Eye Exams
Children's Eye Exams
The American Optometric Association and the Arizona Optometric Association recommend a child's first eye examination between six months and one year of age, with follow up around three, at school entry, and regularly through school years.
A school vision screening and a comprehensive eye examination are not the same thing, and the gap between them causes real problems. Screenings typically test distance vision on a chart. They do not assess focusing, eye coordination, depth perception, colour vision or eye health, and a child can pass one comfortably while having a condition that will permanently affect vision if left untreated.
Amblyopia is the clearest example. If one eye is not being used properly, the visual pathway for that eye does not develop, and after around age seven or eight the window for treating it closes. A child with one good eye passes a screening without difficulty.
That is why the recommended schedule starts so early. A six month old cannot read a chart, and does not need to: eye alignment, focusing, tracking and eye health are all assessable without a single letter being read.
What to expect
- Age appropriate testing
- Infants and toddlers are assessed with objective techniques requiring no reading, no letters and no verbal responses.
- Unhurried appointments
- Two patients per hour means a child is not rushed through unfamiliar equipment, which makes an enormous difference at this age.
- Parents included
- Findings are explained to you properly, along with what to watch for at home.
What is included
- Eye alignment and tracking assessment
- Focusing and binocular vision testing
- Refraction appropriate to age
- Colour vision and depth perception assessment
- Eye health examination
- Discussion of findings and follow up schedule
Questions and answers
When should my child have their first eye exam?
Between six months and one year of age, per AOA and AzOA guidance. Then around age three, again at school entry at five or six, and every two years or as advised after that.
My child passed the school screening.
Screenings check distance vision only. They do not assess focusing, eye coordination, depth perception or eye health, and children with significant problems pass them routinely.
What signs should I watch for?
Delayed motor development, frequent eye rubbing, excessive blinking, poor eye contact, poor eye tracking, sitting very close to screens, squinting, head tilting, or avoiding reading and close work.
How can a baby have an eye exam?
Objective testing requires no cooperation. Alignment, focusing response, tracking and eye health are all directly observable in an infant.
Talk to someone about children's eye exams
Appointments are scheduled two per hour, so there is time to answer questions properly. Call (480) 706-3937 or request a time online.