When is an eye test not really a vision test?

New Zealand school children are lucky enough to have regular eye checks through the school system. After your child has been examined and pronounced visually "healthy" it's probably the end of your concern about their eyes. Unfortunately, an eyesight "clean bill of health" after school testing may not be an accurate reflection of your child's visual health and performance. Routine vision testing at school is a basic eye test which assesses colour vision, eye alignment and distance vision. This brief test does not look at your child's eye health, near visual performance; how much effort is required to perform close vision tasks and how well the eyes work together for important tasks like reading.

The benefits of specialist eye testing

Checking such important visual functions is a specialist procedure requiring the skills of highly trained optometrists who have a particular interest in children's vision. Carlisle Mason Optometrists are very fortunate to have three such optometrists in their group - Grant Dabb in Whangaparaoa; Sashi Singh in St Heliers and Craig Holmes in Tauranga.

So what exactly happens in a child's eye examination and how will you know if your child needs to have one?

To begin with a vision testing appointment is arranged. This examination checks the usual vision parameters looking for problems with near or far sightedness. Next the optometrist looks in much more depth at the functions your child needs to master for close vision tasks such as reading. These include a variety of scanning, focusing and visual coordination skills. 

Once a vision problem has been diagnosed the optometrist creates an individually tailored management plan which may involve vision therapy.  It's a bit like a gym workout for the eyes!

Does your child need to see an optometrist?

If your child sits two feet in front of the television, or complains that they can't see the blackboard properly in class, it's a strong signal that there may be problems with distance vision. It's much more difficult to detect close vision problems that may need addressing. Look out for: squinting, frequent blinking and rubbing the eyes. A short attention span or lack of concentration when performing detailed vision tasks like reading is also a sign of potential problems. 

Left untreated, close vision problems can lead to learning difficulties and associated emotional problems such as poor self esteem, feelings of inadequacy at school, and resulting behavioural problems. If your child has had routine vision testing and been pronounced healthy, and yet is struggling with any form of learning disability, dyslexia or behavioural problems, it is vital that they are screened for more complex vision problems.

A New Zealand study found that up to 70% of children in remedial reading classes had vision issues which hadn't previously been diagnosed. The good news was that performance improved dramatically once the problem had been corrected.

Slowing down short sightedness in children

Wearing glasses can be challenging for some young people. They are easy to loose, scratch or leave behind. The good news for short-sighted children is that there is an effective alternative to wearing glasses or contact lenses during the day.

Carlisle Mason Optometrists are also proficient in the Revize system of Corneal Refractive Therapy (CRT), also known as Ortho-K. By digitally mapping the shape of the front of the eyeball, they are able to make customised retainer contact lenses designed for overnight wear. Sleeping in the comfortable lenses actually reshapes your cornea. This reshaping allows light to be properly focused on the retina, eliminating short sightedness. Wearing Revize lenses while sleeping means no longer having to wear glasses or contact lenses during the day.

Studies have indicated that Revize therapy can reduce or even completely stop the yearly increases in short sightedness commonly experienced by susceptible children during their growing years. Using Revize therapy during these formative years often means a much lower natural prescription than the child would have otherwise developed.

For more information speak to your Carlisle Mason optometrists.