Eye exams?

[laurasnowbird]

Looks like Ethan needs glasses. I have been noticing that he sometimes closes one eye to see, and have seen him tilting his head.

So, how do the eye doctors get an accurate prescription from a kid who won't answer questions about which lens they can see from better? I'm sure lots of you have already done this, so I'd love to know what to expect. I'm bummed that he's showing signs of needing glasses, but shouldn't be surprised. Nearly everyone in our family wears glasses or contacts!

I'm sure Bob has an answer for this one....right?

[kristin]

Laura~ If you're looking for an explanation of how the doctors know what they know, I am not the one to ask, but I can tell you the process we went through to get Cole's glasses.

No need for an ability to answer questions!! The doctor uses the dialation drops in their eyes, then hold different lenses in front of their eyes (the kids') and come away with the correct (I assume) prescription. From what I can tell, they are accurate, because though it took Cole awhile to get used to wearing the glasses, he now asks for them, and I can tell by his expression that he can now SEE with them on! He rarely throws the glasses off, and if we forget to grab them, he will, without fail, call out, "WHERE'S YOUR GLASSES?" !! We then promptly retrieve them for him!

I have wondered too, about how the doctor determines the prescription, but I do know the child doesn't need to be verbal.

Good luck! And he's going to look so cute in them!

[Mary_L.]

Patrick went through the same thing that Kristin described for Cole. He gets the drops and then she uses different lenses to figure out his prescription. However, unblike Cole, Patrick does not like to wear his glasses and throws them off and we can never find them!

I hope Ethan is more like Cole if he gets glasses!

[sarahsma]

Laura,
Sarah has worn glasses since she was 14 months old.I had the same ?'s you have.The Doc dialated her eyes with drops,played a cartoon then held different lenses up to her eyes. I told the Doc there was no way she would leave glasses on...she didn't even leave her socks on at that point. He said once she realizes how much better she can see, she will leave them on.Sarah is now almost 13 and has never lost or broken a pair of glasses. They are the first thing she puts on on the a.m. and the last thing she takes off at night. In fact we have been in the process of introducing contact lenses to her and she would rather wear her glasses.....go figure. Good Luck... Lisa

[wrblack]

No, Bob doesn't have a good answer. But, as often, can offer a link,
aapos.affiniscape.com/associations/5371/aapos_search.cfm
just in case you need to find a good kiddie eye doc.
Oh, and here's their short answer,
<< How can a child be tested for glasses, especially in infancy or early childhood?

An ophthalmologist can detect the need for glasses through a complete eye exam. Typically, the pupils are dilated in order to relax the focusing muscles, so that an accurate measurement can be obtained. By using a special instrument, called a retinoscope, your eye doctor can arrive at an accurate prescription. The ophthalmologist will then advise parents whether there is a need for glasses, or whether the condition can be monitored. >>

Don't think you need concern yourself with Snellen charts and their alternatives (pictures, tumbling E) nor Teller cards and preferential viewing. Just find a good pediatric ophthalmologist and get a good exam for Ethan. The good pediatric ophthalmologist will answer all your questions, tell you everything you need to know, and won't bother you with all the stuff you don't need.
But have I ever told you the story of the first time Charlie popped a contact lens? He was still in NICU. Two NICU nurses were giving him a tubby bath. Wish I had it on video. Oh, and those days his contacts cost about $200 a pop, so to speak. -- Bob

[Cathy]

Hi Laura,

Katie has had her glasses for three years. The doc does not dialate her eyes, but does hold the lenses up and shines a light. Something about the way her eyes reflect the light back tells him what her presecription is. And I can tell when she is not wearing her glasses .. she squints, tilts and her right eye wanders in.

So I can only assume they are correct, she leaves them on and actually will ask for them.

Good luck... I am sure Ethan will be a handsoome stud with new glasses

Hugs,

Cathy

[Connie]

Laura,

Collin has been wearing glasses for about a year now and he just turned 6. While the doctor has dilated his eyes before this was not how he determined his rx. He has a picture chart (same idea as the letter chart) he uses for kids who are non-verbal or don't know their alphbet. It was amazing to me how well Collin did with this kind of test!!!

Connie

[justinsmom]

I took Justin to a Pediatric Opthamologist at U of M couldn't get a "regular" Opthamologist around here that would check his eyes, they said he needed to be seen by a specialist hmmmmmm. But anyway we went and seen the Pediatric Opthamologist at U of M, she dilated his eyes and used different prisms. She has been awesome with him, his favorite part is when she puts the stickers on her nose and tells him to look at the stickers and then he gets to take it off and keep it. She uses finger puppets and decorated ahhhh sticks.

[meghans_mom]

Laura - we went thru basically the same. We've finally graduated where they will ask MM questions.
Definitely find a good PEDIATRIC ophth...which i'm sure you will.
And my only other piece of advice is, if your little guy does need glasses, definitely spring for the Flex-on brand frames...they're well worth the extra $$. Plus the protective coating :-)
I was very upset when I found out MM needed glasses...I don't know why it bugged me so much but it really did. But she does great with them, and *both* of us have gotten used to them.
good luck! laurie

[Debbie]

I love my glasses! Not so much when they need to be fixed but mostly I do like them. I can see so much better. I don't have to put out my hand or squint to see.
Actually, I can make our people's noses, eyes and mouths better too. Just shows you how nearsighted I am.

[Jodi]

Ryan (8 in June) just got his first pair of bi-focals a few months ago. He has always done very well with his glasses (keeping them on).

During the exam, his doctor show him 4 pictures that he recognizes and can somewhat sound out - circle, square, house, and apple. She puts different lenses in front of his eyes and he tells her what shape he sees (I interpret what he says). She is very interactive, giving him small stickers on a post-it pad on the arm of his chair. The goal is to listen and get as many stickers as you can!!

Jodi

[momofrussell]

YEAH.. what they all said!!! heehee

I always wondered that when Russell was little.. but Ped Opths are SOOO good and there are lots of different ways to get accurate "readings" on kids. Heck, Russell has had alot of EUAs or Exams Under Anethesia to determine his acuity. They have dialated... watched... measured... done all sorts of things. I did ask the doc once how they REALLY know the acuity in a child who can't say what he/she can't see... he said there is a more accurate test... "brushing" or something like that... he told me... because at one point the Vision Itinerant was giving me grief over Russell's TRUE vision... but we never did have the test. We know for SURE that Russell has vision probs.. we just don't know what his acuity is.. it's an estimate based on the tests the doc does... So.. when people say.. oh..what is Russell? 20/20? or what? I have to say.. I don't know!

A.

[carolyn]

Laura:

We also go to U of M pediatric opthamologist - We see Dr. Erika Levin - she is a FANTASTIC doctor- I highly recommend her. I know you live near Flint, and I think she might have an office in Brighton- I go to the one in Canton. She used to work out of the Kellogg center in A2 , so we started out there but moved with her to the Canton office. One of the things she prides herself on is not making her patients wait more than 15 minutes for an aptt. Now how great is that?? Anyone at the U of M is great, what ever you decide, but definitely go for the pediatric opthamologist over a regular one.

Carolyn

[shellk]

When Kourtney first go ther glasses 3 years ago....They dialated her eyes like 3 times a half hour apart, and then held the lens up to her eyes while shining a little light. He said they lighte helped him gage her eyes response to the lens. This time when we went back for new glasses she was able to do the shapes chart. Which helped. Good luck to you

Michele

[hannahsmomuk]

As this is my field of work which I qualified in before giving it up a few years ago I will try to explain it in simple terms how they can get a prescription without the need for any communication from the child

There is alot of physics involved but it works on how the light is reflected off the lens and front surface of the eye

when the optician shines the light from a distance with his instrument ( called a retinscope ) as he moves it back and forth he gets a reflection from the lens.

Depending which way the reflection moves he then puts a lens infront of the eye to neutralise the movement of the reflection.

That lens is how they get the prescription for the glasses

I hope that makes sense.

it means that yes and optician can actually tell you what you need for glasses without having to ask you anything which is good for children and for people who don't speak the same language.

It was also quite funny in our practice to see some children coming in who wanted glasses sayng they couldn't see and we knew that they could from this test.

The optician will use the drops to dilate the pupils ( black bits ) in the eye so they can see the lens better

I hope that all makes sense and to help ease anyone's mind so that you know that our kids can be tested without the need for them to say anything