What is Florida KidSight?
Florida KidSight is a vision-screening program where Lions Club volunteers throughout the state organize and conduct vision screening sessions in local communities. The results are interpreted by Medical Director, Nausheen Khuddus, MD (link to her bio) and returned to families. This voluntary program is open to children one to six years old.
Why Should My Child’s Vision be Screened?
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.
What is Amblyopia (lazy eye)?
From the Greek words Amblyos (dull) and opia (vision). Reduced vision is an eye from disuse. One in 20 children have some degree of amblyopia.
- What causes Amblyopia (lazy eye)?
- Hyperopia: occurs when children can see objects far but objects up close are blurred; may cause eye crossing.
- Myopia: occurs when children see well up close but objects far are blurred.
- Anisometropia (dramatic difference in prescription between two eyes): Creates a clear image from one eye but blurred image from the other. The brain will “turn off” the blurred image and only use the clear image.
- Astigmatism (eye is shaped like a football instead of a sphere): distributes light unequally; causes a blurring of images.
- Corneal Reflex/Strabismus: the crossing or turning out of one eye due to a lack of muscle coordination
How much will this cost me?
The screening is FREE, thanks to the support of volunteer efforts of the Lions Clubs across the state and private donations (link to donation page) made to the Florida KidSight Foundation.
How is Vision Screening Done?
It is as simple as having your child’s picture taken. 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.”
My Child Already Had a Vision Screening, Should My Child be Re-Screened?
Yes! Some vision problems begin as a child grows older. Just like the child grows so does his or her eyes. Children’s vison should be check regularly.
What Happens if A Possible Problem is Detected in My Child’s Vision?
The results of your child’s vision screening will be mailed to the Florida KidSight office for review. You will receive the results approximately two to four weeks after the screening. IF a possible vision problem is detected, you will also be give an letter of referral for your child and a list of ophthalmologists and optometrists in your local area (link to listing of doctors).
What if I don’t take my child to an eye doctor after he or she is referred?
If a child is referred, the problem may cause permanent vision loss in your child. These problems are often easily corrected if caught at an early age, but if left untreated they become both more serious and much more difficult to treat. The earlier the better!
What do you stand to gain from this? What’s in this for you?
The only thing we stand to gain from this is the satisfaction of seeing your child get any help needed. We are not making money from this in any way.
Will the evaluation or results be shared with insurance companies?
No! All results collected by the Florida KidSight Program are kept strictly confidential.
Will Insurance or Medicaid cover follow-up exams if my child is referred?
Individual health insurance or Medicaid should cover most exams; however plans vary. You should contact your child’s health care provider or your insurance company for more information.
How can my child participate?
To participate in the Florida KidSight screening program, a parent or guardian must sign the Consent Form (link to 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.
How does Amblyopia (lazy eye) develop in children?
How can Amblyopia be treated and eliminated?
How Can I help?
The quickest and easiest way... you can donate or buy one of our t-shirts and if you want to do more, contact us and we can guide you.