EDITOR'S LETTER
Kids Deserve more

one year ago, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) reported that only one out of three children in the U.S. receive a vision screening or eye exam before beginning kindergarten. And, while eight states have enacted early childhood vision care legislation since 1999, more than a dozen still require absolutely no testing before children enter school.

Vision screenings are definitely a move in the right direction. But, even the National Institutes of Health reports that, depending on how they're conducted, vision screenings only identify between 37 and 68 percent of children with vision problems�and some studies show lower numbers than that. Politics aside, it sure seems to me that we're doing a disservice to children and their future by not requiring care, when appropriate, that goes beyond simple screenings.

That's why the announcement that Oklahoma just joined Arkansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, and Rhode Island in passing at least some form of vision care legislation is good news. While considered a compromise measure, the Oklahoma law, which goes into effect next year, does require an eye exam for kids entering kindergarten, first, and third grades who don't pass a vision screening.

Though the subject of eye exams versus screenings is, to say the least, a political hot potato, it seems the public is behind mandated exams. In fact, according to a survey of 3,000 consumers conducted by the Vision Council of America (VCA), 87 percent agreed that exams should be made mandatory for preschool children, while only one out of 10 people surveyed disagreed.

Sure, it's an uphill battle. But, organizations like VCA and the American Optometric Association (AOA) that continue to push for better vision care for kids deserve our thanks.