About 75% of the school day is spent in visual activities - mainly reading and writing - and 80% of what a child learns is through the sense of sight.  While school screenings and nurses are able to spot some vision deficiencies, many escape unnoticed.  In fact, the standard reading chart detects only 5% of children's vision problems - it tells only if your child can clearly see letters 20 feet away.  Many school districts do not test the abilities to see at near, reading and writing distance, where most learning takes place.

A seven-year, ongoing study of more than 10,000 eye evaluations of three-year olds has shown a consistent 14% rate of previously undetected deficiencies.  In another survey, of more than 7,000 children 6-11 years of age, 9.2% had an eye muscle imbalance, a disease condition, or other abnormality in one or both eyes.  A significant number also had conjunctivitis.  And a recent study found that 15% of those entering high school had myopia, or nearsightedness.  An unknown proportion of these students had not had their condition previously diagnosed.

Given such findings, the American Academy of Pediatrics has recently begun recommending annual eye examinations for all children.  The American Optometric Association (AOA) has long had a similar recommendation.

An examination is particularly important if your child exhibits any of these signs of possible eye problems:

§         Loses place while reading.

§         Avoids close work.

§         Holds books closer than normal.

§         Tends to rub the eyes.

§         Has frequent headaches.

§         Turns or tilts the head, or squints, to use only one eye.

§         Uses finger to maintain place while reading.

§         Omits or confuses small words when reading aloud.

§         Consistently performs below academic potential.