So, you’re taking your little one to have his or her eyes checked out. That’s great! As they grow older, we need to make sure that their eyes and vision develop properly and the key to that is having a pediatric eye exam regularly. Pediatric eye exams are slightly different from regular eye exams conducted on adults. If it’s your child’s first time, here’s what you should expect.
What Tests Will the Eye Doctor Do?
The most important thing to note is that the process will vary according to your child’s age because of their ability to express themselves. Pediatric eye exams for infants and toddlers will be based primarily on objective tests while those for older children and teenagers will be both objective and subjective.
Eye Exams for Infants
First, the acuity and fixation are tested by presenting a target to follow to see if they maintain their vision. A cover test will also be performed to see if the eyes are aligned properly. Signs of diseases such as retinoblastoma or cataract are also ruled out by using a red reflex test and, finally, an eye pressure test and and assessment of the front and back tissue of the eyes is also performed.
Eye Exams for Older Children
As your children reach school age, their learning skills will greatly depend on their ability to see properly. Along with the tests conducted for infants, eye exams for older children will also search for any signs of eye health problems, vision deficiency such as near or farsightedness and colorblindness.
Perception Eyecare + Eyewear has friendly doctors that are great with small children. If you are in the Richardson, Murphy or Plano, Texas areas, please feel free to give us a call at [company_phone] or fill out our contact form to set up your child’s appointment today.