Focusing on children’s eye health

Optometrists Jane Van Dyk, Matthew Craig and Katie Ryan (not pictured) from Norfolk Family Eye Care donated a class set of eye health and nutrition guides to three Norfolk elementary schools during Children’s Vision Month.
Optometrists recommend that children get their eyes checked at six months and then again at age three, but in fact, only 10 per cent of junior kindergarten students have had an eye exam.

That might be because parents don’t realize that annual eye exams for kids up to 19 years old are covered by the province’s health care plan, says Simcoe optometrist Jane Van Dyk.

“I would say people don’t think about (getting their child’s eyes checked) until school starts,” said Van Dyk. “It doesn’t tend to happen young enough.”

The ministry of health removed eye care coverage for adults in 2004, but OHIP still covers seniors, kids and teens, something Van Dyk encourages parents to take advantage of because regular eye exams can help identify health problems early. That’s of particular importance for the estimated one in four children who have a vision problem that could have an impact on how they learn and interact with the world.

To help spread the word about children’s eye health during Children’s Vision Month, Van Dyk and her colleagues at Norfolk Family Eye Care – Drs. Matthew Craig and Katie Ryan – purchased and donated a class set of “Eyefoods for Kids,” a nutrition and eye health guide geared to young readers, for students at St. Michael’s in Walsh, St. Cecilia’s in Port Dover and West Lynn in Simcoe.

The optometrists also met with teachers at each school to educate them about the importance of eye care so they can in turn “bring it top of mind” for their students, Van Dyk said. The Eye See Eye Learn Program, which launched locally two years ago, also offers children in JK a free pair of eyeglasses prescribed by a participating optometrist.

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