24 Nov 🤔Did you know that NSW Health offers a FREE Vision 👁Screening Program for 4 Year olds?

The StEPS program is an initiative of NSW Health and offers all 4 years old children free vision screening. 👀NSW Health advises all children to have their vision screened before they start school and strongly recommend that all four year old children participate in the vision screening program.🧒

The reason why children need vision screening is because children rarely complain of eye problems 👀or realise that they can’t see well. The only way to tell if a child has a vision problem is to have the child’s vision tested one eye at a time. Often times, many childhood vision problems can be effectively treated to achieve better vision outcomes when detected early. Whereas when neglected and left untreated, some vision problems can lead to vision loss or lifelong vision problems.😬 For example, if a child has a ‘lazy eye’ it may lead to severe vision loss or blindness in that eye if not treated. After a certain age, some childhood vision problems cannot be treated and the child will have poor vision for the rest of their life – glasses won’t help.😱

In addition, if parents wear glasses 🤓or had vision problems as a child, their children are more likely to have vision problems too. Also, low birth weight babies and children with neurological problems are at a greater risk of developing eye problems. So if your child falls into one for the above categories, it is important to organise for a vision test for your child.

To access the StEPS Program, ask your preschool or child care centre for more information. To have your child’s vision screened, you will need to complete a consent form and return it to your child’s preschool/childcare centre.
Your child can also have their 👀vision tested at a catchup StEPS clinic if available or at a NSW Health Child and Family Health service. You can also ask your GP 👩‍⚕️to test your child’s vision or refer your child to an eye health professional.
For more information, go to https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/…/MCFhealth/Pages/steps.aspx

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