How do you get a child's vision tested?

Question

This might be a weird question, but sometimes I think my 3.5 year old might have bad vision. I have severe myopia -- every member of my immediate family does, lol.

But I noticed that my daughter squints when she's watching a movie. She always sits up really close to whatever she's reading or watching. And sometimes she doesn't seem to recognize objects even when they are a few feet away. Like she'll ask, "Where's my penguin?" And I say, "Right there." And she's looking right at it but doesn't see it.

I don't know if she's had a vision test at any of her regular checkups. Is she too young to have poor eyesight? Would it be an eye development issue? Should I call her regular pediatrician or just take her to an eye doctor?

Answer 1

i would first go to your child's Regular Dr. and get a Check up

Answer 2

Call your pediatrician and tell them your concern. They may be able to do it in office, or they may refer you out to an optometrist. If your pediatrician doesn't feel the vision test is necessary and you still do, then call around to your local optometrists and see what they recommend.

Answer 3

Take her to an eye doctor. They have charts with different shapes on it for kids that can't read yet.

Answer 4

I would start with her pediatrician because they can do a quick eye check. If there seems to be a problem, the ped may send you to a pediatric ophthalmologist.

If your have vision insurance and your daughter is already covered, you could probably just take her in to an optomotrist. Whenever you do, it's a good idea to make the appointment at her best time of day...when she is well rested, well fed, happy, and not sleepy. It will make the appointment go much smoother for everyone!

I highly recommend taking her to a pediatric eye doctor (I prefer an ophthalmologist over an optomistrist, but that is me), as they are specially trained to deal with kids and their smaller eyes, have equipment that will help them with the exam of a small child.

Good luck!

Answer 5

She is not too young to have poor eyesight.

I have a 4yo, and our pediatrician did a vision test at 3 and 4; he would not do it at 3, and I did not force it because I thought he was fine, but passed with flying colors at 4.

Call your pediatrician; he/she can probably do a vision screening. If they don't, call an optometrist. However, I will warn you that insurance doesn't always cover vision screenings, eye exams, etc... (I've worn glasses or contacts  for 18 years now, so I speak from experience). So you might want to check what your insurance covers so you're prepared. The eye exam itself probably is going to run between $50-$150 depending on where you go. However, if your ped does it, it's probably covered by insurance; due to her age it might even be covered at an optometrist.

Best of luck. Take care of this ASAP.

Answer 6

you take her to a optometrist.

Answer 7

I would go to a pediatric opthamologist.  This test will be more in depth than what a pediatrician will do.  I have brought my son there at this age.  They dilate the eyes and look at the eye structures.  They test the intra ocular pressure (for glaucoma).  Then they ask them things on the eye chart by having them look through different lenses.  The preschooler chart is usually used for this age.  It has pictures on it like a cross, a boat, a doll.  They also ask them better or worse, better or worse.  If your child knows the alphabet they can use that chart.  They also ask where is the ball under the table on the table too.  Poor eyesight, especially with a family history is common.

We don't have very good Blue cross insurance but our plan is a 20 dollar copay for a specialist, and eyeexams can be once a year.

I took my sons because of neurological disorders (autism).  Anytime you have a brain development issue, the eyes could be affected because vision is a large part of the brain (occipital lobe).

Answer 8

My children get their vision tested at the pediatricians office.  They use this little 'gun' that has a circle of rotating lights.  It gives a reading of 20/20 or whatever their vision happens to be.

My son while still having 20/20 vision has a few problems so we had to take him to an ophthalmologist.  He used lots and lots of lenses, dilated his eyes, used the lenses again and looked into his pupils with a really bright light.  Came back 20/20..........my son was barely a year old when they did this test.....they wanted it before he turned a year old but I had problems getting in.

So....if I were you, see if the pediatrician has the tool used to measure eyesight.  If not, ask for a referal.

Good Luck