One in five children has a vision disorder. Not knowing any differently, many of these children accept poor vision and other eye problems as normal. If left unchecked, serious long-term effects can result. With the support of Essilor Canada, BCAO has created the a-b-See™ campaign to help identify these children early and raise awareness among parents, teachers and children themselves. 
 

Why? Because good vision and eye health are critical to a child's development. More than 80 per cent of a child's learning is based on vision. The a-b-See™ campaign is geared towards preschool-age children. Identifying eye health issues at this age is critical, as they can begin to affect children’s academic and social development.

 

The campaign includes information for parents, resources for teachers and fun, interactive games for kids. Use the buttons to the right to access these materials. As part of a-b-See™, BCAO distributes complimentary a-b-See™ Kits to preschools and child-care centres. The kits contain important information on common eye diseases and disorders, and warning signs for both teachers and parents. The kit includes activity sheets and materials for the kids.

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Preschool and child-care centres can request a complimentary kit by emailing absee@optometrists.bc.ca.

a-b-See™ is a program of the British Columbia Association of Optometrists, supported by Essilor.

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Parents may learn more about the importance of infant vision care and the a-b-See program by logging on to http://www.optometrists.bc.ca/code/navigate.aspx?Id=53.  Please call our office to schedule your baby’s assessment.  

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Stages of Vision Development:

Most parents believe that vision is something that just develops naturally, and therefore does not need to be checked until school-age when it has already fully developed. The truth is that vision is learned – and the most critical stages of vision development occur in the first year of life.

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At Birth:

Focus on objects less than a foot away, such as mom's face when nursing

 

By 3 Months:

• Follows moving objects and reaches for things.

• It is normal for a child's eyes to not always track together for first 6-8 weeks.

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By 6 Months

• Both eyes should focus equally; brainwaves can demonstrate ability to see 20/20 detail

• Eye/body coordination skills develop

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By 9 Months

• Eye contact begins to replace physical contact

• Eye/body coordination skills develop further

 

By 12 Months

• Uses both eyes to judge distance