Pediatric Eye Exams in Grants Pass
Ensuring good vision in children is crucial for effective learning. Even infants rely on their eyesight to explore and understand the world, making regular eye check-ups with an eye doctor an essential part of their developmental stages.
Vision and School Success | Eye Care Group of Southern Oregon
During a comprehensive eye exam, our eye doctor will evaluate visual skills such as focusing abilities, peripheral vision, color vision, hand-eye coordination, and binocular vision (how well the eyes work together).
They’ll also examine the external and internal structures of your child’s eyes to screen for diseases and detect any underlying health conditions. Your child's health history, including details about their birth, developmental milestones, family history of eye problems, past eye injuries, and current medication usage are important for the pediatric optometrist to note.
Based on the findings, appropriate treatment options will be recommended to meet your child's specific needs.
How Often Should a Child Have an Eye Exam?
Children should have their first comprehensive eye exam at 6 months of age.
Following that, they should have their eyes examined at age 3 and at around age 5.
For school-aged children who don’t require correction, an eye exam every two years is recommended. Children wearing eyeglasses or contact lenses, however, should be examined annually or as recommended by your optometrist.
What is Assessed During a Pediatric Eye Exam?
The Eye Care Group of Southern Oregon optometrist will perform a thorough internal and external eye health evaluation. The optometrist will use specialized, age-appropriate instruments, testing procedures, and technologies that provide accurate results.
The pediatric eye exam evaluates the following:
- Eye Focusing
- Depth Perception
- Color Perception
- Eye Tracking
- Eye Muscle Teaming
- Peripheral Awareness
- Near Visual Acuity
- Distance Visual Acuity
Eye Exams in Infants: Birth–24 Months
The visual development of babies is nothing short of remarkable. Their eyes learn to focus, their eye movements become coordinated, and their brains learn how to process visual information. This development is not only crucial for their exploration and understanding of the world but also for the development of essential motor skills such as crawling, walking, and hand-eye coordination.
Take proactive steps to protect your baby's visual health by scheduling their first eye exam around 6 months of age. During this exam, an experienced eye doctor will assess their visual acuity, monitor eye development, and screen for conditions like crossed eyes (strabismus).
If your baby was born prematurely or shows signs of developmental delay, they may have a higher risk of eye and vision problems. In such cases, your eye doctor may recommend more frequent visits to closely monitor their progress and provide necessary care.
Eye Exams in Preschool Children: Ages 2-5
Between the ages of 2 and 5, children undergo a transformative period of growth where vital intellectual and fine motor skills begin to flourish. This is the time when abilities such as hand-eye coordination and depth perception start to emerge, setting the stage for reading, writing, sports, and drawing.
As attentive parents, it’s essential to be aware of potential visual concerns, including lazy eye (amblyopia), where one eye exhibits weaker vision, or crossed eyes (strabismus), where one or both eyes turn inward or outward. Early treatment of these conditions significantly improves the chances of successful outcomes.
Additionally, developmental delays in recognizing objects, numbers, letters, or colors, as well as coordination difficulties, are potential indicators of underlying visual problems. You should keep a watchful eye for signs such as squinting, frequent eye rubbing, sitting too close to the TV or reading materials, or avoiding activities like puzzles or coloring.
Eye Exams in School-Aged Children: Ages 6–18
Undetected vision issues can have far-reaching consequences for children and teenagers, impacting their academic performance, social interactions, participation in sports, and overall personal development. Poor visual skills can also cause difficulty focusing or reading, resulting in frustration and behavioral challenges that may mimic symptoms of neurological disorders like ADHD. It's also important to note that a child may not even be aware that their vision is abnormal, meaning the problem can go unnoticed until they experience issues at school.
For older children, the following signs may indicate underlying vision problems:
- Short attention span
- Headaches
- Frequent blinking
- Avoidance of reading
- Tilting the head to one side
- Losing their place frequently while reading
- Double vision
- Poor reading comprehension
Glasses for Kids
Should your child need glasses for vision correction, Eye Care Group of Southern Oregon has a wide variety of age-appropriate and safe options. Because we specialize in eye care for young patients, we’re well acquainted with their preferred styles, shapes, and colors. We carry a large range of frames for children, inspired by adult trends but with a fun and imaginative approach and a pediatric fit in mind.
All of our frames are comfortable, durable, and made with kid-friendly materials. Young children find the bright colored frames they love, while teens find the latest fashion trends scaled down to fit their faces.
Do your kids play sports? Athletic eyewear for children can help protect their eyes from sports injuries.
At Eye Care Group of Southern Oregon, we have eyewear for every child and teen, no matter their features or preferences.