School vision screenings can miss things.
Schools sometimes offer screenings to help identify students’ vision issues, but the examinations don’t always ace the task. The screening is a brief and limited check to pick up obvious and simple problems.
School vision screenings can miss up to 75 per cent of students with vision problems.
Tola Touch from Eyecare Plus said screenings are valuable, but they’re not the same as a comprehensive examination from an optometrist.
The most common test in schools is for focus and clarity, but vision is much more complicated than that.
“Parents need to know that we need to make eye exams part of a normal back to school routine,” Tola said.
“Especially if the parents have never had any eye issues; they might not think about it themselves to take their children.”
Australian researchers showed that around 30 per cent of school-age children have a vision disorder.
These can range from myopia (near-sightedness) to astigmatism. Left untreated, refractive errors like these can cause amblyopia, better known as “lazy eye”.
Vision problems can also mimic learning disorders like ADHD, leading to a potential misdiagnosis. According to a 2016 study of 75,171 U.S. children, kids with vision problems were twice as likely as other children to be diagnosed with ADHD.
“I think it’s important to note that kids might not understand or be able to tell a parent that they don’t see well,” Tola said.
“They don’t know anything different. That’s all they’ve seen. Their whole entire life is blurry. They don’t realise that there could be a difference, so getting a complete review from an optometrist experienced with children is essential.”
Optometrists at Eyecare Plus check the whole health and function of the eyes which is far more thorough than a basic screening.
According to a 2019 report, fewer than 15 per cent of preschool children had received an eye exam, either.
So, how often should your child be tested?
Eyecare Plus recommends children aged 3-5 years receive a thorough in-person
eye examination from an optometrist to ensure healthy eye development and no evidence of disease. From six to 18 years old, it recommends your child receive an eye examination every year as a back-to-school essential.
Tola Touch added that parents should also schedule an appointment with their child’s optometrist if they notice their kid is squinting, rubbing their eyes frequently, having to move closer or further away to see objects clearly or having headaches possibly caused by eye strain.
“It’s just good to check,” he said.
“Because even if you don’t find anything, at least you have peace of mind.”
