A Comprehensive Eye Exam

Of all the stories I have written for Tidewater Parent Magazine, I feel this is my most important. This area is blessed to have Dr. Joel Zaba who conducted an important study of a vision screening for children versus a comprehensive eye exam. The entire article maybe be found in the archives of this website. Below are the highlights. Virginia Beach Optometrist Dr. Joel Zaba said the visual screenings most students have prior to starting school and during school career, do not address an important element to learning - whether a child can see properly at close range. Dr. Zaba, who has practiced optometry for 35 years, led a team of six researchers. The team analyzed data from 1,386 children. Among that group, 300 children were diagnosed with vision problems of which 56 children had visual issues not detected during school entrance physicals. “Most people think that 20/20 vision is perfect. That concept was developed in 1860 and means that from 20 feet away you can see the E on an eye chart,” he said. A vision screening just tests the 20/20 theory – distant sight. It fails to detect other vision deficiencies at a much closer range, which manifest themselves while reading or using a computer,” says Dr. Zaba. “What children really need to succeed in school is not only be able to see 20 feet away, they also need to see 13-16 inches away such as when they are looking at a book or a computer,” he said. A comprehensive exam studies the different components of vision such as focusing on words about 18 inches away and whether the eyes are working together while reading. It also looks at how the eyes are tracking the word correctly, Zaba said. “It also checks the health of the eyes,” he added. “If a student cannot read their book then they get frustrated. They don’t understand why their friends are getting good grades and they are not, when they know they are just as smart as their friends,” Zaba said. “They also have trouble finishing assignments. They get angry and many times misbehave,” he added. “This can also be a cause as to why some children have a hard time finishing their homework in a timely manner,” Zaba said. “Another sign that they may have trouble seeing up close is if they use their finger to help keep their place while they are reading,” he said. There are also issues with some children who are unable to properly copy words from the chalkboard onto a piece of paper. Zaba said many think this is a learning disability, however, in many cases it is a vision problem. “All these factors with visual problems can really have some emotional consequences on children,” he said.