9-Month-Old Receives Sight Saving Vision Screening

Have you ever seen one of those viral videos of a baby that on tries their glasses for the first time? It is heartwarming to watch as they finally see their world and often their parents’ faces clearly. The infant smiles and laughs as they look around to see the world they’ve been missing. Unable to talk or communicate with their caregivers, you might wonder, “how did they know that the baby needed glasses?”

When Max was 9-months-old, he received a free KidSight vision screening at his daycare. KidSight screeners use a “camera” that allows them to screen infants, like Max, and assess their vision without a verbal response from the child. For the child, it is as easy as taking a picture. Max’s parents received the results of the KidSight screening and a packet of helpful information when they picked him up from daycare. His mother, Erika said, “We have another child that has had a screening from KidSight, without a need for intervention, so when I picked up the packet of things with KidSight’s logo, I instantly knew something was different about this screening.”

Max’s screening indicated that he was at risk for developing refractive amblyopia. Refractive amblyopia is the most common type of “lazy eye” and occurs when a child has one eye that is stronger than the other. If left untreated, the weaker eye continues to worsen, the brain starts to rely solely on the “good” eye resulting in permanent vision loss. Unfortunately, pediatric vision problems often go undetected. Most children, like Max, are unable to verbalize that they have a vision problem. After all, what they are seeing is “normal” to them! It takes a screening like the ones provided by KidSight to provide the early detection that kids need.

After receiving the referral from KidSight, Max’s parents scheduled a follow-up appointment with an eye doctor. The pediatric optometrist that examined Max confirmed KidSight’s findings and recommended that he start wearing glasses immediately. Erika said, “It was a little intimidating to walk into an optometrist office with a baby, but we are so glad that we were alerted by KidSight to take him in. We believe that KidSight saved our son’s vision.”

Max is now a curious and adventurous 2-year-old. He loves to play outside, read and investigate books, color with his sister, run, jump, throw balls and play games! He has been wearing glasses for 11 months and is thriving. He can see his world more clearly and it is having a huge impact on his ability to learn. His mom said, “Max really concentrates on items, books and details. He plays with toys much longer and he is able to focus, instead of just using his hands, he gets to experience life on a whole new level!”

“He is so little! How did you know that he needed glasses?” Max’s parents get frequent questions about his vision care. After all, how do you know that an infant needs glasses? Erika said, “People constantly ask us how we knew he needed his glasses and we are always very quick to tell them the ENTIRE story about how KidSight saved his eyes!”