can't believe what i got from the school

[greenT]

on a friday night of a three day weekend, we received a form with results of a kindergarten vision screening stating that our might have a vision problem and should go for further testing. up until now, we'd never have expected anything wrong with her vision.

what is the general opinion of this picture vision test? i suppose there could always be that chance that something needs attention and correcting - but i've got three days to worry about it with no further knowledge. the results of near and far, left eye right eye, are so vague too.

any experience with this? they have me quite worried and it is going to be a long weekend - any thoughts to get me through would help. (experiences, websites to read up on, advice, etc...) thanks.

[stik]

Often, a vision screening will turn up problems that no one had suspected because kids find ways to compensate for their vision problems. Other times vision screenings will turn up problems that no one suspected because they aren't perfect. My poor vision was caught by a grade school vision screening and I desperately needed corrective lenses. My dd's poor vision was caught by a vision screening and further testing revealed that her vision is perfect. Often these screenings are administered by PTA volunteers. They're a screening tool to see who needs further testing, and not really a diagnostic tool at all.

[octobermom]

You can go crazy wondering. Call Tommorow or Tuesday if eveyone is closed tommorow and have him looked at. Till then just enoy the weekend I know easier to say than do..
Deanna

[meemee]

also know that vision doesnt completely develop till they are a little bit older. if i remember from childhood my brother had to wear corrective lens (glasses) for a short time and then he didnt need to wear them after that time. it corrected teh problem. my friends dd had a lazy eye that an eye patch helped with and she only had it for maybe a year.

vision tests didnt catch any issues with my dd. but i did when i saw her closing her eyes to correctly count the number of bottles on a billboard. the vision in one eye is not correct. she sees an optometrist in a couple of weeks. she will have a full eye exam. she cant wait to wear glasses and is soooo excited. i noticed in k and first grade there are at least 2 to 3 kids wearing glasses.

http://www.littlies.co.nz/page.asp?id=204

http://www.familiesonline.co.uk/inde...eview/62/1/12/

http://www.children-special-needs.or..._eye_care.html

what deanna said is quite right. you have a nice long 3 day weekend. dont ruin it with worry when you could be having so much fun with your family. i know its easier said than done but let me tell you i have btdt and later you regret teh time wasted.

[yarngoddess]

I SO know how you feel! I have been so worried about my 2 yr old and his vision (he squints, blinks really hard, you can see his puples dilate when looking from near to far REALLY exaggeratedly) anyway I finally got a doc to take our insurance and took him in. No problems! Just allergies!

Point I'm trying to make is that there is nothing you can do until you get him seen by the eye docs. You couldn't have known he needed glasses (or not) nor was there anything to prevent this from happening. Be glad it was caught NOW before he started having issues in both academic and behavior- two common symptoms of vision problems.

Have a good 3 day weekend! Enjoy your kiddo and focus on having fun. If you are stressed about this issue it's going to impact him! He will feel it and internalize it. If he does need glasses your reaction is going to play a big part in how he sees himself in glasses. Kids can be cruel about glasses still... Happy 3 day weekend!!!

[flapjack]

Kids eyesight can change very quickly at that age- in our case, a child who had been on six-monthly eye tests from the age of 8 months onwards went from being a little far-sighted with no need for intervention to having literally driven himself cross-eyed trying to read/colour/cut when he started school at four. For this reason (and I'll say this very gently) I do believe that all children should have the benefit of regular eye exams.

What I will tell you, though, is that we had two bad days when Isaac started wearing glasses. We've been through 17 pairs in four years, yes, because he has a special talent for destroying them, but he loves being able to see clearly. The one exception to this is on rainy days. We've had patches for a squint as well, and he has surgery coming up but none of that is likely to be happening for you. DO NOT WORRY. THERE IS NOTHING TO BE GAINED BY WORRYING SO DON'T DO IT. Honestly, this is a very small issue. If there is a problem with her eyes it will be better for her to get it checked, but there is nothing at all you can do. Really, don't worry at all about it. It's no big deal.

[talk de jour]

I have horrible eyesight (can't read three-inch-tall letters from five feet away) and i'm glad my vision problems were caught when they were (first grade.)

Your dc has nothing to lose and everything to gain by having a real eye exam.

[junipermoon]

my oldest had regular screenings at annual ped appts but then one year the school caught something during a routine screen.

an eye doctor who followed up found a slight problem and suggested he wear glasses for distance when he felt they were necessary. he carries them in his backpack and uses them less than once a week as needed.

don't worry! you can follow up on monday. or bring her to a simple optometrist at the mall today--they are opened on saturdays!

i know, i felt awful too when i found out.


good luck with everything.

[FernG]

A 3rd grade vision screening caught my slight focusing problem. My mom took me to her ophthalmologist who said that if I read a lot, I would probably get a headache. I read for hours everyday, so I was obviously compensating well. The focusing problem did end up worsening, and I got corrective glasses 14 years later. I'm glad that I knew about the problem and knew that frequent headaches were a sign that I might need to get some glasses.

[crowcaw]

My 3 yo dd was referred to a pediatric opthamologist due to a vision screening at her 3 yr well visit. She was fine -- doc said some slight distance vision weakness in one eye but nothing that needed correcting and she may grow out of. But I was glad to have her checked if there was a suspicion. I always remember the story of a co-worker who was in general an observant person and involved parent but did not notice that his 7 yo had vision problems. He said they got home after dark the first day his son was wearing his glasses and when they got out of the car the boy looked at the sky and asked what all the bright dots were. He had never seen the stars.

[Rivka5]

Originally Posted by greenT

on a friday night of a three day weekend, we received a form with results of a kindergarten vision screening stating that our might have a vision problem and should go for further testing. up until now, we'd never have expected anything wrong with her vision.

any experience with this? they have me quite worried and it is going to be a long weekend - any thoughts to get me through would help. (experiences, websites to read up on, advice, etc...) thanks.

Please don't worry! Your daughter is exactly the same kid she was before you got the note home. If she's doing well and doesn't seem to be suffering or missing out on things because of poor vision, she'll keep on being that way while you wait to make an appointment and get her eyes checked out.

I've worn glasses from the age of five. I always loved my glasses, when I was a kid - it was so magical, the way I'd get new glasses and suddenly everything would look so much more distinct and perfect.

[orangefoot]

Finding a way to improve a child's sight at this age is a wonderful thing! Don't worry. My ds has worn glasses for a very long time and we are on first naem terms with the optician staff.

A fried had her ds tested from very young and by the time the hospital ophthalmologist recommended glasses to him at age 3 and a bit it was like his whole self lit up and the world was so much bigger for him.

Don't worry and have a good weekend.

[BathrobeGoddess]

My ds has had glasses since he was 2 and I am thankful everyday! His vision issue is a pretty bad one and would have required a great deal of intervention at a later age but because it was caught so young, it is more than likely it will improve on its own!

I am big fan of vision screens for little kids now!

[Heavenly]

Why are you so worried? I just don't understand this as an issue to freak out over. I mean, if you'd gotten news your child might have diabetes or cancer or something like that and would not hear further for 3 days I could understand but why would you let something like this ruin your weekend? Is it really such a big deal if your child needs glasses?

My oldest (almost 8) has some minor vision problems. We have been watching him more closely with vision tests every 6 months since he was 6 and he hasn't needed glasses yet. So even if there are minor problems it may not mean glasses right now.

On the issue of the picture tests my 2.75 year old did it and scored perfect but they did say some children score worse because they don't understand the instructions or they aren't paying attention or they are nervous. I really wouldn't worry so much.

[somelady]

I got caught every time in the screening and my parents would dutifully take me to the eye doc where it was always "yeah, she has lazy eye, it's not bad enough to need anything done" When my distance vision did start going it wa safter the screening age so I was the one who noticed. I would imagine if you/your dc is paying attention it's probably not anything to worry about.

[meemee]

Originally Posted by crowcaw

I always remember the story of a co-worker who was in general an observant person and involved parent but did not notice that his 7 yo had vision problems. He said they got home after dark the first day his son was wearing his glasses and when they got out of the car the boy looked at the sky and asked what all the bright dots were. He had never seen the stars.

awwww what a sweet story. and others said i so enjoyed readign about the magic part of it. so true.

OP it just struck me are you concerned because you have any genetic eye issues in your family?

if your child had some major issues i am sure it would have shown up before or at least at teh beginning of K.

[ilovebabies]

Originally Posted by Heavenly

Why are you so worried? I just don't understand this as an issue to freak out over. I mean, if you'd gotten news your child might have diabetes or cancer or something like that and would not hear further for 3 days I could understand but why would you let something like this ruin your weekend? Is it really such a big deal if your child needs glasses?

Everyone is different as to what worries them and what doesn't. It's obviously a big deal to the OP. And whether it's "minor" or "major", getting news right before a long weekend can be tough sometimes because you want more details and can't get them. I don't think we need to make the OP feel dumb for being worried over this issue.

OP, I think all will be fine. I know it's hard to wait, but at least you know something is amiss and you can get it corrected. I doubt there's anything to worry about. Try to hang in there this weekend! Keep us posted.

[Satori]

Really its nothing to worry about, if your child had really severe vision issues like blindness you would have noticed something was off long ago. A child needing glasses is not the end of the world, you just call and schedule an eye exam and fwiw many optometrists are open on Saturdays Both my children began getting eye exams early, My now 8 yr old was in glasses around 2 yrs old and I remember the first time she wore them. I came in the room and put them on her face while she was sleeping in the hopes that when she woke up she would be used to feeling them and not rip them off her face like she did the previous day. A few minutes later I woke her up and she exclaimed MAMA! when she saw me. She was/is extremely far sighted, her vision starts about 3-4 feet out. It was the first time she had ever seen me up close and was surprised to see me Her eye Dr we've seen for years no longer takes our insurance and I can't afford her out of pocket anymore so I had to take dd to one in plan and 3 different Dr's gave her the wrong script and none had even mentioned the fact her vision in one eye was 20/200 (legally blind). She failed the vision screen the pedi gave her (she'd never had one outside of the eye Dr's) we got a referral to the 2 yr olds eye specialists and and got her the right script and she went from non reader to reading on grade level in a couple of months. I had no idea how bad her vision was until the pedi caught it and she'd had vision issues all her life.

My 2.5 yr old also has vision issues and had her first eye exam around 2 months old after a cancer scare where they discovered her retinas were not formed as they should be and she gets check up about every 3 months between 3 specialists but so far no need for glasses (glasses won't fix her vision issue) and she sees better then we realize I think but one of her issues were able to work on and her vision is slowly being restored rather then end up being functionally blind.

Anyway, my point is its nothing to be worried about, catching a vision issue is a GOOD thing! My parents had no idea I couldn't see the blackboard until I failed my 1st vision screen at school when I was 12, they thought my vision was fine becasue I read all day long, I am near sighted so of course I could read but I can't see worth beans 6 inches from my face

[meemee]

curious mama. have you seen the eye doc? how did things go? is everything ok?