Back to School Eye Exams - It's that time of year again!

/ Stonewire Optometry /
Photo: Young child with eyeglasses smiling wearing orange shirt with blue backpack getting ready to head back to school

Book your kids in for their annual back to school eye exams.

780.628.6886   or    Book Online

Kids grow and change quickly and so can their eyes. That’s why it’s important to have their vision checked yearly.  Even a small change in your child’s eyesight can lead to strain, fatigue, blurriness and a loss of concentration in the classroom. So with back to school just around the corner, this is the perfect time of year to schedule your kids in to see the optometrist.

Kids Eye Exams are Covered

Alberta Health Care covers
kids ages 0-18
for ONE complete eye exam every year
(July 1st - June 30th).

 

Don’t wait until you think your child has a problem, be proactive. It’s estimated that 1 in 4 kids starts Kindergarten with a vision problem.

What are we looking for?

  1. Nearsightedness - they can’t see the board from far away

  2. Farsightedness - they typically 'can see' at all distances, but this can lead to excessive eye strain, headaches or avoidance when reading.

  3. Astigmatism - this may result in squinting, confusing letters and slow reading speeds

  4. Binocular vision problems - When their two eyes just don't seem to work together. It's often referred to as lazy eyes, turned eyes. 

  5. Colour vision problems - This affects about 8% of boys and 0.5% of girls.

  6. Eye Health - Children can develop cataracts, retinal problems, glaucoma, and a host of other ocular conditions just like adults which can prevent good vision. It's important to find these problems early to allow the eye to develop properly. 

What happens during an eye exam?

  1. Pre-Testing: Before seeing the optometrist your child will be screened by our staff using various automated machines and screening tests to determine their general eye functions. Sometimes in very young children these tests can’t be performed, but most kids love looking at the machines.

  2. Personal history: Our staff will take down all the necessary personal and medical information, along with any visual signs and symptoms that you or they might be noticing.

  3. The Eye Exam with the Doctor: The optometrist will thoroughly examine their eyes looking for normal eye functions, and to ensure the eyes are free from any obvious eye health issues.

  4. Eyeglasses: The optometrist will check to see if your child needs glasses to help correct any vision problems. We review their prescription in multiple ways (both objectively and subjectively). This ensures that we are accurate in our diagnosis and prevents kids who ‘want glasses’ from getting glasses they don’t need.

 

Don’t worry if your kids don’t know their letters yet,
we have lots of tricks to figure out what they can see.

 

780.628.6886   or    Book Online

 

Does Your Child See Clearly? Let's Find Out Together. 

 

Book Your Next Eye Exam with Stonewire Optometry
Kingsway Mall | Edmonton | Alberta