Free eye exams, glasses for P.E.I. kindergarten students
Kindergarten students in P.E.I. continue to benefit from ongoing free eye exams and glasses with help from the Eye See…Eye Learn program.
The program focuses on early detection of eye and vision problems in young children as they enter the school system.
Island kindergarten students are eligible for the program from July 1 to June 30 each year.
Since it was introduced in January 2015, 1,300 Island children have received the service. Of those, 25 per cent had corrective lenses recommended, making a positive impact on school performance and reducing risk of educational issues due to undiagnosed vision needs. For more information, visit www.healthpei.ca/eyesee-eyelearn.
Forty per cent of children who received the service did not have private insurance and may not have had the opportunity to receive a free formal vision test and corrective lenses.
“This program gives us an opportunity to educate parents on the importance of vision and eye health. Diagnosing vision problems in children can lead to a lifetime of dividends,” said Jayne Toombs, president of the P.E.I. Association of Optometrists.
“Too often children don’t complain about not seeing well because they don’t know what normal is. Uncorrected vision can affect a child’s ability to read, write and learn and can be the root of poor performance and behaviour problems. ”