Getting kids eyes checked

[unicornofthesea]

DS1 is almost 4. Recently he's been making a weird face (leaning his head back, sticking his chin out, kinda squinting) when he's trying to focus on whomever is talking to him, or while watching tv. I can't tell if it's just a weird thing he does or if he's having trouble seeing.

I just made him an appointment as soon as they could get him in. I should have asked what to expect. Is it a typical tell me what letter you see for kids? I haven't had my eyes checked in a long, long time.

Has anyone's kid had it done recently?
What "symptoms" did they have?

I've tried asking him if things are blurry or if he can see okay, but I don't think he really understands.

[lifesaverz]

We just had the standard eye check at DD’s 4 yr old well check a couple months ago. They put letters up on a screen & gave her a sheet of letters as well, & had her point on that sheet to which one she was looking at on the screen. I figured they did it that way rather than having to outright read the letters in case some kids that age might not know their letters yet. Since it’s just about recognition not knowledge.

[katelou]

My kid is only 1 so IDK what it's like for older kids. Mine was checked with automated eye scanners and with shining a bright light in her eye and using lenses. But I would ask if it's a full eye exam with dilation, and if it's not, I would ask for that. The full extent of my kid's refractive error didn't show up until her eyes were dilated, and it was way worse than was seen undilated. GL!

ETA this was a pediatric ophthalmologist, not optometrist.

[cyprissa]

My kid started getting headaches and homework was misery in 1st grade. It was a typical eye exam but they check for color blindness and will use letters or shapes for the eye exam. They used both for mine as a check to make sure that it was accurate. I’d imagine at 4 it would just be the shapes. He needed reading glasses and it has dramatically improved homework and attention at school.

edited to add that the optometrist dilated my kid’s eyes to confirm the prescription too. 

[brux]

I had no clue anything was amiss.

Our K screening used a machine that shot lasers into DS's eyes and indicated that he might have a need for glasses. We made an appointment with a family optometrist that had experience with kids. We did the dilation during the exam. He mostly read letters, but they also has picture shapes and other things to help kids who aren't fully literate yet.

[unicornofthesea]

Feb 5, 2018 15:57:18 GMT -6 lifesaverz said:

We just had the standard eye check at DD’s 4 yr old well check a couple months ago. They put letters up on a screen & gave her a sheet of letters as well, & had her point on that sheet to which one she was looking at on the screen. I figured they did it that way rather than having to outright read the letters in case some kids that age might not know their letters yet. Since it’s just about recognition not knowledge.

I'm a little worried about letters because he's not good with lower case. But I'm sure they have all that figured into the exams

[lifesaverz]

Feb 5, 2018 16:10:11 GMT -6 unicornofthesea said:

Feb 5, 2018 15:57:18 GMT -6 lifesaverz said:

We just had the standard eye check at DD’s 4 yr old well check a couple months ago. They put letters up on a screen & gave her a sheet of letters as well, & had her point on that sheet to which one she was looking at on the screen. I figured they did it that way rather than having to outright read the letters in case some kids that age might not know their letters yet. Since it’s just about recognition not knowledge.

I'm a little worried about letters because he's not good with lower case. But I'm sure they have all that figured into the exams

I’m pretty sure ours were capital letters. I think they also had a small fruit next to each letter to help as well. Like I said I think it was more just about recognizability.

[shan-ah-doo]

We just got hers checked last week and they do pictures and it’s super quick and easy. She doesn’t need glasses but was very upset about it so we ordered her non prescription off Amazon. 😂

[shan-ah-doo]

Feb 5, 2018 16:10:11 GMT -6 unicornofthesea said:

Feb 5, 2018 15:57:18 GMT -6 lifesaverz said:

We just had the standard eye check at DD’s 4 yr old well check a couple months ago. They put letters up on a screen & gave her a sheet of letters as well, & had her point on that sheet to which one she was looking at on the screen. I figured they did it that way rather than having to outright read the letters in case some kids that age might not know their letters yet. Since it’s just about recognition not knowledge.

I'm a little worried about letters because he's not good with lower case. But I'm sure they have all that figured into the exams

I wouldn’t worry at all. Promise.

[Lakes]

Feb 5, 2018 15:57:34 GMT -6 katelou said:

My kid is only 1 so IDK what it's like for older kids. Mine was checked with automated eye scanners and with shining a bright light in her eye and using lenses. But I would ask if it's a full eye exam with dilation, and if it's not, I would ask for that. The full extent of my kid's refractive error didn't show up until her eyes were dilated, and it was way worse than was seen undilated. GL!

ETA this was a pediatric ophthalmologist, not optometrist.

Tell me more! My dd just turned one and was referred to a pediatric ophthalmologist. She was like a crazed honey badger at her checkup and I'm dreading trying to wrangle her for a legit eye exam. Any tips?

[rubysue]

I had no idea anything was wrong with DD’s vision. They used the little machine at her 4 year well check and it indicated she had astigmatisms in both eyes. At the pediatric ophthalmologist, they had her look at pictures instead of letters. Her eyes were dilated and checked, as well.

She’s nearsighted and has astigmatisms in both eyes. She’s had her glasses for a week and so far, so good. Plus, she looks cute AF.

[Yogurt]

The chart we have at my school has pictures of cakes and American flag and stuff like that. I wouldn't give letter knowledge any worry.

[misskilljoy]

My kids haven't had eye checks yet, but I can tell you that making a weird face while trying to read things was what prompted my teacher to ask my parents to get my eyes checked in grade 8. I vividly remember doing it - I wasn't able to squint enough to see the board, so I had to do weird things with my face.

I was 13 when my eyes were finally tested. I had NO idea that I couldn't see properly because they probably got progressively worse from birth. I just assumed everyone saw the way I did. In hindsight it seems ridiculous that no one (myself included) picked up on it before, but it happens. My mind was blown when I put glasses on for the first time.

[luvmyirishtwins]

Feb 5, 2018 16:27:36 GMT -6 Lakes said:

Feb 5, 2018 15:57:34 GMT -6 katelou said:

My kid is only 1 so IDK what it's like for older kids. Mine was checked with automated eye scanners and with shining a bright light in her eye and using lenses. But I would ask if it's a full eye exam with dilation, and if it's not, I would ask for that. The full extent of my kid's refractive error didn't show up until her eyes were dilated, and it was way worse than was seen undilated. GL!

ETA this was a pediatric ophthalmologist, not optometrist.

Tell me more! My dd just turned one and was referred to a pediatric ophthalmologist. She was like a crazed honey badger at her checkup and I'm dreading trying to wrangle her for a legit eye exam. Any tips?

All three of ours have gone to pediatric ophthalmologists since they were really little. Ds was 2 months old when we were concerned, dd1 was 4 months old but for a non-vision related issue, and our youngest for vision given our history.

We have never brought anything or done anything special in preparation for the visits. The ophthalmologist has always had a lot of tricks to use to keep our kids attention. They are in pediatrics so they are expecting appropriate behavior for whatever age their patient is at the time. I would not stress too much.

I would try to have some sort of screen in your car to protect the your LO’s eyes on the way home if you can or sunglasses if she’ll keep them on. There is a good chance they will dilate her eyes. Our van has the built in screen so we always did that.

Also, I would call the eye doctor to see how long the exam will be. Ours always run a bit longer than other doctors appointments to account for the dilation.

If you have any questions I am an open book about our experiences. Only ds has had glasses and he got his at 6 months.

[peachtree]

My kiddo had to get his eyes checked at 3 and 4. They had a pretty cool machine that flashed lights and from that she could tell he had astigmatism. Then she dilated his eyes which I felt terrible about because I didn't know they would do that, but he just got to wear sunglasses to school and he thought that was cool. And even though he knew his letters the second time she had pictures for him to identify. The hardest part was getting him to speak up loud enough that the doctor could hear because he was nervous. (it also turns out he was having hearing problems so in retrospect that may have been why he whispered to her)
Our doc decided to wait on glasses until he turns five/starts kindergarten but I made an appointment for next month because he is doing some of the stuff you mentioned like extra vigorous blinking. If we didn't know he had eye issues I would chalk it up to being a weird preschooler.

[Lord Disick]

Little kids in glasses kill me every time. So fucking cute. That's my only contribution to this thread.

[gussie]

Feb 5, 2018 16:05:14 GMT -6 brux said:

I had no clue anything was amiss.

Our K screening used a machine that shot lasers into DS's eyes and indicated that he might have a need for glasses. We made an appointment with a family optometrist that had experience with kids. We did the dilation during the exam. He mostly read letters, but they also has picture shapes and other things to help kids who aren't fully literate yet.

This is what happened at DD’s 3 year check up. They only did pictures for her though, like “house” “hand” “ball.”

[gussie]

My DD got VERY bored about halfway through the exam and stopped answering the questions. The doctor was annoyed but it was like 20 minutes of shapes and pictures, you’d think they could speed it up a bit for the kids. Especially since the results matched the flashing machine thing exactly.

[Deleted]

Like others we’ve had the machine with lasers and we also have had the full exam. They did dilate his eyes and they used pictures since he didn’t know all of his letters quite yet. Just make sure you are using an eye doctor whose comfortable with children.

[Lakes]

luvmyirishtwins, thank you! I didn't even think about the possibility of them dilating her eyes until I read this thread. There is a 0% chance she'll keep sunglasses. I'll let you know if I have any follow questions after her exam.

[rubysue]

Feb 5, 2018 18:12:07 GMT -6 Lakes said:

luvmyirishtwins, thank you! I didn't even think about the possibility of them dilating her eyes until I read this thread. There is a 0% chance she'll keep sunglasses. I'll let you know if I have any follow questions after her exam.

DS never kept the sunglasses on when they dilated his eyes—he was totally fine. He has transition lenses in his glasses now, so it’s a non issue, but it wasn’t a big deal to begin with.

Good luck!

[luvmyirishtwins]

Lakes my kids never kept sunglasses on either. But there are always those few kids that keep them on. I only mentioned it in case you had a child that would keep them on. 😊 We did use the sunshade on the drive home.

[lucilleaustero]

DD had school screenings, but nothing formal until recently.

A school screening came back off, so we went to the optometrist and her left eye was way bad. They did the dilation drops but no sunglasses needed.

Her follow up at the opthamologist gave us a diagnosis of amblyopia and she now has glasses and a patch. She never gave any indication anything was wrong, no balance issues, squinting, she is a great reader, etc.

[katelou]

Feb 5, 2018 16:27:36 GMT -6 Lakes said:

Feb 5, 2018 15:57:34 GMT -6 katelou said:

My kid is only 1 so IDK what it's like for older kids. Mine was checked with automated eye scanners and with shining a bright light in her eye and using lenses. But I would ask if it's a full eye exam with dilation, and if it's not, I would ask for that. The full extent of my kid's refractive error didn't show up until her eyes were dilated, and it was way worse than was seen undilated. GL!

ETA this was a pediatric ophthalmologist, not optometrist.

Tell me more! My dd just turned one and was referred to a pediatric ophthalmologist. She was like a crazed honey badger at her checkup and I'm dreading trying to wrangle her for a legit eye exam. Any tips?

It wasn't that bad. They know what they're doing! Holding her down to put the drops in her eyes sucked, but was over quickly. The Dr used two automated instruments that he held a couple feet from her face so that was NBD. He also had me hold her down so he could use the light and old school lenses to measure her refractive error because the machines didn't agree. That also sucked but was over quickly. I don't think I really have any tips because they could handle her total lack of cooperation.
The FB group For Little Eyes and associated website are great. I'm so glad I found it beforehand because it helped a lot with picking glasses. So many of the posts in that group are people who've just gotten glasses for their kids and they're ginormous because apparently it's an aberration for optical shops to actually know how to fit kids. Good luck.

[peachtree]

Feb 5, 2018 18:12:07 GMT -6 Lakes said:

luvmyirishtwins, thank you! I didn't even think about the possibility of them dilating her eyes until I read this thread. There is a 0% chance she'll keep sunglasses. I'll let you know if I have any follow questions after her exam.

Would she wear a hat? They just told me he would be sensitive to light for a few hours and that anything to shade his eyes would help.

[Lakes]

Feb 5, 2018 22:33:52 GMT -6 peachtree said:

Feb 5, 2018 18:12:07 GMT -6 Lakes said:

luvmyirishtwins, thank you! I didn't even think about the possibility of them dilating her eyes until I read this thread. There is a 0% chance she'll keep sunglasses. I'll let you know if I have any follow questions after her exam.

Would she wear a hat? They just told me he would be sensitive to light for a few hours and that anything to shade his eyes would help.

Yes! She is good with hats, headbands, and the like.

[chickenonsunday]

We took our oldest for her first eye exam when she was a few months shy of five years old. The doctor is a friend of ours so it wasn't stressful at all. We declined the dilation because we didn't have any concerns with her vision. It was much shorter exam than what adults are put through.

I would definitely have gone sooner if she was complaining of headaches or had issues seeing things at daycare.

[wickedcandy]

I have had glasses since I was in JK or SK ? The teacher noticed I had a hard time seeing the blackboard, and I was getting headaches... I honestly can't remember the first time they dilated my eyes, I want to say I was 12 or 13 ?

[leahcar]

My oldest failed the eye exam at her well child visit at 4. We followed up with our family optometrist and she then got a referral to a pediatric ophthalmologist. She showed NO signs of issues in advance; it is really amazing how kids can cope and use other ways to make up for their vision.

Getting her eyes dilated was the only issue. She hated the drops so it was a battle.

She was absolutely adorable in her glasses and they helped her so much! GL.