Children’s Eye Exams

Did you know that children’s eye exams should be conducted in the first 12 months? A second exam at 2 years?  And then an exam every 2 years?

A child’s learning is directly affected by their vision.  When a child has difficulty seeing their environment clearly, there is a high risk they will become delayed in their development.   Regular eye exams are also essential for the early identification and treatment of many medical conditions.  Click here for important information about eye exams, vision screenings, and children’s vision health.

If your child has vision problems, it may not be obvious.  It is very common for children’s vision problems to go unnoticed by the parent – and the pediatrician – until the child is much older.  An optometrist is trained to notice eye muscle imbalances, unusual prescriptions, and medical conditions that can affect your child’s learning and their long-term health.

Dr. Labiento has extensive experience with pediatric eye care.  She can provide medical and wellness vision assessments for toddlers and preschoolers thru tweens and teens. She also can fit children with contact lenses for medical treatment or an active lifestyle.

As your child ages, Dr. Labiento can provide complete eye care including visual assessments, comprehensive eye exams, and children’s contact lenses for sports and school.

Children’s Optical At Sudbury Eye Care

Sudbury Eye Care is proud to have the premium children’s optical in Metrowest Massachusetts area. We have won the 2018 Reader’s Choice for best Optical in Sudbury! We have a wide variety of great looking frames and sports glasses for kids, teens and petite adults that we have hand-picked for their style and durability.  But more than this, we have staff trained to work with children and address their unique needs. Many children’s frames can be ordered in additional sizes, materials and lengths to create the best fit, allowing for the accuracy of the doctors prescription.

Click here for more information on the children’s optical.

Vision and Eye Health Problems In Children

Most parents are used to taking their children to the pediatrician and the dentist for regularly scheduled checkups. However, many parents don’t realize that their children should also have regular eye exams – even if the child doesn’t wear glasses. Why?
Eye problems are very common in children. The American Optometry Association (AOA) estimates that 1 in 4 children has a vision-related condition. Left untreated, these conditions can have a serious effect on a child’s learning, development, athletic performance, and overall health: vision directly affects learning.

When a child has difficulty focusing or cannot see things clearly, their learning and attention can suffer. In fact, the AOA estimates that 60% of learning disabilities are associated with vision problems. As an aside, that is why when a child is suspected of having ADD/ADHD or another learning disorder, they should be referred for a comprehensive eye exam.
Eye problems can affect development. Not only can poor vision affect learning and behavior, but some eye conditions can affect a child’s physical and neurological development as well. For example, eye muscle imbalances (called strabismus, or commonly “crossed eyes” or “wandering eyes”) can lead to amblyopia (“lazy eye”) in which the brain suppresses vision from one eye to avoid seeing double. This can lead to permanent vision loss if untreated.

Eye problems can also affect physical abilities and athletic performance. Vision irregularities or eye muscle imbalances can affect depth perception, leading to “clumsiness,” tripping, and poor hand-eye coordination.

While very rare, children sometime experience more serious eye conditions such as cancerous tumors (retinoblastoma, medulloepithelioma), congenital glaucoma, retinal disease, etc. that can cause blindness and even be life-threatening.