A closer look

Camryn Whitman of Weeki Wachee is a typical toddler. At 20 months, the beautiful blond haired, brown-eyed bundle of energy is plowing through his early developmental years on track.

Yet after being told by a few concerned friends that one of his eyes looked a little off, his mother, Lisa Whitman, had Camryn’s eyes checked at a pediatric visit. He was then sent for further testing at All Children’s Hospital in Clearwater.

One of Camryn’s eyes looks like it might be crossing, Lisa said. “They are not sure if it’s cross eye or a problem with his depth perception,” she added.

She is currently preparing for a procedure at All Children’s that will dilate the toddler’s eyes for 24 hours to find any areas of concern.

“I’m worried,” Lisa said. Because Camryn cannot communicate yet, such a procedure is necessary to rule out any serious vision problems that might affect the toddler’s normal development.

Recognizing and detecting early problems with eye development and vision can lead to corrective procedures before a child’s further development is further affected. And it begins with understanding the unique stages of a child’s visual development which is important to maintaining healthy vision as the child grows.

According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, a child’s vision goes through several changes in the first few months after birth. For instance, newborns have peripheral vision which allows them to see from side to side. By the end of the first month, they should be able to focus briefly on objects up to three feet away. By the second month, they can track objects. And by the third month, their hand/eye coordination should be advanced enough to allow the infant to bat at nearby objects.

Parents should look for these milestones, which are guidelines to follow when determining the general health and development of their infant’s vision. If questions arise, triggered by the absence of these milestones, parents should seek further medical testing.

As the infant matures, so does the ability to recognize objects that are further away. By four months of age, most infants begin to recognize faces and simple objects from across the room or perhaps through a window.

Preschool and school-aged children continue to develop their ability to focus and track, and depth perception is intensified. By the time the child reaches the age of about 7, the ability to focus both eyes on an object simultaneously is further developed. It is important by this age that any problems with focus or eye alignment be treated to prevent future problems with normal development.

Most children are naturally farsighted (hyperopic) while some vision issues, like nearsightedness (myopia) and astigmatism are inherited. Some studies done in the United States and Australia indicated the amount of time children spend outdoors could determine whether or not they develop mild myopia.

Detecting vision problems early in children can prevent additional damage not only in physical health but in all aspects of cognitive and intellectual ability. It is important then that children be tested during routine well baby visits, beginning as early as six months of age.

Yet routine eye exams, typically classic eye charts, have difficulty detecting certain vision issues that might lead to more serious trouble with a child’s developing vision.

Dr. Michael Griffen, DO FAAP, a pediatric specialist at Sun Country Pediatrics in Spring Hill, said it is difficult sometimes to get an accurate reading of a child’s vision simply because there is too much room for error. Relying on a child to accurately read a vision chart assumes the child has adequate communication skills or isn’t intimidated or is within traditional developmental guidelines.

A child with special needs for instance may not be developmentally equipped to read the chart, or stand still due to behavioral constraints or is incapable of relaying the images on the chart because of nonverbal roadblocks.

Recently Sun Country Pediatrics added state of the art vision screening equipment, called SPOT, to help detect certain vision issues, like near-sightedness, far-sightedness, blurred vision and misalignment in just seconds. SPOT has also been instrumental in detecting other issues like lazy eye (amblyopia), crossed eyes (strabismus), and cataracts (media opacities).

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, amblyopia (lazy eye), or factors increasing the risk of the condition, is detected in one to four percent of all children.

SPOT is a great way to detect these conditions in children at very young ages and is particularly useful for children with developmental delays.

Developed by PediaVision, the objective of the devise was to “construct a convenient technological tool that would best address vision disability early, making screening quicker, easier and more accurate than the current standard of vision screening.”

Found early, many problems can be corrected before they affect so many aspects of a child’s intellectual learning.

The devise, which consists of a digital screen, looks like a camera. The operator is guided while the devise automatically captures the vision data within seconds.

A print out is then administered with the data collected. It acts as a detector, allowing the pediatrician to then refer the patient to an optometrist or ophthalmologist if necessary.

Sun Country Pediatrics is the only facility in Hernando County to use the SPOT Vision Screener. Dr. Griffen purchased the technology for his practice to help increase the likelihood that early vision problems be discovered.

As suggested by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Sun Country Pediatrics screens every child at specified times; infants up to age two receive vision screening at every visit, then every two years from age three to 19.

“By offering the latest technology, Sun Country Pediatrics is taking a leadership role in the community to identify vision issues which can hamper a child’s ability to learn.

According to the Center for Disease Control; “Vision disability is the single most prevalent disabling condition among children. Blindness and vision impairment in children and older adults is often underrepresented or not represented at all as an indicator for optimal health and quality of life.”

“We selected this because there is a huge age group that we serve between the ages of six months and 5 or 6 years old where there is no way for us to screen their vision accurately,” said Dr. Griffen. “They can’t communicate with us. And even if they can, how accurate is it? We wanted a way to do more for their vision evaluations. SPOT gives us a great opportunity to provide that accurate exam.”

Sun Country Pediatrics also works with children who are developmentally delayed who cannot communicate effectively. “Their families are worried about their vision,” he said. “We can identify if a child needs an optometrist or ophthalmologist.”

It’s only a screening tool, he added. “But we want to do whatever we can for a child.”

Sun Country Pediatrics is located at 8391 Omaha Circle in Spring Hill. The office can be reached at (352) 678-5246. Or visit their website at suncountrypediatrics.com.