Children’s eye testing is typically done at Birth and then at 1 year age and then every year thereafter.
Eye is a growing organ and changes happening in the shape and size of the eyes every year till 18 months of age.
A newborn child should have an Eye Examination to look for any Birth defects or infections at birth.
Retinopathy of prematurity is a disease of the posterior or back part of the eye, where the Undeveloped retina of the child’s eye can have silent bleeding or retinal detachment and cause permanent vision loss. There will not be any signs of this silent disease for the parents to look out for and the only way ahead is to get the child to a Pediatric Ophthalmologist or Retina Specialist for early detection and management.
If the child is Premature Born or Born with many Post birth complications, the First eye test should be at or before 3 weeks of age to look for Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP)
Any child with developmental delay should also have an eye examination to look for Visual Abnormalities or Diagnostic Clues like in Metabolic diseases. Issues like Squint or crossed eyes, reading difficulties, Myopic astigmatisms (glass powers) are very common in this age group.
All other kids should have annual eye evaluation.
A Child who is preverbal is tested with many Visual Clues and tests like Optokinetic Drum or Teller Acuity Testing. Visual fixation and followability can be made out by your Pediatric Ophthalmologist even as early as 4 months age.