WPSU Shorts
Children’s Eye Screenings Don’t Tell the Whole Story
Special | 5m 19sVideo has Closed Captions
Eye screenings for kids might miss vision problems that could be spotted with a full exam.
When children pass routine eye screenings administered by their school nurse or pediatrician, it can create a false sense of security that leaves certain issues undiagnosed. In this WPSU short, Dr. Tracy Sepich, an optometrist at Restore Eye Care and Eye Gym, explains the importance of full eye exams, especially for school-aged children, and the benefits of proper treatment.
WPSU Shorts
Children’s Eye Screenings Don’t Tell the Whole Story
Special | 5m 19sVideo has Closed Captions
When children pass routine eye screenings administered by their school nurse or pediatrician, it can create a false sense of security that leaves certain issues undiagnosed. In this WPSU short, Dr. Tracy Sepich, an optometrist at Restore Eye Care and Eye Gym, explains the importance of full eye exams, especially for school-aged children, and the benefits of proper treatment.
How to Watch WPSU Shorts
WPSU Shorts is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
MALISSA MARTIN: My daughter Katrina is almost 10 years old.
She just finished fourth grade.
RECEPTIONIST: Are you checking in for an appointment today?
Yes.
But second grade, she started to get headaches.
KATRINA MARTIN: I would be getting bad headaches every single day.
And I didn't want to read at night because it hurt my head so bad to read.
And I felt drowsy every night.
MALISSA MARTIN: She had the standard eye screening at the pediatrician and the school nurse.
But they cleared her and said she was fine because she was able to read the chart from whatever distance they had her at.
But we realized, something clearly is not right.
TRACY SEPICH: I hear this all the time.
The parents bring their child in for an eye exam because they're concerned.
But they said, well, the school says that their vision is OK. And it gives a false sense of security that there's nothing else to look at.
[music playing] Can you read those letters?
A-P-E-- TRACY SEPICH: People typically think, if you have bad vision, you can't see far away.
And that's usually pretty easy to pick up.
However, if you're having trouble seeing up close, the problem's hidden.
Children tend to over-accommodate and over-focus.
And that can cause your eyes to turn in too much or to be lagged and turn out too much.
When a child's reading a book, it could look like the letters are separating and doubled or that they're floating.
It usually makes it hard to keep your place when you're reading if you have to keep refocusing.
It can cause blur and headaches.
That's excellent.
Put your chin on the chin rest, forehead against the strap.
A lot of these children who have unidentified vision problems have difficulty in school.
They might take two or three times as long to read as the next person.
They might be finishing their tests later because they can't get through all the material in time.
They might have difficulty with self-esteem.
They know that they're smart, or they're told that they're smart, but yet, they can't get the work done.
EYE DOCTOR: And what can you read there?
F-Z-B.
TRACY SEPICH: Unfortunately, a lot of these children will be labeled with learning difficulties.
Some will be put into Title I or special education programs, which, of course, I totally support if that's what the child needs.
But those children should be having their eyes examined by an optometrist or ophthalmologist to check for these other problems in conjunction with any kind of learning support they might require.
Most of those problems are not identified in standard screening.
[music playing] Cover your left eye with your hand.
If you look at my nose, can you see my whole face?
It's really sad to see a child who's trying their hardest be told that they're just not trying hard enough.
But they're using everything that they have.
After they're treated with glasses or vision therapy, they're able to use their eyes properly.
And they're able to see and learn better.
And they're able to work up to their potential, whatever their potential is.
They feel a lot better about themselves.
They'll come back in for their follow-ups.
And I'll hear their reading's up three grade levels.
Or they'll be jumping up and down, saying, I'm top of the class now in math.
And I got an award.
And the glasses.
I think she enjoys reading now.
She'll just go off and pick up a book a week.
Awesome, because a lot of kids-- The screenings are important.
But they need to also have the eye exams to complement them.
[music playing] Senator Gebhard is introducing a bill to require eye exams for children entering schools in Pennsylvania, and then again at second grade and eighth grade.
So the in-between years, they would get a vision screening like they do now.
But the other years, they would need to see an eye doctor, an optometrist or an ophthalmologist, for a complete eye and vision exam.
That kind of mirrors what we already do for dentistry and physicals.
So we're hoping, when that's in place, that we'll get more kids in, and we catch some of these problems before they become problematic for the child.
When I got to pick up my first pair of glasses, I was like, rainbow.
Yes.
Getting a formal diagnosis by her eye doctor, getting the prescription lenses that she needed, made a huge difference.
KATRINA MARTIN: Before I had glasses, I was just drowsy every night and having headaches.
And then, when I got glasses, every night, I would just love reading and just be like, ah, finally.
NARRATOR: Videos like this are made possible by support from viewers like you.
If you enjoyed this video, visit wpsu.org to become a member today and help us create more content like this.
