What does a pediatric exam entail?

Pediatric eye exams are performed by our talented staff who work hard to make the experience non-threatening and fun. Using a variety of props, such as a barking dog on the wall and small finger puppets, our staff distracts nervous children in order to conduct a thorough eye exam. At West Coast Eye Care, we specialize in pediatric ophthalmology. Even infants can have an eye exam to help physicians identify early problems such as strabismus and amblyopia. These conditions when treated early can be completely reversed in many cases. All children should have their eyes examined by their pediatrician or ophthalmologist by the age of three. However, if parents or the baby’s doctor suspect a problem or if there is a history of eye problems, babies should be seen as early as six months or one year. 

A pediatric eye exam includes distance and near acuity tests to determine the patient’s ability to see distant items clearly as well as up-close reading vision. Drops are placed in each eye to dilate the pupil in order for the ophthalmologist to view the inside of the eye and temporarily relax the child’s focusing power so that nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism can be accurately measured.  Occasionally, it may be necessary to administer special drops or ointment at home for a complete examination at a later date. 

Tests are also performed to determine focusing skills to be sure eyes can maintain sharp vision at varying distances. Eye tracking and fixation skills are tested which provides valuable information to make sure the eyes have the ability to move across a sheet of paper while reading. 

Additionally, our young patients are routinely tested for binocular vision or fusion which shows if both eyes are used together at the same time and stereopis which helps determine binocular depth perception. Convergence and eye teaming skills are also tested to make sure the eyes can aim, move and work together. 

Our staff, which includes a certified orthoptist, also tests color vision, reversal frequency such as confusing letters or words, such as b, d, p, q, saw and was. Visual memory, the ability to store and retrieve visual information as well as visual form discrimination which is the ability to determine if two shapes, colors, sizes, etc. are the same or different. Our staff also routinely conducts visual motor integration to determine the eye’s ability to work alongside other sensory input such as hand/body movements, balance, etc. as well as the ability to differentiate between vertical and horizontal planes.

Parents should be aware that while vision screenings performed at schools are important for identifying some vision problems, they should not be relied upon for determining the overall health of young children’s eyes. Many pediatric vision problems are undetected until children get older which can deprive these children from important learning milestones associated with vision. 

Photo: Pediatric eye exam (taken recently – Dr. Aouchiche performing the exam)