Leading Eyecare Industry Advocates Team Up to Fight for Mandatory Comprehensive Eye Exams Before Students Enter Kindergarten

As 80 percent of learning takes place through our eyes, a comprehensive eye exam is the only way to ensure a child can see clearly and has healthy eyes that work properly. It is also one of the most important ways parents can give their child the best possible chance at success.

To advocate for every child’s right to see clearly,Optometry Giving Sight, Vision Impact Institute and VSP Global ;”>have teamed up to form Kids See: Success, with the goal of educating parents, state and city legislatures, child advocacy groups, school nurses, teachers and administrators about the need for mandatory comprehensive eye exams prior to entering kindergarten.

“Kids See: Success is a natural extension of the Vision Impact Institute’s mission to promote the importance of healthy vision and draw attention to uncorrected refractive errors which negatively impact quality of life in children and adults,” said Maureen Cavanagh, president, Vision Impact Institute. “The initiative will focus its efforts on one city in the United States to raise awareness of the need for a comprehensive eye exam. If we establish a baseline by the age of five, we can ensure many of the negative effects of uncorrected vision are avoided. In addition, vision conditions like amblyopia, which can lead to permanent blindness if not identified and treated by age seven, can be diagnosed through early vision exams.”

According to the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health, the economic costs of children’s vision disorders amount to $10 billion annually in the United States, taking into account the costs of medical care, vision aids and devices, caregivers, special education, vision screening programs, federal assistance programs and quality of life losses. In addition, children with untreated amblyopia will earn 12% less over their working lifetime than a treated child, according to the Children’s Eye Foundation.

“Participating in the Kids See: Success pilot perfectly aligns with our mission to help expand access to eye care,” said Pat McNeil, chief communications officer, VSP Global. “While many states and cities require vision screenings prior to entering school, we know that is not enough. We believe a comprehensive eye exam from an eye doctor is the best way to determine whether a child’s eyes are healthy and working properly, which is critical to positioning them for academic success.”

While vision screenings can detect some problems, more serious vision issues may go undetected, including binocular vision problems and amblyopia (lazy eye), which can cause vision loss in children. However, a comprehensive eye exam can help detect and treat these conditions earlier.

“A comprehensive eye exam can make the difference between poverty and opportunity, and we want to give all children that opportunity as early as possible,” said Clive Miller, Global CEO of Optometry Giving Sight. “With one in four children in the US having an undetected vision condition, our goal is to drastically improve this statistic and help provide all children with a level playing field.”

Compliments of Vision Impact Institute – a member of the EACCNY