Prevention and early detection are key ingredients for good health care. As you think about your child's developmental milestones, remember, it is never too early to study your child’s eye health. Because vision plays a major role in infant development, visual health should be checked regularly. In fact, the American Optometric Association recommends that children receive their first comprehensive eye assessment at six months of age. Remember, infants are not born with 20/20 vision, and their two eyes do not work together in the early stages of life. These are characteristics that develop after birth. Early detection of any abnormalities that might hinder normal development is very important. Otherwise, amblyopia (lazy eye), or a misalignment of the eyes such as crossed-eyes may develop and ultimately a normal, healthy visual system never comes to be. There are also congenital abnormalities that the sooner detected the better.

Your Questions Answered… Why is this evaluation recommended at such a young age? Rapid development occurs in a child’s visual system in the early years. The earlier a problem is detected, the earlier it can be corrected that hopefully will allow the normal, expected development to take place. How can you do an evaluation at such a young age? A six to twelve month old child is not going to be responsive to questions so we rely on objective tests. This testing involves the use of lenses, scopes, lights and interesting targets that allow the me to assess the vision and ability of the two eyes to work together. Do you check for diseases? Yes I do. I actually do use two instruments that are used in the adult examination. A small handheld magnifying instrument is used to do a careful evaluation of the more external parts of the eyes and lids. Are drops used during the child’s assessment? Yes, but not the same ones used for adults. We use a drop that is very safe and is only 50% of the adult potency. Unfortunately, it does sting a bit for a few seconds. Is there a charge for this eye assessment? No How old must the child be to participate in this program? Your child must be older than six months but less than a year to be eligible for this program. If your child is outside of this age range, they may still be examined, but the office visit is not without cost. Is an appointment necessary for the assessment? Yes How do I schedule an appointment? Please call the office at 330-867-2525 and advise the staff person that you would like to schedule an InfantSeeTM assessment for your child. We will first send you a child history form that will provide us valuable information about your child. Once the completed form is returned to my office, we will telephone you and schedule a convenient time for your child’s assessment. Do other family members have to be patients of mine to be eligible for the InfantSee™ program? No, but priority scheduling is given to families that are current patients.

My office is dedicated to helping our patients, of all ages, make the most of their future through good eye care. We participate as volunteers in InfantSeeTM, a program that provides eye assessments to children within their first twelve months of life. There is no charge for this assessment.

For more information on InfantSee, go to http://www.infantsee.org