There are 2 various types of screenings that are available for booking
A general 10 min consultation screens for
Computer Vision Syndrome (Eyestrain during computer work)
Cataract Screening
Basic Eyesight Screening
Contact Lens related issues
A 10 min pediatric screening is suitable for children from 3yo onwards. It is a basic eyesight screening that only provides information on whether the child is able to see clearly for far. It is not a test to check the refraction, or power of the eyes.
A binocular vision assessment is mainly to assess a person’s visual skills and see how their eye muscles work.
The three main skills include
Eye Tracking (Eye Movement) to assess how the eyes move together to look at the same place.
Eye Teaming (Convergence) to assess if the two eyes are aligned and pointing at the same place on an object.
Eye Focusing (Accommodation) to assess if the eyes are able to see the objects clearly at different distances.
Neuro-optometric rehabilitation is a treatment regimen that is individualised for the patients who have visual deficits as a result of physical disabilities, traumatic brain injuries and other neurological etiologies.
These visual deficits can include but are not limited to acquired strabismus, binocular vision dysfunction such as eye teaming deficits, double vision, accommodation dysfunction such as eye teaming deficits, oculomotor dysfunction such as eye tracking deficits, vergence dysfunction, cognitive deficits.
Neuro-optometric rehabilitation is required by patients of all ages who have experienced neurological insults as the visual problems may interfere with their daily performance causing them to have a learning disability or disorders scuh as attention deficit.
Visual problems are often overlooked during the initial treatment of brain injury. Regular eye examination also often do not reveal the extent of how much the visual process has been affected.
Most research suggest that 30% of the world is currently myopic and based on trends, almost 50% of the world will be myopic in 2050.
A child is unlikely to have myopia as a newborn as babies are born with hyperopia (longsightedness) of +0.50D and above. As our eyes grow longer during development, the amount of hyperopia becomes lower gradually before crossing over into myopia of about -0.50D.
The current incidence of myopia in Singapore:
5 Year olds : 7%
8 Year olds : 20%
10 Year olds : 40%
12 Years olds : 60%
18 Year olds : 80%
Some risk factors include
Parent(s) with Myopia – one short-sighted parent has three times the risk of developing myopia whereas if both parents are short-sighted it possess a six times risk
Ethnicity – Asians have a faster progression
Prolong use of near electronic gadgets such as iPads
Insufficient outdoor play in sunlight
At Vision and Perception Practice, we provide myopia control intervention through the prescription of specialized spectacle lens, myopia control contact lens and Vision Therapy. A recommendation can only be provided after a proper and thorough assessment.
At Vision and Perception Practice, we offer various contact lenses to suit the different needs of our cases. A general eye assessment would be recommended before the fit of contact lenses just to ensure that the eye is healthy. A contact lens consultation will then be provided together with the fitting to assess how the eye is getting along with the lenses. After contact lens wear, you will be scheduled for an aftercare to see how you are coping with your contact lenses.
Some of the contact lenses offered include
Spherical Contact Lenses
Toric Contact Lenses
Multifocal Contact Lenses
Myopia Control Contact Lenses
Presbyopia Contact Lenses
If abnormalities were found through the binocular vision assessment or visual efficiency assessment, your child would most likely be prescribed vision therapy by the optometrist. Vision therapy will help to improve the visual skills and abilities which will in turn improve visual comfort by changing the way the visual information is processed and interpreted. The vision therapy consists of in-office and home based reinforcement exercises that will be performed across weekly sessions. In addition to these, spectacles with special lenses may also be prescribed to be used with the activities.
Similar to a Binocular Vision Assessment the visual skills assessed will include
Eye Tracking (Eye Movement)
Eye Teaming (Convergence)
Eye Focusing (Accommodation)
The assessment of these visual skills will give an insight to how a child’s learning related visual skill is. For example, a child who tracks 30 words per min is more likely to be unable to complete an exam compared to another child who is able to track 60 words per min.
Before your child starts reading and begin attending elementary school, these visual skills need to be ready. If any of these skills are lacking, a child may be experiencing near blur or tracking issues instead of learning to their potential in class.
Visual Attention – able to sustain good concentration in a visual task
Eye Sight — see clearly in the distance for viewing the chalkboard, at an intermediate distance for the computer, and up close for reading a book.
Eye Tracking — keep the eyes on target when looking from one object to another, moving the eyes along a printed page, or following a moving object like a thrown ball.
Eye Focusing — able to quickly and accurately maintain clear vision as the distance from objects change, such as when looking from the chalkboard to a paper on the desk and back. This allows the child to easily maintain clear vision over time like when reading a book or writing a report.
Eye Teaming — coordinate and use both eyes together when moving the eyes along a printed page, and to be able to judge distances and see depth for class work and sports.
Visual perception — organize images on a printed page into letters, words and ideas and to understand and remember what is read.
In addition, other inter-visual related skills are needed to for good efficient learning.
Eye-hand coordination — the ability to use visual information to monitor and direct the hands when drawing a picture or trying to hit a ball.
Visualisation – Able to “picture” in our mind what is happening in a story we are reading for comprehension.
Visual memory – Ability to retain visual information and to be able to remember and recall details of what was read or seen.
If any of these visual skills are lacking or not functioning properly, a child will have to work harder. This can lead to headaches, fatigue and other eyestrain problems. Parents and teachers need to be alert for symptoms that may indicate a child has a vision problem.
A basic consultation will include refraction of the eye to measure the refractive errors (Myopia, Hyperopia, Astigmatism, Presbyopia) and a short consultation.
Additional charges will apply for a comprehensive general consultation. This would include a eye health screening to assess the cornea (to monitor the progression of cataract, if any) the eye pressure (a risk factor in diagnosing glaucoma) as well as take pictures of the back part of the eye to allow assessment of the posterior health.
For children aged 6 to 16 having difficulties in school, such as copying (eye tracking & eye-hand coordination), losing their place as they read (eye tracking), difficulties with comprehension (poor near vision, eye teaming, visualisation difficulties)
This screening provides a broad information if there is a weakness in the Learning Related Visual Skills
Every parent hopes that his or her child grows up happy and healthy. Vision contributes a large part to a child’s ability to learn. For this reason, it is important for kids to have comprehensive eye exams.
