ONE in five school age children has problems with their sight which have not been identified. The Royal National Institute for the Blind has called on parents to book eye tests for their children so that defects can be corrected.

In extreme cases, it says, sight problems can wreck academic performance - or even lead to children being wrongly classed as “special needs”.

There are many children struggling at school because their poor sight has not been detected

Studies carried out at City University, London, between 1997 and 2001 found that among school-age children, between 17% and 22% had some form of undetected vision problems.

“This research supports what The Royal National Institute for the Blind has suspected from evidence. There are many children struggling at school because their poor sight has not been detected.

We want everyone to be aware on eye clinic days that eye tests are vital so that children can achieve their full potential at school,” the researchers say.

Sight problems can have an immediate impact on their school work. Children may not be able to see the blackboard or read.

In one case reported, an eye specialist was referred a seven-year-old boy by an educational psychologist, because he was having difficulties concentrating or interacting with other people.

The eye specialist said: “When I tested his sight it was clear that he was long-sighted with some astigmatism.
After wearing glasses for a month, his reading improved dramatically and he was socialising with other children.”

While such severe consequences of uncorrected vision defects are rare, parents should make the effort to have their children’s eyes tested. There can be some rather dramatic ways in which poor sight can lead to permanent and incurable loss of vision

“There can be some rather dramatic ways in which poor sight can lead to permanent and incurable loss of vision.

These problems are normally
correctable with glasses, and failing to do so could mean it is difficult for a child to see the blackboard.

However, a more dramatic instance might be a child who is failing to develop reading skills and language skills and is falsely diagnosed as mentally disabled,” the research reveals.

“The prevalence of this kind of problem is low. Even pre-school children can be tested for signs of visual problems. ‘Preferential looking’ tests involve checking the child’s reaction to patterned or plain cards, as a child will always be drawn to a card with a pattern it can see in preference to a plain one.

Another test involves checking the “red-eye” of the child — a reflection of the blood vessels in the back of the eye which often crops up in flash photography.

If the eye is not achieving proper focus, the “red eye” will appear as a crescent rather than a disc.
BBC