More than 7,000 Iowa children under the age of our have poor vision in at least one eye. If undetected, vision problems can lead to permanent damage. But there is a program designed to end that trend.
Most children do not have their vision tested until they enter school. For many, this is too late to catch certain eye conditions in time to provide adequate therapy. A free program aims to bring better vision to Iowa children.
It's called Coming to Your Senses - a free vision-screening program conducted by Lions Club volunteers throughout Iowa's 99 counties. Lions Club members use a special camera that takes photographs of children's eyes. Specialists in the University of Iowa department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences then evaluate the results. If a problem is detected, parents are notified.
"I think if we help one child in not having long-term problems then we've done our job. So the more and more kids that we're finding with problems and they're able to be treated, I think that attributes to the success," says Lori Short, program coordinator.
Kendra Hanzlik had no reason to believe her son, Britton, had vision problems. He was evaluated at a Coming to Your Senses screening conducted by the Cedar Rapids Lions Club, where a problem was detected. Britton was eventually diagnosed with far-sightedness.
"His particular sort of vision problem is one that makes it very difficult for children to read. If it hadn't been caught at this young of age he could have some irreversible problems with his eyes later in life, said Britton's mom."
Britton will wear glasses to help correct his vision problem. His mom is thankful the problem was caught early.
"I've learned so much just in the last couple of months about the types of vision problems that children can have and how easy they are to correct if they're caught soon enough. I encourage them to have their children tested through the screening or taken to an eye doctor when they're young," says Kendra Hanzlik.
The Iowa Optometric Association will contribute $12,000 a year for the next five years to support this program.
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