At birth, your baby can see blurred patterns of light and dark. During their first four months, their vision will extend from an arm’s length to across a room. By their sixth month, your baby will acquire eye movement control and develop hand-eye coordination skills.
Visual abilities play a key role in early development. Dr. Dubé, Optometrist recommends infants have their first eye exam at six months of age and then annually after that. Dr. Dubé, Optometrist can complete an eye exam even if your child doesn’t know their ABC’s by using shapes, pictures and other child-friendly ways to evaluate vision and eye health.
For the first six months, an infant’s eyes can appear slightly crossed or out of alignment, but if your infant’s eyes appear significantly crossed or remain misaligned after six months of age, contact your doctor of optometry right away. Your child may have strabismus, commonly known as crossed eyes, a condition that can be treated with eyeglasses, contact lenses, prisms, patching and/or vision therapy and in some cases, surgery. If left untreated, the ignored eye will be unable to function normally. This may result in the development of a lazy eye or amblyopia. This condition describes weak vision or vision loss in one eye as a result of an uncorrected prescription, or misalignment of the eye. If detected and treated before eight years of age, it will often resolve completely. Untreated, amblyopia can lead to significant vision loss in the affected eye.
Insured children aged 0-19 and insured adult seniors ages 65 and above are covered by OHIP for a comprehensive eye examination once every 12 months.