Seeking Input on Vision Evaluation and Care for 5 Year Old

Vision care is VERY important. I'm sure you know that. Not being able to see properly hinders a child's cognitive development, especially in the classroom.

My favorite vision doctor is Dr. Dale Barr. I like him so much that after five years of living too far away to see him, the moment I moved back, my husband and I are seeing him again. I think he takes kids. If not, then ask him who to see. I trust his opinion completely. I've never had a better eye doctor, EVER. And that's saying somethin', I've had glasses since I was eight years old.

Dr. Dale Barr's info is:
2730 Union Ave., Ste. A
San Jose, CA 95124
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start with your pediatrician so you can get advice on whether you need a pediatric ophthalmologist (PO) or if an optician would be okay. my son has a genetic eye disorder and there are very few good POs in this area. we go to stanford to see dr. alcorn. she knows her stuff and leaves the bedside manner to her assistants. Dr. Frederick at UCSF is also very good but has even less of a bedside manner! good luck to you.

Vision checks are very important! My daughter failed her vision screening at her dr. office twice, so we took her to the eye dr. to have this checked out. When it was all said and done, her vision is fine...right now. Her eyes were fully matured at 5 yr. old. That will cause a problem down the road. Dr. Taylor told us what to watch for, what we might hear the teacher saying about her that would indicate a vision problem.
He's kind and explains everything as he goes, so there are no surprises.

Family EyeCare Center is located at
338 East Hamilton Avenue,
Campbell, CA 95008
Phone: ###-###-####
Fax: ###-###-####
Email: ____@____.com

I took my two boys to see Dr. Yeh in Los Gatos at All About Eyes. She was great with them. My older boy (5) is color blind and she was so gentle in talking about what that might mean for him. I really love the staff there. They're located on North Santa Cruz Avenue, just as you're heading into LG from Winchester. She made the process fun and interesting for them. For the younger boy (18 months) she just looked at the health of his eye since there's no way to judge his actual vision at this age.

Most pediatricians don't properly check your baby's eyes at their well-baby check-ups, and the American Optometric
Association recommends babies have their eyes examined at age 1, 3, and 5. My 12-month-old daughter just had her 1-year eye exam at Precision Eye Care Center (www.precisioneyes.com) and it was great. They have a lot of experience with babies and children, and I was quite pleased to find out it was free. :) I highly recommend Dr. Chinn and Dr. Redman, whom I have been seeing for years for my own vision exams.

(Here's some more info about no-cost infant eye exams from
http://www.allaboutvision.com/parents/infants.htm )
In June 2005 a program called InfantSEE was launched; it provides a no-cost comprehensive eye assessment to infants in their first year of life. The program is supported by the American Optometric Association, the Vision Care Institute of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care, and former President Jimmy Carter. InfantSEE was created to encourage parents to have their babies' eyes checked early on, to prevent vision problems from interfering with their development. President Carter's granddaughter was diagnosed and treated as a toddler for amblyopia (lazy eye), a leading cause of vision loss in people under 45. His grandson's amblopia wasn't diagnosed until he was in grade school, and it may never be fully corrected.

It is extremely important to have your daughter's vision evaluated as soon as possible. And she should see an ophthalmologist for that evaluation. Your pediatrician may be able to make a recommendation. If your daughter does need glasses, the ophthalmologist may be able to help you help her to
accept wearing glasses. She will also need help and support to deal with what her classmates (if she attends preschool) say to her. Kids often give glasses-wearers a hard time. You can also work with her teacher to assist her. Good luck to both of you.