Children’s Vision

Dr. Johnson my child is 4 years old is she too young for you to examine her eyes because she cannot read letters yet?

Definitely not. Parent’s concern is that a young child may not be able to give feedback or read letters. We use different charts with animals or other charts with a letter that we have the child point in the direction of the legs of the letter. You have to be creative when examining children. It takes a little more time and patience but that is very necessary to determine if a child is having visual problems. If your child seems to be squinting or an eye seems to be crossed you should have an Optometrist evaluate their vision. Our office is equipped to handle children. We routinely do objective tests that do not require feedback from the child to determine their potential visual needs. Routinely, if a child seems to be doing well I will recommend that we first see the child as a patient when they are starting kindergarten or about age 5.

Dr. Johnson , How do I know if my child has a Lazy Eye?

The definition for lazy eye is confusing. It can take into account 3 factors or just one singularly. An eye may cross and that is the type of lazy eye most people are familiar with. Patching therapy is often the best treatment for a few hours per day to help strengthen the weaker eye. If a vision prescription is needed, it may be the only thing required to help train the lazy eye and may be used in conjunction with a patch that the doctor monitors on a regular basis. Other methods of helping a child with a lazy eye is through eye training exercises that will be administered by the eye doctor. Lastly, sometimes eye muscle surgery is needed to help straighten the eyes and vision training and vision corrective lenses will help a child develop their vision. The key is to catch the problem before the child is age 7 or 8 years old.