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Post by Laurie on Aug 21, 2015 13:48:34 GMT
Lexi (3 years old) failed the vision screening test at preschool yesterday. They tried it 3 different times and she failed each time. I have been googling it and it was the photoscreening test that they used.
I am sure there are some peas here that have had a toddler child "fail" their vision screening. What was the outcome when you went to have it checked?
I have noticed since she was about a year old that one eye seemed different than the other to me. Dh says he doesn't really see what I am talking about and reassured me that her pediatrician has never noticed it at her well baby checks. So I chalked it up to my tendency to worry over nothing. However, it was always in the back of my mind that something is different about that eye although no one else is noticing it. Now after this vision screening I am wondering if there is something wrong with that eye.
Unfortunately the first available appointment that I have been able to get for an ophthalmologist is Sept 29th. Even though I know it is not an emergency I can't wait that long for answers so I made an appointment with an optometrist for next Friday in hopes that he can either give me more information or hopefully say everything looks good and it was machine error.
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Post by bearmom on Aug 21, 2015 13:58:29 GMT
My experience:
Older dd passed her 3rd grade exam at school in the spring. On August I took her to the eye doctor and she needed glasses. After she got them and we walked outside, her comment was "look mommy, the trees have leaves." I felt horrible.
Younger dd failed her 3rd grade eye exam, but had just passed an eye exam at the eye doctor. She didn't need glasses until 6th grade.
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Post by agengr2004 on Aug 21, 2015 13:59:12 GMT
Does your pediatrician do eye exams? I don't remember if they started at 3 or 4 at DD's pedi.
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melissa
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Post by melissa on Aug 21, 2015 13:59:21 GMT
Remember that the purpose of a screening test it to determine who needs further testing. It doesn't mean anything more than that she is one who might benefit from a more thorough examination.
Have you ever pointed out what you felt was different to the pediatrician? Just curious because just because you notice something subtle does not mean that even a professional will notice. I suspect you are correct because mothers notice things that no one else do. Photoscreening is such a broad screening test, it covers such a wide variety of eye conditions including the very common things like strabismus and amblyopia.
Also keep in mind that if she does have some sort of sight issue, it's unlikely to be anything major at this point and it's something she would have had for quite some time. The point is to pick these little things up as preschoolers so that they can be resolved by the time they get to school age.
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blue tulip
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Post by blue tulip on Aug 21, 2015 14:02:32 GMT
My experience: Older dd passed her 3rd grade exam at school in the spring. On August I took her to the eye doctor and she needed glasses. After she got them and we walked outside, her comment was "look mommy, the trees have leaves." I felt horrible. Younger dd failed her 3rd grade eye exam, but had just passed an eye exam at the eye doctor. She didn't need glasses until 6th grade. I made almost that exact comment when I got glasses in 6th grade, I remember the leaves being a huge difference! I hope my mom didn't feel bad tho, it must be so hard to *really* know what someone else is seeing, and how are they supposed to know what their vision *should* be like, you know? i had passed all my vision tests up to that point as well.
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wellway
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Post by wellway on Aug 21, 2015 14:11:29 GMT
My experience: Older dd passed her 3rd grade exam at school in the spring. On August I took her to the eye doctor and she needed glasses. After she got them and we walked outside, her comment was "look mommy, the trees have leaves." I felt horrible. I was the DD in this situation, and it was the leaves on trees for me too. Decades later, from time to time my Mum still mentions how awful she felt at that moment. I always try to put her mind at rest, I didn't know I couldn't see clearly, how would she? ETA sorry meant to add a note for the OP. If there is an issue you have will have found out early. Good luck with your appt.
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Post by Laurie on Aug 21, 2015 14:23:07 GMT
Does your pediatrician do eye exams? I don't remember if they started at 3 or 4 at DD's pedi. At her last well baby appointment in February they did a basic one of identifying shapes on a chart. It was a bit of a mess though because she was being stubborn and shy. It was always on my list to ask but to be honest I am not sure if I have asked. I know that sounds terrible but her last couple of appointments there has been something else that he notices and I get so focused on that issue that I don't have my thoughts in order. I can't even really remember the appointments which is why I am not fully sure what the result was of the eye exam last time. I just remember hearing the words heart and different. As an aside her heart was fine, just works more efficiently than the average person but of course when I heard that heart was different my mind started racing. I know that even if it something it is treatable and will be fine. I am just mad at myself for not going with my intuition when I first noticed it. I got my glasses in 7th grade and remember telling my mom on the way home everything is so crisp and white (it was winter and there was snow).
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Post by PEArfect on Aug 21, 2015 14:34:15 GMT
My oldest and youngest both failed a school eye exam around 5/6 years old. My middle daughter was the one that needed glasses and always passed the school exams. Go figure! At the time I took my daughters to my optometrist for an exam. My oldest and youngest both have 20/20 vision (so far.)
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freebird
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Post by freebird on Aug 21, 2015 14:39:38 GMT
Let me give you a different perspective... the school screened my son and told me he was "almost legally blind". The optometrist laughed. He just has a regular prescription, nothing extreme. So they can be very, very wrong. He was about 9ish when he got his glasses.
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Post by Laurie on Aug 21, 2015 14:49:03 GMT
On the upside I will finally know if there is something wrong with the one eye. I will know if I have been worrying about nothing.
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Post by bc2ca on Aug 21, 2015 14:54:29 GMT
Lexi (3 years old) failed the vision screening test at preschool yesterday. They tried it 3 different times and she failed each time. I have been googling it and it was the photoscreening test that they used. I am sure there are some peas here that have had a toddler child "fail" their vision screening. What was the outcome when you went to have it checked? I have noticed since she was about a year old that one eye seemed different than the other to me. Dh says he doesn't really see what I am talking about and reassured me that her pediatrician has never noticed it at her well baby checks. So I chalked it up to my tendency to worry over nothing. However, it was always in the back of my mind that something is different about that eye although no one else is noticing it. Now after this vision screening I am wondering if there is something wrong with that eye. Unfortunately the first available appointment that I have been able to get for an ophthalmologist is Sept 29th. Even though I know it is not an emergency I can't wait that long for answers so I made an appointment with an optometrist for next Friday in hopes that he can either give me more information or hopefully say everything looks good and it was machine error. Write down what you notice that is different with the one eye and when this happens. Is it the shape, size, tracking, dilation, etc.? Is it all the time, when she is tired, when she first wakes up, is there a difference inside vs outside? I noticed DD had one eye that didn't track as quickly when she was almost two. At first I wasn't sure I saw it (I don't know if that makes sense), and really started looking for it and asked others if they noticed anything. It was much more apparent when she was tired. If you called her name, she would turn her head and look at you but one eye wouldn't move over as quickly. We were referred to a Pediatric opthamologist for an assessment and he was wonderful both in handling a shy, clingy toddler and reassuring the concerned parents. In our case, it was something we monitored and she outgrew. Even if your optometrist isn't concerned, keep the ophthamologist appointment.
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Post by monklady123 on Aug 21, 2015 14:55:29 GMT
My experience: Older dd passed her 3rd grade exam at school in the spring. On August I took her to the eye doctor and she needed glasses. After she got them and we walked outside, her comment was "look mommy, the trees have leaves." I felt horrible. Younger dd failed her 3rd grade eye exam, but had just passed an eye exam at the eye doctor. She didn't need glasses until 6th grade. Yes, mine said "Oh Mommy, the clouds really *do* look like cotton balls!" <----- {cue Mommy Guilt} OP, you said you had the appointment for optometrist that's sooner, but you will still keep the appt with the pediatric ophthalmologist? Because they're the ones who really know kids' eyes, just to be sure. My dd saw one for her first appointment, but then after that we see an optometrist at the same practice. She can do the drops, prescribe, etc. but can also call on the medical doctor if necessary (it never has been, thank goodness). Good luck, and yes now you can ask about that one eye that you never felt was quite right.
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MerryMom
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Post by MerryMom on Aug 21, 2015 14:59:14 GMT
Let me give you a different perspective... the school screened my son and told me he was "almost legally blind". The optometrist laughed. He just has a regular prescription, nothing extreme. So they can be very, very wrong. He was about 9ish when he got his glasses. I think they were going off his vision based on the screening exam. Obviously, once he is wearing corrective lenses, he can see.
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Peamac
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Post by Peamac on Aug 21, 2015 15:00:54 GMT
I'd still keep the appointment with the opthamologist, because he has different tests and more advanced equipment. The optometrist visit is fine, but he won't be able to pick up certain issues that the opthamologist can. DD#2 passed all eye exams at school and optometrist, but she had issues with her eye muscles that only an opthamologist with special equipment and specific tests could determine.
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Post by mrssmith on Aug 21, 2015 15:01:50 GMT
Definitely go to the ped opthalmologist. I frankly wouldn't bother with the optometrist if it's a difference of one month.
My DD got glasses at 2.5. My mom and DH noticed her blinking a lot. I though it was dry eyes (it was winter). Pediatrician referred me to the opthalmologist. Turned out she is extremely far sighted, esp. in left eye. The blinking was her trying to refocus. At that age, the kids can make their eyes focus, but it puts stress on the eye that can lead to long-term problems. Fortunately, a lot of family members wear glasses so it was not difficult to get her to wear them.
DS looked cross eyed in so many baby pics. I took him to the opthalmologist based on our experience w/ DD. Turned out he had false strabismus and has no vision problems. He no longer looks cross eyed.
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freebird
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Post by freebird on Aug 21, 2015 15:10:12 GMT
Let me give you a different perspective... the school screened my son and told me he was "almost legally blind". The optometrist laughed. He just has a regular prescription, nothing extreme. So they can be very, very wrong. He was about 9ish when he got his glasses. I think they were going off his vision based on the screening exam. Obviously, once he is wearing corrective lenses, he can see. ?? Well... yeah, they were basing their assumptions off their (very bad) screening test and making the statement that he was "almost legally blind" but he was not "almost legally blind" by any standard, from a screening test, eye examine or anything.
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Post by Laurie on Aug 21, 2015 15:21:19 GMT
The shape seems different to me and similar to your dd it seems like the one isn't tracking as quickly as the other. It is most noticeable to me when her eyes are moving.
I am still keeping the appointment with the ophthalmologist.
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scrappinmama
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Post by scrappinmama on Aug 21, 2015 15:31:31 GMT
I agree with everyone. It will be ok. Try to relax. Let the opthalmologist examine her and see what they say. I'm sorry that the appointment is so far away. It would be nice to have an answer sooner rather than later.
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Post by bunnyhug on Aug 21, 2015 15:35:10 GMT
So are ophthalmologists common in the US? Here you always see an optometrist for eye exams, glasses, eye problems, etc, and an ophthalmologist would come into play if you needed surgery or had some serious disease. An optician is the person at the glasses store who helps with fittings, etc. Some of them offer eye exams, but they really don't have the training necessary to do a good job of prescribing corrective lenses--they really just want to sell you something, in my experience!
My kids started seeing our optometrist at 6 months old for their first check up, and go every 6-12 months, depending on what's going on (eye exams for kids under 18 are free here, but the standard is to visit once a year). He's pretty progressive and has a couple very high tech machines that let him check the health of the eye from the inside, and he is also one of a small number of optometrists who prescribe bifocals for kids as a way to keep the eye from weakening when the same prescription strength isn't needed for both near and far vision. He knows my kids by name and has an amazing memory about what they like and are interested in, and he does a good job of explaining what's going on with their eyes in kid terms to them. I would go see your optometrist next week--you should be able to get your questions answered, and an optometrist is an eye care professional who can give you better results than an eye test given at school or at a paediatrician's office.
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Post by mrssmith on Aug 21, 2015 16:09:54 GMT
I think they were going off his vision based on the screening exam. Obviously, once he is wearing corrective lenses, he can see. ?? Well... yeah, they were basing their assumptions off their (very bad) screening test and making the statement that he was "almost legally blind" but he was not "almost legally blind" by any standard, from a screening test, eye examine or anything. My niece also failed her screening exam and was found to be fine by the opthalmologist, who suggested that it was perhaps a lack of "motivation" to answer the questions correctly... NOT saying that's what your DS did, but it depends on the kid's answers. And I think for younger kids it can be the stress of the test, and difficulty possibly understanding what they are supposed to do. Our preschool had us practice with the kids so they knew what to expect.
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Post by utmr on Aug 21, 2015 16:21:09 GMT
I think that "the trees have leaves" is a pretty common reaction. My DH remembers when he got glasses being amazed that the teacher wrote things on the board. He had no idea that she was writing stuff up there.
Go see the optometrist and find out what they say. It will be ok.
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Post by darkangel090260 on Aug 21, 2015 16:30:25 GMT
she is 3 and has not been to the eye dr. all my kids go in once a year starting at age one.
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IAmUnoriginal
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Post by IAmUnoriginal on Aug 21, 2015 16:53:28 GMT
My ODS wouldn't cooperate with his vision test at the pediatrician for his preschool physical. He kept saying he couldn't see the charts that were being shown. The pediatrician brushed it off as DS being in a different environment and said we'd try again next time he was in. It really, really bothered me when we went home. My kid was one who liked to show off that he new his numbers and letters to anyone and everyone. The vision test should have been right up his alley to show his skills.
I went home and printed some eye charts that were available online. I tried several times with him over the course of a couple days. He kept saying he couldn't see them. I called and got him into an optometrist. Something in my gut was telling me there was something wrong. The optometrist quickly diagnosed DS with vision issues, including a lazy eye that was really bad. We'd noticed a difference in his eyes when he was really tired, but other than that, it was never obvious to us that something was going on with his vision. She was livid with the pediatrician for blowing off DS's vision screening and called to read him the riot act. DS ended up with glasses and a visit to a pediatric ophthamologist to figure out how to correct that lazy eye. He was right on the edge between needing surgery and patch therapy. Luckily, patch therapy did trick. Had we waited longer to get him diagnosed, he probably would have ended up with surgery to correct the problem.
Good luck. Follow your gut and keep going until you're sure what's going on.
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Peamac
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Post by Peamac on Aug 21, 2015 16:55:46 GMT
If her eye muscles aren't working together properly, she may need vision therapy like my DD did. Much better to discover now than in a few years.
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JustCallMeMommy
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Post by JustCallMeMommy on Aug 21, 2015 17:09:34 GMT
I was 16 or 17 when I had the leaves on trees reaction. It is common enough that my eye doctor had a big glass window with a large tree nearby. He actually walked me over there with the prescription lenses and said, "Look at the top of that tree." Then, he put the lenses in front of my eyes, and the individual leaves appeared, as opposed to a more general tree shape. The good news is that I had no issues due to this - you don't need to make out details at the distance of the top of a tree very often.
I'm sure your DD will be fine. She may or may not need glasses, but if she does she will get used to them quickly. My DD was so jealous of the kids with glasses when she was that age that she told me she couldn't see well in hopes that she would get glasses, too. She didn't need them then, but we did establish the habit of having eye checks annually, so when she really needed glasses in 2nd or 3rd grade, we caught it pretty quickly.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Aug 21, 2015 17:22:38 GMT
"So are ophthalmologists common in the US? Here you always see an optometrist for eye exams, glasses, eye problems, etc, and an ophthalmologist would come into play if you needed surgery or had some serious disease. "
^^^ it's the same way for us here in the US-- an ophthalmologist is a medical specialist (at least according to my medical insurance, they are) so it also would depend on peoples' insurance coverage, whether they would choose to go to one regularly, or only when the situation warrants. I typically see an optometrist for my 'regular' exams, but when I hurt my eye my medical doctor sent me to the ophthalmologist, who prescribed the medications and did all the follow-ups. I think they're also the ones who would perform cataract surgery, that type of thing...
ETA: sorry; forgot to address the OP! It's good that you're getting it checked out, and I agree with the posters who said as kids, we don't know that how we're seeing is 'different' or isn't how we're SUPPOSED to see the world, so don't feel guilty!
(and for your pediatrician appointments, if you have specific things you want to bring up, I suggest making a list of your questions / issues beforehand, so you don't get distracted during the appointment. It's helpful in making sure you covered everything you want to.)
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Grom Pea
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Post by Grom Pea on Aug 21, 2015 17:37:50 GMT
I'm not sure if they have this for kids but there is a machine you can look into and it can figure out your prescription. I used it when i got lasik, you look into the viewfinder and it's blurry and then they press a button and presto!you can see the hot air balloon or whatever image. They then ask you if you can see it and note your prescription. I'm surprised they don't use this when kids are too young to understand why they need to take the eye test/ feel motivated to answer correctly. I got lasik overt 10 years ago so it's not exactly new.
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Post by cbet on Aug 21, 2015 17:39:42 GMT
I'll give you one the other way - I never "failed" a vision screening at school, but one day when on a family trip, my parents realized that I could not read the giant word "Tombstone" on the semi truck behind us - because the word was just a gigantic blur. So even if your kids are passing the vision screening at school, regular optometrist appointments are a good idea
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Post by crazy4scraps on Aug 21, 2015 18:09:34 GMT
It's good you're getting it checked out. Hopefully it won't be a big deal. I remember in maybe 3rd or 4th grade doing the school eye test on a day when I was kind of sick (ha ha, my mom never believed in keeping us home unless we had diarrhea or were puking our guts out) and I flunked it. The snotty lady doing the test said loudly in front of everybody in a sing-songy voice, "Somebody needs glasses!" What a witch. My mom took me in and had my vision tested, and of course, I didn't need glasses at all. It's amazing how much better you can see when you're not a watery eyed, stuffy nosed sneezing mess!
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Post by Laurie on Aug 21, 2015 18:29:42 GMT
I'm not sure if they have this for kids but there is a machine you can look into and it can figure out your prescription. I used it when i got lasik, you look into the viewfinder and it's blurry and then they press a button and presto!you can see the hot air balloon or whatever image. They then ask you if you can see it and note your prescription. I'm surprised they don't use this when kids are too young to understand why they need to take the eye test/ feel motivated to answer correctly. I got lasik overt 10 years ago so it's not exactly new. This is sort of what they did yesterday. A lady held this device in her hand and Lexi just had to look into the screen of the device. From what I understand in reading is that there is a light she was looking at and the device is taking a series of pictures of her eyes. Lex didn't have to do anything other than sit there and look at this device. I haven't done a lot of googling on this because it just gives me more things to worry about. However, the little that I have looked at this morning I am seeing other things that she did that I just chalked up to other stuff. Watery eye, I thought she has allergies like her sister and dad. Always wanting to go into my bedroom because it is darker, I thought it was because she wanted to watch a movie and it was quieter not because of light sensitivity. I just brushed off my thinking something was different because it was just me being me and worrying too much. My mom takes care of her during the day while we work so I have mentioned it to her and she wasn't seeing what I was talking about either. It certainly isn't going to hurt to have her eyes examined and peace of mind.
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