Letter from school about DDs vision

[lovin'fl]

They did a vision screening at school and her left eye is 20/200 and the right is 20/100. OMG, is this really bad? She is 13. I had to wear contacts and had Lasik but I think my vision was more like 20/80. I had no idea she had any trouble with her vision. All my kids went to an opt. a few years ago and they had no problems (had like 20/40 and the DR said that might adjust to 20/20 as they got older). They were also checked in elementary school and we were never notified of any problems. She has an identical sister and they did not send us a letter on her vision (could come just come in the mail late though).

 

[abdmom]

Vision can change over time, especially with kids. Each year, my prescription changes, as do my children's.

 

[ohiopugmom]

hi there! don't stress yet and follow up with an eye doc. I am sure it was probably just a screening test that likely has a high margin of error. She will like need something I assume, but don't worry about the specific numbers until she gets a full exam

edit - I agree with the pp on the vision changes over time....

 

[Janepod]

Take her to an ophthalmologist and see what they say. I would be concerned about the 20/200. I'm 20/400 and my prescription is -5.25, if that helps put it in perspective.

 

[Auggietina]

I got the same letter last year, claiming my dd's eye sight was bad.

My dd was 14. Made the appt, she has 20/20 vision according to the eye dr.

He said their equipment could be: old, not used properly, etc etc.

Wait until you talk to the eye dr.

 

[JennaDeeDooDah]

I wouldn't be too concerned, either. Schedule and appointment with an eye doctor and get it checked, but don't stress. No telling what kind of test they gave her. She could have just been tired and that skewed the results. The equipment could be bad. Or, she might need glasses. A professional will be able to help you a lot more than a regular school eye test.

 

[FlightlessDuck]

Bear in mind I am speaking as someone with eye problems that sort of understands how this works... NOT a DR.

The vision score is a ratio that indicates how close you must be to see something that someone with "normal" vision would see at 20 feet.

So, 20/100 means that someone other people can see at 100 feet, your DD can't see until it's 20 feet in front of her.

In layman's terns, 20/100 means if an eyechart is 20 feet in front of you, you can only read the first two lines. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_acuity

If I were you, I'd take her to an ophthalmologist.

 

[jeepgirl30]

Please take her to an actual eye doctor now. My DS9 passed all his school screenings. I took him to his pedi for his annual and he was telling the nurse he wanted glasses. He started the test and was doing perfect until she said great job buddy and all the sudden he said he could not see a single letter. We laughed but she said just to be safe take him to an eye doctor.


Well I get worst parent of the year award. He was close to losing permanent vision in his left eye. his right eye is perfect but he was blind in his left. Luckily it was caught in time and still was responding to corrective lenses. He was developing lazy eye.

 

[abdmom]

I wouldn't be too concerned, either. Schedule and appointment with an eye doctor and get it checked, but don't stress. No telling what kind of test they gave her. She could have just been tired and that skewed the results. The equipment could be bad. Or, she might need glasses. A professional will be able to help you a lot more than a regular school eye test.

The test for visual acuity is a simple eye chart. I have a hard time seeing how it could be "bad".

 

[Hannathy]

Uh she is 13 ASK her! She should be able to tell you if she is having trouble seeing things. Do have her read you something far away that you can see and see how well she can see it.

I am nearsighted and about your DD's age when it was found and I had no real idea that I couldn't see well. I thought that no one could see the calendar at school. Mine was also found with a vision screening at school.

 

[POOHsie]

When I was a kid, I always felt that I didn't see well. I could pull my eyelid at the corner of my eye and that would make me see more clearly. If I sat at the back of a classroom, I had to take copious notes because I couldn't read what the teacher wrote on the board. The school eye tests noted my vision problem but my mom always said no one's vision is perfect, so that would be the end of it. I finally got smart in 8th grade. I intentionally failed the school vision test, so that mom HAD to get my vision examined. Voila! I got eyeglasses and I could actually see. I could read the board, and things on the wall at school. I could now read street signs, and make out people from a distance. I noticed that trees had more than one big green leaf. A lot of things changed for the better the day I got glasses. So OP mom: please get your child's eyes examined. Take it from a near-sighted daughter.

 

[jahber]

Just to clarify, take her to an optometrist, not an ophthalmologist (an eye surgeon). If you call an ophthalmologist, they'll just tell you to call an optometrist

 

[Bonniec]

I'm an ophthalmic tech. She is fine to see a regular optometrist. Since you have bad vision she likely gets it from you. Her prescription at that acuity is probably a -1.00 to -2.00 range. 20/200 is bad enough that she'd never pass a driving test (if she were old enough) but not overly thick glasses. Children's eye can change dramatically, so this is not something that wouldn't be expected since you have vision problems. And assuming she is nearsighted, she will have been able to get by squinting.

I was a -1.50 and 20/100 before I begain to suspect I might not be seeing well. When I got glasses, I was amazed at what I had been missing! Kids are even better at accomodating and making their eyes work through the blur. They have nice young muscles. So they can really get by easily without a problem even being noticed.

Some kids do fake it to wear glasses, though it's usually at a younger age range. Teenagers are often the opposite and will do everything to hide it. Either an optometrist or an ophthalmologist will know easily through testing. Unless you have a medical eye issue (other than needing glasses, i.e. lazy eye, turned eye, diabetic, etc) than an optometrist is fine.

Since you have vision problems, she likely is just developing it from you. If there is anything seriously wrong, an optometrist will pick that up and refer her out if needed. In all likelyhood, this is prefectly normal and what we would expect. I wouldn't panic.

 

[scrapquitler]

hi there! don't stress yet and follow up with an eye doc. I am sure it was probably just a screening test that likely has a high margin of error. She will like need something I assume, but don't worry about the specific numbers until she gets a full exam

edit - I agree with the pp on the vision changes over time....

Don't panic yet, the numbers they gave you might be way off, but yes, definitely take her to the eye doctor to get a good eye exam.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

I always had excellent vision, until about the time I hit puberty (your DD's age). I was having trouble seeing the board at school and always sat in the first row as a result. It wasn't something I ever thought to bring up with my mom because the change had be so gradual to me (even though it was pretty quick overall) I never thought of my sight as having been anything different. If they hadn't checked me at school and sent a note home to my mom, who knows when I would have thought to mention it to her. Take her to a professional and see.

 

[design_mom]

Uh she is 13 ASK her! She should be able to tell you if she is having trouble seeing things.

I'm not sure I'd rely on that. What's "normal" for her might not be what's normal for average people. Before I got my first pair of glasses, I didn't realize that you could actually see raindrops falling from the sky (at least sometimes). When people would say "Look at it rain!" I could see the ground getting wet and puddles forming and I thought that's all anyone could see. I thought I could see fine and I didn't know I was missing them.

When my son got his glasses (he was only 14 months old, so it's a different situation), he was MESMERIZED by the stitching on his quilt. I don't think he knew it was there before.

OP -- People's eyes do change, and sometimes change quickly... but I think that sounds like a big switch if she's never had problems before. I would take her to an ophthalmologist for an evaluation, but I wouldn't stress too much about it.

 

[Bonniec]

I wanted to come back and say one more thing as to why I would say NOT to take her to an ophthalmologist.

Generally the person who checks her vision will be someone like me, an ophthalmic tech. Now depending on the clinic, some require or push for their technicians to be certified. But it is usually not a requirement and definitely not a law (it should be, imo). I've worked in 4 different eye clinics in my time and only two of the four really cared about it. A lot of technicians are great (like ME, ), but many are not. Some are hired without any experience and there is a lot to learn when it comes to eyeglass prescriptions.

And I have yet to find an ophthalmologist that knows squat about refracting someone. They are medical doctors and are there to treat medical eye problems. Optometrists are there to prescribe eyeglass prescriptions and check for medical problems.

Hope that helps!

 

[PrincessNancy96]

I too agree to have the eye dr. evaluate your child..

We had a bad experience with the schools evaluation being VERY wrong in regards to my DD!!!
Needless to say, I take my kids in every year before school starts and send a paper in asking them NOT to evaluate my child because they had been evaluated by our family eye doctor.

 

[mamamary]

I had no idea my DD had trouble with her vision until I got the note home from school about three years ago. Took her to the eye dr. and sure enough she needed glasses. She never told me she was having trouble seeing - she didn't want to wear glasses.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

Kids should be checked yearly. Vision changes and if it's been a few years it's very possible she's having problems and didn't say anything.

My son's eyes are so bad he can only correct to 20/40 with glasses. He has been wearing them since he was 5. I didn't start needing them until I was 13 and I knew I needed them and didn't want to wear them so I didn't say anything to my mom.