Every 6.5 minutes a family learns that their child has permanent visual loss. In the vast majority of cases, the loss could have been prevented had the problem been detected sooner.
The culprit is amblyopia, commonly known as "lazy eye". Amblyopia can often be treated effectively with corrective lenses and / or temporary patching. Unfortunately, parents, teachers, and even the children themselves are unaware of any vision problem.
In addition to developing and advancing vision screening technology, we educate and advocate for children's visual health. Your support is essential in our on-going efforts to increase accessibility and quality of vision screenings for all children.
The Need for Support
Annually, an estimated five million American elementary school children experience vision problems caused by amblyopia or other treatable conditions that have gone undetected. The treatment costs for someone whose vision has been compromised due to a condition like amblyopia can reach as high as $2,500 per year.
However, if disorders like amblyopia are discovered in childhood, treatment is typically inexpensive, effective, and the benefits last a lifetime. Thus, by identifying possible vision disorders through a nationwide screening program, literally billions of dollars in economic impact associated with preventable vision loss could be avoided – annually.
Consider the other consequences of waiting to introduce a nationwide vision screening program in elementary schools:
• Our most vulnerable citizens – America’s children – will continue to be ravaged by vision disorders that are preventable;
• Poor vision affects interpersonal skills, and children may be labeled as “abnormal;”
• Conditions like amblyopia can lead to crossed eyes, with studies demonstrating that crossed-eye individuals are perceived as less intelligent and discriminated against academically, professionally and socially;
• Once one eye has been blinded by a vision disorder like amblyopia, the risk of suffering blindness in the good eye increases dramatically; and
• Blind individuals endure significant emotional and financial trauma, including loss of opportunity and income.
While we have created a viable, cost-effective method to deliver yearly vision screenings to every American school child, such a program with annual frequency is not currently mandated in most states, nor is it funded through government sources. And our program can be delivered for far less than the cost of traditional screening programs – approximately $5 per child.
By engaging the community in its mission, we seek to secure financial and resource support from its collaborative partners, such that the necessary infrastructure is built to successfully integrate a national vision screening program in schools; vision screenings are charitably underwritten for every child in America; and medical follow-up occurs for underserved children who require additional care after screenings.
