Family Eye Care – InfantSEE
The American Optometric Association recommends scheduling your child’s first eye examination at six months of age. Offen Eye Associates participates in InfantSEE, which is a public health program designed to provide comprehensive infant eye assessments to children between six months and 12 months of age at no cost.
One of the main goals of this program is to ensure that vision care becomes an essential part of infant wellness care. We strive to schedule these examinations first thing in the morning when the child will be most alert and content. Our optometrists will assess your child for eye health problems, tracking, and ocular alignment difficulties, as well as excessive or unequal amounts of nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. It is important to inform the eye doctor of any family history of high refractive error (nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism), amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (eye turn), or eye disease (such as cataracts, glaucoma, or macular degeneration).
Does your baby have an age-appropriate vision? Are the eyes straight? Are the eyes healthy? Is the baby at risk of developing a vision issue in the future? Identifying vision difficulties at an early age is imperative for prompt treatment and management so that vision does not impede the child’s overall growth and development.
You may wonder what to expect when you bring your little one in for a visit. Our examination consists of objective testing through the use of patterned targets, lights, and lenses. We utilize flashing lights, finger puppets, and toys to keep the child engaged in each activity. Treatment of vision issues may include glasses, patching, eye exercises, or referral to the appropriate specialist if medically indicated. If vision problems are ruled out at this visit and the child is considered at low risk for development of vision issues in the near future it is then recommended that the child is reassessed annually beginning at three years of age.
At Offen Eye Associates we routinely see infants from Westfield, as well as the surrounding communities of Cranford, Scotch Plains, Mountainside, Clark, and Garwood. We look forward to meeting you and your family. Please call the office at (908) 789-1177 to schedule an InfantSEE examination for your child today.