EYE EXAMINATIONS

When was the last time your child had his or her eyes checked? Considering our vision contributes to our learning more than all our other senses added together, annual eye examinations are crucial in monitoring and guiding your child’s vision.

Common eye conditions for children are usually only picked up with a proper eye test or screening assessment, and can very often go unnoticed by parents and teachers. Good vision is vital in meeting the demands that come with life, no matter what stage of life your child as at - from associating objects from birth, to play-based learning and subsequently learning to read and write, and being able to perform these tasks more comfortably further into their schooling journey.

At Kiddies Eye Care our goal is to help children achieve the clearest possible vision and vision perception, for success in learning and life at any stage. The first step to making this happen is a standard eye examination in which we will be able to assess their vision, sight as well as other important characteristics such as eye movement, structure vision processing and visual guidance. Eye health and function is also included, making every consultation a holistic approach to you and your child’s visual system.

Most importantly, our children’s eye examinations are done in a fun, safe and secure environment where we ensure your child feels comfortable to perform at their best.

WHAT DO WE TEST FOR?

Sight - how clearly your child can see and focus
Vision - how well your child uses the information that they see
Eye movements
Pupil function
Eye tracking - how the eyes move when they are working (eg reading)
Eye teaming - how well the two eyes work together
Colour vision
Eye health

SIGNS YOUR CHILD MAY NEED AN EYE TEST:

Poor concentration or focus
Headaches or sore eyes, particularly after near work such as homework or reading
Closing one eye
Squinting or excessive blinking
Turned eyes
Poor hand-eye coordination
Eye rubbing
Head tilt
They get frustrated or angry with school work

EYE FOCUS

EYE TRACKING

EYE TEAMING

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WHAT DOES EACH EYE TEST LOOK LIKE?

At Kiddies, one consultation will never be the same as the next. We are sensitive to each child’s unique abilities, and also understand that two different pairs of eyes have different needs too. For example, one child may require assessment of their lazy eye which will focus on their binocular vision, whilst the next child we see may be short-sighted, so the consultation will be focused on monitoring axial lengths and comparing previous results.

INITIAL CONSULTATIONS

Your first consultation with us will go for up to an hour and include a full family and personal history as well as a discussion regarding your present concerns or issues about you or your child. We will then perform a comprehensive eye examination, including a number of tests which will assist us to ascertain your or your child’s sight, vision and ability to perceive what they are seeing. Within the consultation, we will also discuss a personalised plan for both until your next review appointment and further on into the future. If required, we will also take the time to discuss options in regards to lens choices and add-ons which are tailored according to your very own needs.

All of our equipment is specially designed for children (we don’t believe kids should be using any old adult stuff!), to make the process comfortable, non-intimidating and honestly, a lot of fun. This environment allows children to feel confident and empowered to perform at their best, which we believe is key to a good and thorough eye examination.

REVIEW CONSULTATIONS

Review appointments can go for up to up to 30 minutes or up to 45 minutes, according to what you feel you require. Each appointment will vary in tests according to your very own visual requirements, in addition to following up from previous concerns and assessing new ones. For some, review appointments are recommended within three months of spectacle/contact lens collection to track how you or your child are processing, and to update the prescription within the warranty period. Alternatively, review appointments may just be routine annual check up to monitor vision and visual development. Review appointments and recalls will be discussed within your all of your consultations so you have an understanding of what timeline our optometrists recommend for the best possible care.

BEHAVIORUAL CONSULTATIONS

At Kiddies Eye Care, we also offer the option of a full Behavioural Examination for your first consultation. This entails all tests conducted within a normal comprehensive initial eye examination but also includes a more holistic approach and analysis of your examination.Read more about behavioural optometry here or please feel free to contact us in regards to further information on this style of consultation.

OTHER CONSULTATIONS

In additional to our standard eye examinations, we also offer a number of different appointment types including OCT imaging, Visual Processing (Dyslexia) Testing and many more. Kiddies is proud to have the latest technology in house so we are able to check the current status of your ocular health and function, but also monitor this in the future, with repeat tests and comparison between results.

All of these appointment types can be discussed throughout your eye examination and arranged accordingly.

DO WE BULK BILL?

We are a private billing practice. This means that full payment for all services provided is required on the day of testing. We will then process the claim for your Medicare rebate which will be returned to an account nominated by yourself through Medicare.

Private billing allows us to spend more time compared to other optometrists with you and your child, to take a detailed history and a detailed assessment. After this, we ensure that we have the time to provide you with information to inform you of the results of the examination, and our recommendations in good detail.

If you have any questions about the fees and rebates, please contact our friendly team.

WHAT DO I NEED TO BRING TO MY CHILD’S EYE TEST?

If your child has already been prescribed glasses, please be sure to bring these along as we will be able to assess their sight and vision both with and without them. Additionally, if they have contact lenses, please feel free to bring those along too.

No referral is required to attend our clinic, however if you do have any reports from other health care professionals, teachers, school psychologists, paediatricians, speech pathologists or occupational therapists, please feel free to bring these too so we can gather a comprehensive understanding of your child.

We are a private billing practice, and will able to process your Medicare rebate for you on the day. Please bring your Medicare card along for us to be able to claim this for you.