Children begin seeing a pediatrician or family physician from the time they are born. Routine dental visits come a little later with the development of teeth. Vision care and eye checks are another important component of every child’s health and well being. Because more than 80 percent of all learning is done visually, good vision is critical to a child’s success in and out of school--and before they even begin school.

“Just like most other health care problems, vision problems that are detected early have a better chance of successful correction,” says John Schroder, OD, an optometrist at the Aurora Health Centers in West Bend and Waukesha. “A critical developmental time for vision occurs during the preschool years. If there’s a problem that goes undetected, you can’t get that time back, and that eye may never develop the ability to see properly no matter what is done later.”

While pediatricians and family physicians routinely check babies’ and toddlers’ eyes for common problems, children should begin having their eyes evaluated by an eye doctor when they are three years old, recommends Dr. Schroder. If no vision correction is required, complete eye checkups are then suggested every two to three years. “Parents sometimes assume that vision checkups aren’t possible before children know their letters or can respond to questions,” says Dr. Schroder. “As eye specialists, we have specific instrumentation, tests and training to help us detect potential concerns without needing a response.”

A problem that eye doctors are particularly concerned about is amblyopia, commonly referred to as "lazy eye."  "We don't actually see with our eyes," explains Dr. Schroder. "Our eyes send a signal to the brain and how the brain interprets that signal determines our vision. In a case of amblyopia, a child's brain begins paying attention mainly to the signal from one eye. This may happen if the eyes do not move together as a balanced pair, or if one eye is out of focus with the other eye,” he says. The longer this problem goes undiagnosed and untreated, the more a child learns to compensate, and neurological connections between the brain and the eye being ignored may never properly develop. Left untreated, this can cause irreversible decreased vision in the affected eye.

Symptoms of amblyopia may or may not be obvious, notes Dr. Schroder. “Sometimes an eye is noticeably turning or wandering. This is not uncommon in young infants, but by age six months the eyes should be moving together as a team all the time. Eyes out of focus with one another generally have no obvious symptoms,” he adds.  Eye doctors use a specialized instrument called a "retinoscope" to determine how much a child's eyes may be out of focus.

Treatment for these types of problems may include eyeglasses, eye exercises, surgery, patching the better eye, and/or eye drops. "If one eye is out of focus with the other eye, then we temporarily create a situation where the better eye becomes the poorer sighted eye," states Dr. Schroder. "This forces the brain to pay attention to the signal from the poorer sighted eye, which had been ignored up until this time.  Proper neurological connections between the poorer sighted eye and the brain can then develop, resulting in an improvement in vision for that eye,” he explains.

Unfortunately the timeframe during which this can be successfully done is fairly small. "By the time a child is in early grade school the success rate for treating these types of problems decreases substantially," emphasizes Dr. Schroder.  "Early detection and treatment are extremely important."

In addition to checking for out of focusness and misalignment, children's eye exams should also include testing for clarity of vision and detection of eye diseases.
 
Free assessments for three-year-olds
Joining in a community service effort by eye doctors nationwide, Dr. Schroder offers free vision assessments for three-year-old children with no previously diagnosed eye problems. Children found to have problems will generally need to have additional testing performed by an eye doctor of their parent's choice to initiate treatment. "I have offered this free assessment for several years, and nine out of ten children I see under this program have normally developing vision," says Dr. Schroder.  "It's the one child out of ten that has a problem that makes it worthwhile to provide this service. With early detection and treatment, a lifetime of problems may be prevented for that child." 

To schedule a free vision assessment for your three-year-old child, call Dr. Schroder’s office in West Bend at 262-338-1123 or in Waukesha at 262-896-6000.