On Sept. 25 in the Blindman Valley Agricultural Centre in Bentley, the Blindman Valley Lions Club will be offering vision screening to children ages six months to 12 years old. This community service program provides a simple non-invasive and cost-free vision screening test performed on young children. It requires no medication or preparation, and does not require eye drops or physical contact. It is also painless. It is as simple as taking a picture, which takes about 30 seconds.
The device takes an infrared scan of the child’s eyes and analyzes them for signs of near-sightedness, far-sightedness, astigmatism, lazy eye, and crossed eyes. It then prints out the results, along with a recommendation on whether to see an optometrist for a formal eye exam.
Eighty percent of all visual impairment can be prevented or cured. Children often do not know that they have vision issues, so they do not tell their parents or their teachers about them.
"I, personally, have a family member, who as a young child, always sat up front at everything to see better. From classrooms to the tv. It wasn't until an eye exam later in life that the parents learned about the child's vision problems," said Blindman Valley Lion member Trudy Rangen.
"This is a wonderful opportunity to have your child checked safely and quickly".
It does require a parental consent form signed. The Blindman Valley Lions Club will have all of this available at Bentley's Good Neighbor event on Sept. 25 from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Blindman Valley Agricultural Centre.
-Submitted by the Blindman Valley Lions Club
