Early Screening is Critical

The first few years of a child’s life are critical in the development of normal vision.  A child with vision problems often does not realize that the way they see the world is not the way everyone else sees it.  Vision abnormalities in a child’s eyes may occur even when the eye appears to look normal. 

It is estimated that 3-4% of children may have vision loss from undetected amblyopia or what is commonly referred to as “lazy eye”. Amblyopia is decreased vision in a child that results when one or both eyes send a blurry image to the brain. 

The brain does not learn to see clearly. If problems are not detected early, a child’s vision may deteriorate to the point of irreversible blindness.  Research indicates that 70-80% of what a child learns is visually acquired and there is evidence to suggest that children with undetected vision disorders are more likely to fail in school. 

Screening Locations

Photo Screening is conducted at neighborhood childcare centers because they have both the facilities as well as the proximity to a group of children.  If parents or a childcare center is interested is scheduling a photoscreening, please contact your local Lions Club or Lion Janice Chapman, Program Coordinator for Operation KidSight.

The Lions, using funds they have raised in your community pay the cost of the photoscreening in full.  Your support of Lions projects pays for this program as well as many other services that the Indiana Lions Clubs are involved in.

Photoscreening FAQs

What is Photoscreening?

Operation KidSight screeners use the Pediavision S0-8 screening system.  The volunteer takes a digital “camera” measurement of the child’s eyes from a comfortable distance of 3-4 feet.  Pass/fail criteria for the screening system are set using guidelines established by the American Association of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus as modified by Dr. Daniel Neely MD, a pediatric ophthalmologist at the Indiana University School of Medicine, Riley Hospital for Children and the Midwest Eye Institute. 

Invisible, infrared light is projected through the pupils onto the retina.  Depending on the refractive error or “prescription” of the eye, the reflected light forms a specific brightness pattern within the pupil which the software analyzes to detect astigmatism, myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness) and anisometropia (imbalance between the two eyes). 

It also performs a gaze analysis to help detect strabismus (eye misalignment). Perhaps the most amazing thing is that all this information can be acquired and accessed in as little as five seconds.

What are the age limits or other qualifications for this screening?

The child must be old enough to fixate (to look at a flashing light on the camera). This is typically possible after one year of age.  The screening is targeted at children who are pre-verbal and who may not be able to describe to parents, teachers or doctors the fact that they do not have perfect vision.  There are other tests, such as reading an eye chart, that are generally better for children over 5 years of age.  Remember that the eyes are fully developed by age 6 and any screening and testing problems found after age 6 maybe discovered too late to be corrected as a medical condition.

The photoscreener does not detect neurological disorders.  Therefore, we do not screen developmentally delayed or challenged children.  Also, children who are under 5 and are wearing glasses or are already under the care of an eye doctor and do not need vision screening.

What does the screening cost to the parents or to the day care center operator?

The screening is provided as a service project at no charge to the parents, child, or the day care operator.  The funds are provided through services and projects of The Indiana Lions Eye & Tissue Transplant Bank, the Lions Clubs of Indiana, and generous contributions from both individual and corporate donors.

What happens if a child “fails” the screening?

All parents will receive notification of the results of their child’s screening.  Those that “fail” or are “referred” are advised that the screening indicates that their child may have a vision disorder and the parent is strongly advised to make an appointment with an optometrist or ophthalmologist.    

Financial Contributions

This program is supported by ILETTB, using funds they have raised in your community to pay the cost of the photoscreening in full.  Your support helps contribute to this program as well.

Individuals and corporations may contribute to this program directly.  These contributions will fund Operation KidSight directly through the maintenance of equipment and cameras, purchasing new equipment, transportation and public education.

Operation KidSight is a program of the Indiana Lions Eye Bank Inc., d/b/a Indiana Lions Eye & Tissue Transplant Bank, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization and donations may be tax deductible according to the United States Internal Revenue Service Regulations.

Indiana Lions Eye Bank & Tissue Transplant Bank
727 E. 86th St.
Indianapolis IN 46240

Please write "Operation KidSight" in the memo line of the check.

Operation KidSight
Lion Janice Chapman
Executive Director
727 E. 86th St.
Indianapolis IN 46240
(317) 578-0491
kidsight@sbcglobal.net
kidsight@ilettb.org

PDF/Word Forms

If you would like to participate in an Operation KidSight event we have materials available to help you market and organize. Check for the documents you need and simply print them out to help make your Operation KidSight event a success!
(Documents are in PDF format)

1. Consent form
2. Spanish Consent form
3. Free Vision Screening Poster
4. Cover Sheet
5. News Media Release form
6. A Newsletter Article
7. Tri-Fold Brochure
8. Evaluation Form

Additional Information:

Since 2003, over 76,000 Indiana preschoolers have been screened for vision loss. More than 60% of children in the United States have not been examined by an optometrist or ophthalmologist by the age of 6. Indiana Lions Eye and Tissue Transplant Bank screens approximately 20,000 preschool aged children each year.

TESTIMONIALS

March 14, 2012

Dear Lions Club,

Thank you so much for coming again to Our Lady of Grace Preschool.
I asked if I could share some news with you. We have a student here at OLG. She is five years old.  After receiving your report her mother brought her to get an eye exam. The eye doctor referred her to Riley Hospital. She will be getting glasses this week. They also found that she had cornea scarring. The doctor told them that if this had not been caught it could have led to permanent damage.

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for making a difference in this child’s life. God bless you.

Thank you for all you do.
Teri - Preschool Coordinator

To whom it may concern;

My dear brother passed away July 06, 2010 and at that time gave someone the generous gift of sight. In donating his corneas he has in turn giving someone the chance to see the precious things that he cherished so much and we seem to take for granted.

My brother loved the beauty of nature and as a landscaper he would turn a barren terrain into a picturesque masterpiece of his own creation. He knew flowers, scrubs, and trees like the back of his hand and was delighted at the chance to talk about his vast knowledge. He would talk about his work for Mrs. Lady Bird Johnson and his elation being chosen to work at her wildlife sanctuary and to share his gift of creativity. The legacy of love lives on in his wondrous gardens of beauty he has left for others to enjoy. In the beauty of nature may we find peace someday? 

He also loved life itself. He loved his family and friends and that is what made him the wonderful, kind person that he was.  His love of his family made the smile on face and that undeniable inner peace that shone as a wonderful glow in his eyes. Without a doubt I am sure that glow continues to live on in the eyes of the recipient. I can only hope that they too have a chance to see the same beauty that my beloved brother has seen and find joy and peace in this gift also.

October 31, 2010

THANK YOU!!!! My daughter was screened at her preschool in Sept. and your test revealed she was extremely farsighted and needed a full exam. We took her to an eye doctor who found she also had an enlarged optic nerve. Through this we discovered her cerebellum is larger that it should be, restricting the flow of spinal fluid out of her brain. Thanks to you, we would have never guessed she had any vision problems or that anything else was wrong and we caught this before any permanent damage was done to her sight or her nervous system.

Thank you again.

Rochester, Indiana

To the good people at Lion's Eye Club,

Last week at a church preschool in Elkhart, IN, our 4-year-old son, received an eye screening. Our son was sent home with a referral to see an eye doctor. In the following days, we took him to see the eye doctor that his father and I both use. As it turns out, he has the same condition as I do! I too was diagnosed at a young age but my disease was much more progressed than what his is presently. The eye doctor, agreed that we have Lion's Eye Club to thank for an early diagnosis. Knowing that we have family history of eye problems we keep a close eye on our children's eyes; watching for crossed eyes, straining when reading, etc.

Our son has so far shown none of that. We are so grateful for the screening Lion's Eye Club did at our small town preschool. Our son will need glasses but the outlook for his future is good! Thank you so much for doing what you do in helping to diagnosis and manage vision problems in our children. We are thrilled to know now, through a screening, that our son has a vision problem rather than to wait until he is showing clinical signs.

Thank you again for all that you at Lion's Eye Club do!

Sincerely,
Very Thankful Parents

November 1, 2010

Our son attends Preschool in Newburgh, IN. On October 6, 2010 your program performed a vision screening on him, and detected a vision deficiency and notified us of the results and suggested we take him to an eye doctor for additional screening. I took him in the day we received the results, and we were told that he does in fact have a deficiency in his right eye that requires eye glasses and some additional at home therapy.

Because of your work with at the Preschool, and your wonderful program Operation Kid Sight, we were able to catch this problem early enough to get him the corrective treatment that he needs to hopefully fix, or at least lessen the deficiency in his right eye. Our family would like to thank you for bringing your program to our son's preschool and providing us with this very important information.

We greatly appreciate the screening your program does for these young children, because without this program, we may not have known of his problem before it was too late.

Newburgh, Indiana