Many people in my family have problems with our vision. My parents both wear bifocals, and I wear contacts. My doctor said I'm very young to have as bad of eyesight as I do, and I may need bifocals in a few years. With that being said, vision tests are very important for my children. It's very likely they may need glasses in the near future.
The Importance of Early Vision Testing:
- An estimated 200,000 children are born each year with visual deficits.
- According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), vision disorders are the number one childhood handicap.
- Only 21 percent of children in the United States have their vision screened before kindergarten.
- 72 percent of children with vision deficits go undetected until after the window for effective treatment expires.
- More than one in 50 children have amblyopia, a serious vision disorder, which can lead to blindness in one eye.
- Amblyopia is poor vision in an eye that otherwise appears normal. It occurs when the brain does not recognize the sight from that eye. It is very difficult to detect Amblyopia.
- 3.8 million adults are legally blind in one eye or visually incapacitated due to amblyopia.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), vision disorders are the fourth most common disability among children in the United States , yet many vision problems can take years to detect, making treatment more difficult as vital time passes. In an effort to shed light on some of the more subtle warning signs of vision problems in young children, Diopsys, Inc., developer and marketer of the Enfant Pediatric VEP Vision Testing System, has created an online vision assessment quiz at www.freevisionquiz.com.
The physician-reviewed, informational quiz, which takes only a few minutes to complete, is comprised of multiple-choice questions covering several areas that can “red flag” signs of a potential vision problem in children of various ages, including such actions as the inability to make steady eye contact, or involuntarily covering one eye to see something better. The new quiz does not take the place of a professional vision examination, but it is there to create awareness of a silent problem. For more information on the Enfant or to find a pediatrician offering the test near you, visit www.enfantvision.com.
Did you know that infants as young as 6 months old can have their vision screened for visual defects such as amblyopia, optic nerve disorders, and refractive errors using the Enfant™ Pediatric VEP Vision Testing System. The Enfant™ Pediatric VEP Vision Testing System is a child-friendly, non-invasive medical device used to test for visual deficits in children 6 months of age and older. The vision test does not require dilation or sedation, and is a painless, safe test.
How it Works: After positioning three sensory pads on the child’s head, an operator initiates the test. Cartoon characters appear and music plays while a series of “attention-catching” stimuli are presented to the child on a video display. The Enfant™, using Visual Evoked Potential technology (VEP), recognizes the child’s neurological responses and processes the VEP data.
Vision is one of the most vital senses to keep at it's peak performance. Learning can be impaired if not detected at an early stage. Make sure you know what's going on with your little one's eyes, even in the early stages of life. READ MORE
