Assistance League of Greater Placer partners with Prevent Blindness Northern California to screen eyes for preschool children ages 3, 4 and 5. Twenty-five Assistance League members are certified for the Screen Eyes Early (S.E.E.) program and work with preschools in Lincoln, Rocklin and Auburn. Screening is done late February and early March.
Many of the most serious vision problems, including refractive errors and amblyopia (lazy eye), have no outward signs or symptoms. Detecting these vision problems in preschool is crucial because it can be difficult, if not impossible, to treat them by the time a child reaches grade school, according to a press release.
The children’s eyes are examined for visual signs such as sties, wandering eye, inflammation, unequal pupil size, crossed eyes or red, encrusted or swollen eyes. If children pass this first step, they take an eye chart test and if there are no problems, a letter is sent to parents informing them. When vision problems are detected, the parents are sent a referral letter to follow up with an eye doctor. Since 2012, volunteers have screened 242 students and determined that 22 children needed referrals.
