Operation KidSight will make its first appearance at the Zionsville Fall Festival this year. KidSight is one of many projects run by the Lions Club throughout the state and will offer families the opportunity to screen their children for potential eye abnormalities.
The first few years of a child’s life are critical in the development of normal vision, according to Operation KidSight.
“A child with vision problems often does not realize that the way they see the world is not the way everyone else sees it,” according to Operation KidSight’s website. “Vision abnormalities in a child’s eyes may occur even when the eye appears to look normal. It is estimated that 3-4% of children may have vision loss from undetected amblyopia, commonly referred to as ‘lazy eye.’”
Amblyopia results when one or both eyes send a blurry image to the brain and the brain does not learn to see clearly. If this and other problems are not detected early, a child’s vision may deteriorate to the point of irreversible blindness. According to Operation KidSight, research indicates that 70 to 80 percent of what a child learns is visually acquired, and there is evidence to suggest that children with undetected vision disorders are more likely to fail in school.
Parents and guardians are encouraged to screen children from ages 18 months to 6 years to identify signs of treatable abnormalities that will greatly reduce the potential for partial or total blindness.
The screening is free, non-invasive and takes very little time. A computerized sensor reads light refractions within the eye to determine any abnormalities in less than a minute.
