Eye doctor helping kids to avoid vision problems

Before your child can even speak they may be developing an eye problem, but a local doctor may be able to help.

The hardest part of diagnosing vision problems in infants is that they can’t communicate.

That means doctors have to be a little creative. Dr. Cody Jones, Optometrist at Complete Family Eye Care said, “When we talk to parents most of them are surprised that we can actually do an exam on an infant.”

That’s because when we think of the eye doctor we think of big machines, and trying to decide whether one looks better than two.

But with an infant Dr. Jones keeps it more simple using toys, or lights to see how they are developing.

He looks for things like lazy eye, cataracts, or even cancer. Jones said, “I have kids and a couple of them have, not major problems, but a few eye problems so to me i can see that it can make a difference.”

The InfantSEE program is offered to any child during their first year at no-cost.

Most kids probably won’t have a problem, but if they do and it’s corrected it will make sure that they can continue to develop normally. “Vision plays a big part in what we learn in school, and as we grow up-just our experiences in life,” said Jones.

Only about 7,600 doctors participate in the InfantSEE program around the country.

Jones hopes that will eventually change.

He also hopes to see more parents take advantage of the exam as part of their well-baby check-ups.

It usually only takes about 45 minutes, including filing out paperwork. Jones said, “If there are any difficulties a lot of times we’ll have them come back or we’ll do the best we can at that time, because we don’t want them to become fearful of the eye doctor.”

About 10% of kids are at risk of an undiagnosed vision problem, and visual development is the most dramatic between six and 12 months.