Generally, your child's doctor will give them a physical exam as they develop and look at them when they come in with colds or other concerns. When it comes to their eyes, the doctor will look for very obvious issues, but there is a chance that they aren't going to catch a number of vision issues that would be something for a pediatric ophthalmologist to diagnose. You can learn about some of the signs that your infant or toddler may be having issues with their vision by learning about some of the signs here:
Your child doesn't make eye contact unless you are right in front of them
If you notice your child isn't able to immediately make good eye contact with you unless you are right in their face, then it may be that they are having some vision problems and your face doesn't look as clear to them from across the room or even a few feet away. Also, your child may even have a hard time easily spotting your face from across the room, or even recognizing you on sight from across the room, depending on the seriousness of their possible vision problems.
Your child is behind with their fine motor skills
If your child seems to be a bit behind with certain fine motor skills, such as getting food on the spoon, grabbing pieces of food, fitting toys into other toys that they should be able to, crawling to where they are trying to get to, or doing other things that they should be doing for their age, then it could be that they are having a hard time seeing things from certain distances.
Your child stumbles and appears a bit clumsy
When your child is learning to walk, it is completely normal for them to stumble and fall while they are still learning how to move their body properly. However, after a while, they should have improved footing and balance. If your child seems very slow when it comes to progressing with their walking, then it could be due to vision issues.
The best way to know if your child has vision issues is for them to see a pediatric ophthalmologist
If you see anything in your child's abilities or movements that suggests they may be having some vision problems, then the best thing for you to do is to take them in to see a pediatric ophthalmologist who can properly test them and determine whether or not there are issues, then treat those issues.
Contact a clinic, like Ophthalmology Associates Of Osborne, for more help.
Share