Here’s Looking at You Kid! Vision Screening Requirements 4 Kids in Iowa

Here’s Looking at You Kid!  Vision Screening Requirements 4 Kids in Iowa

I received a reminder from school last week that the Iowa Department of Health has put into effect a law requiring that every student entering Kindergarten and Third Grade must have a Certificate of Vision Screening. This law was put into effect for the 2015-2016 school year.  That got me thinking about, what the signs of potential vision problems are and have I had my kids’ eyes properly checked. 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only one in three children in the U.S. has received eye-care services before their sixth birthday.  Although one in four preschoolers has had a vision problem. Unfortunately, children who have undiagnosed vision issues can become frustrated in school and labeled with learning disorders or behavioral problems.

Multiple studies have shown that 70 to 75 percent of Americans wear some sort of corrective lenses. Chances are you even wear glasses or contact lenses. For parents, then, the issues become how to protect a child’s eyes, what signs indicate something could be wrong and what actions should parents take.

Signs of Potential Vision Problems

During infancy, pediatricians will begin assessing and asking questions about vision. At this time, indicators of vision problems may include trouble focusing or poor visual tracking of an object after six months of age. A few other things to watch for include constant eye rubbing, light sensitivity, chronic redness or tearing of the eyes and a white pupil instead of black (www.KidsHealth.org).

Between the ages of three and five is another sight milestone.  Your pediatrician will conduct a vision screening along with your child’s physical exam. Depending on the results of this screening, there may be no need for further evaluation until the school years.

With the onset of formal schooling, a child’s daily tasks are more likely to involve close-up work. This is a time when a vision problem can become more evident. Many optometrists recommend that the best time to take your child in for a complete eye exam is when they first start school. When a child’s vision gets put to the test on a more regular basis. Signs of difficulty seeing at this age may include inability to see objects at a distance, difficulty reading the blackboard, squinting, trouble reading books up close or sitting very close to the television.

Next Steps

If you have any questions or concerns about your child’s eye health, you will want to schedule an appointment with an eye doctor and be sure to make vision care and eye checks a part of your child’s routine medical care. Different kinds of doctors offer eye care, and the names can be confusing:

  • Ophthalmologists are medical doctors who provide comprehensive eye care with medicine and surgery.
  • Pediatric Ophthalmologists are doctors who have additional special training to treat kids’ eye problems.
  • Optometrists provide services that may be similar to ophthalmologists, but they don’t perform surgery. Some optometrists specialize in kids’ eye problems.
  • Opticians fit and adjust eyeglasses.

To comply with the new Iowa vision screening requirements a vision screening may be conducted by your child’s doctor, advanced nurse practitioner, physician assistant, eye doctor (ophthalmologist or optometrist), local public health department, public or accredited nonpublic school, community based organization, free clinic, or child care center.

For more information regarding the new Iowa Vision Screening Regulations visit: https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGE/85/SF419.pdf.

Resources

Iowa Department of Education
Iowa Department of Health and Human Services
Iowa KidSight
Iowa Optometric Association
Prevent Blindness Iowa

 

 

Have you had your child’s vision checked?