In Partnership with the Lions of Florida & the Bahamas, we provide leadership and infrastructure for the screening of children (ages 1 through 6) to enhance the early detection and treatment of vision impairments.
KidSight is a FREE vision screening program administered by the Florida KidSight Foundation and Lions Club volunteers to detect vision problems that can cause Amblyopia (lazy eye) in children between the ages of 1 and 6 years old.
Why the screening is necessary
The first few years of a child’s life are critical in the development of good vision. Preschoolers should have their vision checked for issues such as, misaligned eyes and problems that are correctable with eyeglasses. These problems are not always evident by simply looking at a child. Young children often compensate for vision problems so well that parents, teachers, and pediatricians are unaware of a problem. By the time a child is old enough to be in primary grades, many of these common vision-robbing conditions can no longer be effectively treated. Amblyopia can develop when an undetected vision problem goes untreated during a child’s formative years. If not treated, it can lead to poor academic performance (80% of a child’s learning comes through his/her visual system), low self-esteem, limited social and sports involvement and behavioral problems (7 out of 10 juvenile delinquents have an undiagnosed vision problem). One in twenty children is estimated to have some degree of amblyopia. Fortunately, visual improvement is possible if problems that cause amblyopia are detected and treated early; typically prior to age six. Doctors treat amblyopia with glasses, patching, exercises, or surgery. Sadly, many children with amblyopia are not identified because of a lack of good screening programs. The KidSight program is a proven method of screening and referring children for problems that cause amblyopia.
How it’s Done
Local Lions Club volunteers use a state-of-art Plusoptix photo-screening unit to make an image of a child’s eyes. The unit produces a picture and measurement of a child’s eyes and classifies the reading as either a “pass” or “refer.”
Participation Process
To participate in the KidSight screening program, a parent or guardian must sign the Consent Form and return it to the Preschool/Childcare Director. Once the Director has the signed Consent Forms for the subject children, the Lions Club volunteers will come on site and conduct the screening. After a child is screened, the Consent Form is marked as either “passed” or referred” and it is given to Director for return to the parent/guardian. Screening results classified as referred are sent to the Florida KidSight Foundation office for further review and follow-up. The KidSight office will communicate directly with the parent/guardian until the appropriate correction action is implemented. Go to the Parents page for the required documents and forms.
Nausheen Khuddus, MD
Florida KidSight's Medical Director
Board Certified Ophthalmologist
Dr. Nausheen Khuddus is a Board Certified Ophthalmologist who graduated from the Chicago Medical School in Chicago, IL. She completed a residency in general ophthalmology followed by a fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology and strabismus at the University of Florida.
Honors and Leadership:
- Past Associate Professor University of Florida
Gainesville, FL - Medical Director Florida KidSight Foundation
- Exemplary Teaching Award College of Medicine
University of Florida: 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 - Facilitated over 30 original publications/lectures/presentation
- Faculty of the Year Award: 2013
Medical Memberships & Affiliations:
- American Academy of Ophthalmology
- American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
Ophthalmology encompasses a complete range of eye care services for infants, children and adolescents. Pediatric ophthalmologists provide care for common childhood eye disorders of childhood as well as comprehensive intervention for children with cancer, neuro-ophthalmic disorders, inherited and neonatal retinal disorders, anterior segment and glaucomatour diseases. Always upbeat and energetic, Dr. Khuddus brings the highest quality care with compassion and understanding to the residents of north central Florida.
Offices:
Family Focus Eye Care
7120 NW 11th Place
Gainesville, FL 32605
(352) 261-0089
Columbia Eye Associates
1615 SW Main Boulevard
Lake City, FL 32025
(386) 755-2785
Columbia Eye Associates/Family Focus Eye Care
105 Grand Street
Live Oak, FL 32064
(386) 401-1814
Karl Bodendorfer, MD
Board-Certified Ophthalmologist
Dr. Bodendorfer hails from Erie, Pennsylvania. His undergraduate degree is from Penn State University and he obtained his medical degree from the Penn State College of Medicine. Dr. Bodendorfer trained in ophthalmology at the University of Florida. In 2000, he was hired to be the University of Florida’s first Comprehensive Ophthalmologist. His time was divided between the Lake City VA Hospital, where he organized and ran the Department of Ophthalmology’s Lake City resident rotation, and Shands Teaching Hospital. In addition, Dr. Bodendorfer taught the second year medical student course in ophthalmology from 2001 to 2007. During that time, he won the Ophthalmology Faculty of the Year award in 2001 and 2007, the College of Medicine’s Exemplary Teacher award in 2004, and twice was awarded for Excellence in Patient Care by the VA Hospital.
Later that year, Dr. Bodendorfer reduced his time at Shands Teaching Hospital to open a private practice, Columbia Eye Associates. He now spends half his time teaching for the University of Florida at the Lake City VA and the other half in his own practice. Both of these endeavors are thriving. Dr. Bodendorfer again won Ophthalmology Faculty of the Year in 2007 and another award for Excellence in Patient Care from the VA Hospital. Columbia Eye Associates is growing rapidly and providing excellent eye care to the people of Lake City and the surrounding areas.
Dr. Bodendorfer maintains many active memberships in the eye care field including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, Alachua County Medical Society and the Columbia County Medical Society. These memberships help to keep him active in the eye care community and keep up with the latest developments in the field of ophthalmology.
Being a responsible citizen is important to Dr. Bodendorfer. He has participated in the March of Dimes since 2002 and has been a member of the NASA Medical Support Team since 2004. In June of 2007, he went with a University of Florida contingent on a medical mission to provide eye care in Honduras.
Board-Certified: Board of Ophthalmology
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Florida
Undergraduate Education: Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA
Medical School: Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, PA
Internship in Internal Medicine: Reading Hospital, West Reading, PA
Residency in Ophthalmology: University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Member:
- American Academy of Ophthalmology
- American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons
- Alachua County Medical Society
- Columbia County Medical Society
- NASA medical support team
Licensed: State of Florida