It is that time of the year…back to school time!  Let’s talk a bit about school’s vision screening.

The typical school’s vision screening is a quick process where the child reads a set of letters at a distance.

Got it right? They pass.  Got it wrong? They fail.

For the ones that failed, they get a letter or form to go see an eye doctor to determine if they need glasses. That’s easy.

The ones that pass, they continue their school year. Great! But let’s dive a little deeper with the example below.

Setting:

Susan and Vicky are both 6th graders with good grades

The 20/20 line at distance reads: T Z V E C L

Susan reads with her right eye : “T…Z..V..B..C..L“. PASS. She gets a sticker. Bye.

NEXT!

Vicky’s next and reads with her right eye: “Hmm..T……Z…..Y….no wait, I mean a V…uhh..(looks around)..E or a B..I think it’s an L“. PASS. Gets a cooler sticker. Bye.

So both Susan and Vicky pass and gets stickers.  But did they really pass? In the eye of an eye doctor..one of them did.

Susan read the letters in a smooth and constant-rhythmic manner.  Even though she got one letter wrong (E’s and B’s look similar).

Vicky technically got all the letters right…eventually.  Not only did she read the letters slowly, she hesitated and guessed the letters.  I mean, how many letters look like an “L”?

Susan sees the letters and knew what letters they were.  So she read it confidently without any hesitation.  Vicky did not really see the letters so she struggled to make out the letters.  So she guessed at some and hoped she got it right.

Vicky now struggles in class because not only she is working hard to solve a math problem.  She is also struggling to see if that’s a “3” or a “5”.

Reading the letters correctly is important.  But HOW did they read the letters is more important.

Though the school provides an excellent school vision screening, the child should still visit an eye doctor every 1 or 2 years to ensure they are visually efficient and with no underlying conditions.

Want more information on how to improve your child’s visual efficiency? Contact us here (insert link) to schedule a one on one consultation at Eyes On Norbeck with Dr. Chun AuYeung .

Here’s a link to more info : American Optometric Association-School Aged Vision