As a parent, we all want to know how to set up our children up for success and allow them to reach their potential. A child in the early school years will almost never complain of blurred vision. So how, as parents, can you avoid falling into the trap of assuming their vision is fine?  Here are the things you need to know: read more

What is “Lazy Eye”?

“I think I have a lazy eye”, “I think my child has a lazy eye” or “his eye is a bit lazy”.  Lazy Eye is a commonly used phrase or description but it can mean different things to different people. Regardless of the condition it is used to describe, early detection and treatment is recommended.  However it’s good to understand what lazy eye means. read more

Rather than ask “what age can my child wear contact lenses?”, it may be more appropriate to ask “is my child ready for contact lenses?” read more

Our visual systems are amazing and incredibly complex.  And yet we persist on trying to rate the quality of vision by just one measurement – sight or visual acuity, as measured by the letters on a distance letter chart.  As most people over 40 will tell you, this tells you nothing about their ability to see at near.  It is assumed that children can see at near and it is rarely tested as part of sight screenings.  And yet problems with near vision in children can impact on how willing they are to read, or how comfortably they can engage in close work. read more

Renowned vision scientist Janette Atkinson has quoted that both in research and in clinical settings, it is both difficult and increasing impractical to separate vision, vision-motor, and motor functions as these elements do not occur in neat little boxes in isolation in “brain” function.  There is a similarity here to what we see clinically where children who have difficulty recognising visual patterns, often have similar pattern recognition difficulties in language and movement. This often requires a multi-disciplinary approach to helping the patient achieve their goals. read more