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Schools

Parent Talk: Children's Eye Health

With hearing and vision screenings happening at St. Michael-Albertville schools this time of year, it's time to talk about when it's time to have the eyes checked out.

At my son, Henry's 5-year-old check up last spring, my husband and I were shocked when he failed his vision screening in the doctor's office. Not just once, but three times he missed.

We brought him into an opthamologist two weeks later and were even more shocked to find out that he had a refractive amblyopia. The term meant his brain had completely shut off one of his eyes, and he was soley depending on the sight of one eye.

I'd never heard of such a thing but soon found out it's very common. Basically, "His brain never learned how to see 20/20," Dr. Leah Colby of said.

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"Because kids don't know what abnormal [or normal] vision is it's not unusual for them to not even tell you," she said.

Thankfully for Henry, it was caught early. His glasses have a strong prescription in one eye and we wound up patching his weak eye. His vision has improved a ton, and he should be able to correct it completely. However, Dr. Colby said, that's not always the case.

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"The earlier the intervention the better. You only have until age 7 or 8 to correct it," she said.

Two other forms of amblyopia are possible and both are visible issues–crossed eyes or a congential issue.

So how do you know if your child is really seeing everything they need to be seeing?

Unless they are getting a comprehensive, dilated eye exam, you don't.

Dr. Colby follows the recommendation of the American Optometric Association and recommends between 6-12 months of age as part of the infancy sight program and age 3 and 5.

"Teeth are replaceable, eyes and your vision is not," Colby said.

Considering "80 percent of what kids learn is through vision," it's worth having it checked out.

Many parents assume that school screenings should let them know that their kids eyes [or ears] aren't working properly but screenings are just that, a screening. Things can and do get missed.

Most families have insurance that will cover an annual comprehensive eye exam and don't even realize it.

"If you have that coverage for yourself, chances are you have it for your kids. Use it," Dr. Colby said.

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