Advocacy soap box.
https://wordpress.org/support/update-php/ Optometry Times posted the following article as part of the Back-to-School Vision Awareness blitz that occurs every August 23, 2022. Like the pervasive use of the tired ‘20-20-20 Rule‘ to alleviate visual strain, the VisionMechanic took umbrage to the…
In 2007, the Government of Alberta introduced mandatory seatbelt laws. This was not openly received by everyone. Nowadays, it seems a critical error in judgement to allow children, or indeed anyone, to take a high speed ride in a sea…
In an earlier post, I had outlined fundamental principles of hyperopia (farsightedness) as a physical disability. Likewise, astigmatism is a frequently un-diagnosed and untreated visual impediment that contributes to child health, behaviour, development, and learning concerns. The impact of nearsightedness…
Every week brings in new children to my clinic; children who have hit a dead end with family doctors and paediatricians, as well as with the schools. I run a child vision development clinic, and we see children with apparent…
Less Than Meets the Eye: When ‘Expert’ Advice is False Economy Pediatricians receive only cursory training in assessing children’s visual function, and only minimal exposure to ophthalmic disease. This is reflected in the visual screening recommendations by The American Academy…
(See Part 2 here.) In the Preface to this series, I mentioned how I’ve been personally attacked for my advocacy for better (any) standards for children’s vision needs. No, I don’t have a saviour complex, and would much prefer to…
What We Don’t See Affects How Things Appear (See Part 1 here.) Sharry came in with her daughter Sam, a socially awkward but friendly and intelligent 9 year-old, who is struggling in Gr 4. “The pediatrician said her eyes were…
(See the Introduction here.) For many years, researchers have asked, ‘Why is it that nearsighted children seem to fare better in academics than farsighted children?’ Some have even gone so far as to suggest myopic IQ’s are higher than hyperopic…
(See the Preface here.) There are many uses of the word ‘blind’. The concept is so broadly understood, and feared, that many languages have adopted the term to other common uses. When someone does not appreciate the gravity of a…
Vision. So what. What’s so special about vision? That is, it’s importance cannot be overstated, but as one family doctor told me one day when discussing a child who had recently been given medications for behaviour and emotional concerns, “what…