During a routine eye exam, our providers will check your visual acuity (clarity of vision) and your peripheral vision, evaluate your eye muscle movement, perform a simple slit-lamp exam to look at the front portion of your eye, and perform a dilated exam to view the back of your eye and the optic nerve. They will also test for glaucoma and perform other tests to determine if you need corrective lenses. In addition to routine eye exams, our providers also perform pediatric eye exams geared toward the special needs of growing kids and emergency exams to treat emergent vision loss and other immediate care needs affecting eyesight.

The American Optometric Association recommends children from ages 6 to 18 years and adults up to age 60 have a complete eye exam with dilation every one to two years, or more often if a vision-threatening condition exists; after age 60, annual exams are recommended. For children under age six, the association recommends exams at six months of age and again at age three. All children should be evaluated before first grade and regularly throughout school to ensure vision problems are detected before they interfere with learning.

Absolutely; while school vision programs are an important tool in helping identify many vision issues that can interfere with learning, they do not look for diseases that may not be causing symptoms, nor can they identify the cause of any vision loss. To ensure your child’s eyes stay healthy and their vision remains clear, they should have regular pediatric eye exams every one to two years to check for problems in their earliest stages, before they interfere with school and other activities.