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Eyecare Business

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Last Word

Baby talk

By: AMY SPIEZIO
Eyecare Business June 1, 2006

Last Word
baby TALK
by Amy Spiezio

Babies and toddlers present unique diagnosis and fitting challenges for eyecare professionals. Here we present dispensers with the question: What is the biggest challenge in working with your youngest patients? If you have a story to share, or would like to see a subject covered, please E-mail us at editor@eyecarebusiness.com or send a fax to 215-643-1705.

sad stats
According to InfantSEE™, public health experts agree that visual development is most dramatic between six and 12 months of age and that early detection can prevent and help reduce the threat of serious vision impairments.

Following are a few recent statistics on the state of children's eyecare.

■ One out of 10 children is at risk from undiagnosed eye/vision problems.

■ Nearly half of new and expectant mothers mistakenly believe that because a baby's eyes are changing and their vision is developing in their first year of life, it is best to wait until the child is older to get them screened by an eyecare professional. (Survey fielded by BabyCen-ter.com, on behalf of the AOA)

■ About 97 percent of mothers said they do everything they can to ensure their children's health, but only 13 percent of mothers with
children younger than two years of age have taken their babies for an eyecare checkup with a professional.

InfantSEE™, a program from the American Optometric Association (AOA), in partnership with The Vision Care Institute of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, Inc., provides a one-time, comprehensive eye assessment to infants in their first year of life.

The biggest challenge is educating the parents if there is something wrong with the child's vision. The challenge is explaining what the problem is and how we are going to go about fixing it.  

First, I spend some extra time talking with them and explaining the background of what the problem is, then I give written information.

We also schedule the follow ups right away and set up parent conferences without the child. They tend to be distracted when the children are there. It works really well.

�Ilene Polhemus, OD, Los Gatos Eye Care, Los Gatos, Calif.

 

A lot of times it's hard to keep the kids' attention so they look at you and so you can see how the frames fit. We have to use a few tricks. We have a big stuffed dog with glasses and they love it.

Another challenge is just finding frames that will fit and stay on their faces because they are so active.

— Rachel Latinette, ABOC, Pediatric and Adult Vision Care, Wexford, Pa.

 

I think finding frames small enough can be tough. We try to never use the big, bulky things. We find small, cute, little frames that work for the kids. The other challenge with children is that you see a lot of high power prescriptions, and we make sure we're fitting the right frame so the lenses look the best they can.

— Kim Sullivan, certified optician, Kid's Point of View Optical Shop, Tulsa, Okla.

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