Lions Clubs Child Sight Project
13 percent of young people under the age of 11 have an undiagnosed vision problem, this can lead to lack of concentration and underperformance in reading engagement in lessons and learning.
Early vision screening can help diagnose and prevent this.
Harpenden Lions Club has joined an international programme to screen young children for undiagnosed eye problems and are now able to offer this service to local schools.
At present, in the UK some five-year-old children in reception classes have a basic eye-screening test in school but the test does not examine the structure of the child’s eye. Approximately 45 percent of children do not have an eye examination during their early years of development and many go years without seeing an optician.
It has been established that some 13 percent of young people under the age of 11 have an undiagnosed vision problem, this can lead to underperformance in concentration, reading, engagement in lessons and learning.
The Lions Child Sight UK project is based on the successful Lions KidSight USA project, which has brought screenings to millions of American children in the last decade.
The aim of the project is to screen the eyes of 5- to 7-year-olds in UK schools, which is the best time to discover undiagnosed eye issues. Some of the conditions detected by the special screening cameras include lazy eye (amblyopia) – a condition with is best treated at an early age (up to the age of 7 or 8) as the outcomes are better if it is caught early.
The screenings will begin with a consent form to be sent home with the child from their school.
The test is performed by the child sitting at 1.0 metres in front of the camera and the test takes just a few seconds. The screening camera looks at the mechanics of each eye. The camera will then produce a simple “pass” or “refer” result. This will be recorded on the paperwork and sent back home with the child afterwards.
It is a quick and easy way to screen many young people in a short time period. Typically a class of 30 children can be screened in 20 minutes.
You can contact at: info@harpenden-lions.co.uk