.

Although eye exams can differ dramatically from office to office, most comprehensive children’s eye exams will also test eye alignment, eye focusing, color vision, and depth perception as well as thoroughly looking for health problems which can affect children’s eyes. It is estimated that as much as 80% of the learning a child does occurs through his or her yes. When vision is not functioning properly, education and participation in sports can suffer. When certain visual skills have not developed properly, learning is difficult and stressful and children may avoid reading, attempt to do the work but with a lowered level of comprehension or efficiency, or experience discomfort, fatigue, and a short attention span. In some cases a problem with visual skills is misdiagnosed as ADHD. Because childhood and adolescence are when eyes and vision change most rapidly, I recommend a yearly eye exam for children between the ages of 6 and 21.

Sweet Visions,
Eric Stamper, O.D.
Visionary Eyecare Center, PLLC
http://www.visionary-eye.com/
100 Country Club Drive, Suite 106
Hendersonville, TN 37075