The Childrens' Optometrist

It is critical to catch and treat vision problems in childhood

Dr. Randhawa is often thought of as a childrens' optometrist.  Most of her vision therapy patients are children because most ocular-motor and perceptual disorders are caught in childhood.  At least, we hope that they are caught in childhood.  This is one fo the reasons that optometrists recommend that children see an eye doctor every year.

In fact, childhood is a critical time for human visual development.  The human visual system is completely developed by the age of seven or eight.  If a child has visual problems in this critical developmental period, they may, tragically, be stuck with these disorders and suffer serious consequences for their entire life.  An example is amblyopia (commonly known as lazy eye) in which one eye does not see well or at all.

Vision and eye health is critical in children

The childrens' optometrist must be mindful of the special considerations that apply to very young patients.  Visual problems that are missed in childhood can grow, multiply and become permanent and serious as a patient matures.  Simply stated, it is difficult to function in a visual world if your visual system is not functioning.  For these reasons, It is critical to diagnose and treat vision problems early in life.  No one should be forced to go through life held back by a treatable vision problem or visual disoder.

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A 2011 study published in the journal, Pediatrics, found that in addition to refractive errors such as myopia and astigmatism, ocular disorders like strabismus and amblyopia that occur in infants, toddlers, and children may present lifelong problems for the child. Children that become adults with these conditions must adapt and compensate for them. Moreover, vision problems that were present in childhood may continue to plague the patient into adulthood, affecting overall health, self-perception, educational attainment, job choices, and a number of other social factors.

Amblyopia is best treated at an early age.  However, recent research into neuroplacticity holds out some hope for teen-agers and adults who were not diagnosed in childhood.  However, even if older people are successfully treated, being forced to life with being blind in one eye during childhood can have serous consequences on their development, affecting their ability to learn, read, play sports, drive and many other basic human activities.

Children can't tell you that they have a vision problem

Children can often be seriously impacted by "ordinary" vision problems like myopia and hyperopia (near-sightedness and far-sightedness).  The impact of these problems is amplified because children cannot know that they have a vision  problem and that they are not seeing normally.  They have always seen that way and they think that every one else sees that way too. 

Every optometrist can tell you a heart-warming storie of a five or six year-old child who sees his mother's face for the first time in the exam room.  A child's inability to communicate or even know about her vision problem is the reason why it is so important to see your optometrist every year to make sure that a child's eyes are developing properly and that she is seeing well enough to accomplish all the learning that must occur for proper human development.  Remember that 80% of our learning comes via our visual system.  As parents and eye doctors, we need to make sure that the visual system is working properly.

Kelly was diagnosed with amblyopia during a routine optometric eye exam

childhood disorders

grow up to be

adult problems

Kids' vision guidelines