Children’s eye health programs offered just in time for back to school

Chicago-To help give children a great start on a successful school year, Prevent Blindness offers free information and programs on the importance of healthy vision.

Prevent Blindness declared August as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Awareness month to inspire parents to make their child’s vision health a priority. Resources on a wide variety of topics that help parents take the right steps to keep their child's sight healthy for life can be found at preventblindness.org and through the National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness (NCCVEH) website.

Fitting pediatric patients with contact lenses

Prevent Blindness also offers the following programs:

• NCCVEH is teaming up with Family Voices and its National Center for Family Professional Partnership to offer families of children with special health care needs important information on vision issues. Resources include Vision Health for Children on the Autism Spectrum, Families of Children with Vision Impairment: Working with Medical Professionals, and more.

• Eye Spy is an eye health and safety education program designed specifically for children. Through this free online program, children can learn about eye anatomy, how the eye works and eye safety. This is more than fun and games. Teachers may also use the program in the classroom.

• Designed specifically for educators, the Star Pupils Eye Health and Safety Curriculum is offered for grades K-2, 3-5, and 6-8. The program, which is available free for download upon request, provides teachers with interactive materials that help students learn the importance of sight, components of the eye and how we see, and how to identify objects and situations that can be dangerous to eyes. The program meets National Health, National Science and National Physical Education standards and includes presentation guides, eye exam diagrams, in-class worksheets, and an activity book for children to take home.

• The Eye Patch Club is a program geared towards children with amblyopia and their families. The Eye Patch Club program is designed to encourage the children to wear their patches as prescribed by their doctor. Among other materials, members of the club receive their own special calendar and stickers. The Eye Patch Club kit may be purchased for $12.95 by calling (800) 331-2020. Proceeds will go to support the sight-saving programs of Prevent Blindness.

Reviewing pediatric primary care optometry