3 Yr Old with 20/200 Vision

My sister's vision was very similar and she got glasses when she was 5. She wore the glasses for about 5 years and then she no longer needed them. Kids at that age teased her a little bit, but there are more and more kids wearing glasses, so it gets easier. She's 18 now and doesn't have any vision problems now. It's amazing what can be done if things are found early.

If this came about simply from her standing in the Peds office for a simple eye check up, then I wouldn't stress about it until she goes to the Ped eye Dr. My son has been wearing glasses since he was 2ys old and there is a huge difference between a Peds office and a Ped eye Dr doing an eye exam. Most of the time, kids won't even cooperate when it comes to saying what they shapes are that they see or call them something different and get 'marked' wrong for it. My son used to call the man on the horse a dog and the hand was high five but he always called them the same thing so it was all good. A Ped eye Dr will also be able to look into their eyes and see what is going on inside which will give them a better idea of how well their vision really is.
Like you said, she isn't bumping into things and points at things in the car, I wouldn't stress too much.

Good luck
S.

Why are they waiting until April? Kids eyes can change and the brain can stop readiing images within 2 weeks I've heard? My daughter got glasses at 3. Her eyes tested farsighted to a degree they wouldn't have given her glasses (since all kids undr 5 aresomewhat farsighted) but her one eye turned in sometimes and they didn't want the above to happen so she wears glasses. I would say breathe, I know I wanted to cry when I found out she needed glasses, but its not horrible, kids wear glasses all the time now, it doesnt have a stigma attached and lots of teens wear them when they don't have to now for style! I hope that it was misread or not as bad, but J. remember to breathe and not make it a big deal and perhaps now start looing at pics ofk kids with glasses to make her used to the idea of wearing them...why didn't they prescrube them right away? My daughter got the prescription the same day?

I haven't read the other responses yet but I'll share my story with you. I have worn glasses since kindergarten and have been diagnosed as legally blind since 13. My heart sank the day they told me that I'd never get my learner's permit and then my license like all my friends. When I turned 16 and all my friends started showing me their licenses I did become really depressed. It's so embarrassing to have your mom drop you off at all your hockey games and theater practices when your friends are there parking their cars. Later on it just became normal that my two best friends would always come get me to make sure I was included in activities (not only could I not drive but I lived in the boonies an hour from the town where I went to school so I couldn't just walk to a friend's house).

I decided that I would NOT let my blindness affect my life, hence why I played hockey and even got them to put blue tape on the puck because I can see blue on white much easier than black on white. My mom contacted Minnesota State Services for the Blind and I had a wonderful case worker who still contacts me that helped me get training on living with blindness and paid most of my way through college. Part of not letting this affect me was getting out on my own. I knew that if I never left I would never fully learn to be independent. So, I moved to Tennessee to go to college and eventually moved to Mexico...both of those moves were alone without having previous friends. You know what? That was the best thing I could've done for myself. Before I wouldn't even walk into a store alone...now I prefer to not rely on others to help me, I like to feel independent. I'm 27 now and have gotten so used to not seeing well. I still have my days, don't get me wrong, that I just get depressed when I just want to leave on my own and do something that I don't need to ask for a ride but it does get better with time.

If it comes back that the test wasn't wrong and she is legally blind, don't treat her differently or overdo it on the helping. Let her feel normal and see if your state has a SSB program too. My problem is called degeneration and atrophy of the optic nerve. Basically my the nerve from my eyes to my brain is disintegrating so there is not a laser surgery to fix it. I am the only person in my family who is legally blind. Many wear glasses but their vision is correctable. If you have more questions I'm more than happy to help.

EDIT: I just saw that you're in MN too. If you'd like I can get you in contact with my case worker and he can get you help for your daughter.

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my 1 year old has been to the eye specialist a few times now with a wandering eye. They say she has 20/200 vision as well, but far sighted. I had huge concerns as my oldest (21y.o.) is extremely myopic (near sighted), got glasses at 2, and is now "legally blind". The girls see the same specialist, they are aware of my oldests problem. Apparently little ones often score 20/200 and this CAN fix itself by age 6. There seems to be quite a difference though, if its near sightedness (not so inclined to self "fix") as opposed to the far sightedness commonly seen in little ones. I wouldnt get too stressed, your appt is only a month away, and likely she will be fine.

Sorry I didn't answer this sooner, but I just saw it. My oldest daughter (now six) has also been wearing glasses since she was three...and really, she didn't show any signs of "needing" them except that she always had bags under her eyes and as much as she loved having books read to her, she showed no interest in learning to read them...but she could write. I thought that was very odd, so I went to have her checked.

All I can say is I would definitely get a second opinion, because it doesn't sound as bad as that and I wouldn't trust my child's eye health to her pediatrician (as much as I like her.) Seeing the optometrist will hopefully give you a more encouraging response.

Also, know that at age three, a child's eyes are still developing and are not supposed to be perfect...they are all farsighted. It's the degree of farsightedness that's the issue. They did not fully correct my daughter's vision with her glasses, to give her eyes a chance to grow stronger and her sight to improve...and it has. Now, at age six, her lens are noticeably thinner. :)

My daughter has been wearing glasses since she was three years old. She'd been complaining that the lights hurt her eyes at night after having been in daycare all day long--to the point where she'd start crying, they hurt so bad. I first took her to her pediatrician, who didn't think there was anything wrong and tried to say that because she has light-colored eyes (they're blue-green) that lights affect them more (huh?). I didn't believe her--I know my own kid, after all--and took her to see a Pediatrician Opthamologist--of which her doctor is only one of three in the entire city of Madison, WI. Not only was she found to be severely far-sighted, she also had Strabismus. For the Strabismus, we had to buy a special video program that she had to use everyday with some 3-D glasses. She hated it. But she hated the alternative even more--having to have surgery on her eyes to correct them.

Her Strabismus is, for the most part, corrected. Currently, we've seen an upswing in her far-sightedness--it's been slowly getting better. I'm crossing my fingers that she will "outgrow" it (apparently, you can outgrow far-sightedness but not near-sightedness). But if she doesn't, I wear glasses, so it's not like she's the only one to wear them. And wearing glasses isn't a disease. Thank God there is a way to correct sight so that she can see. And hopefully, like other posters noted, hopefully your daughter isn't "legally blind." Although I do believe that "legally blind" has a fairly wide definition, because I am considered on the threshold of "legally blind" with my near-sightedness, yet I can still fuzzily see without my glasses.

You aren't going to love your daughter any less if she wears glasses or not, nor are you going to love her any less if she's actually blind. Hang in there and wait until she sees the proper doctor who can accurately diagnose her (is she seeing a Pediatrician Opthamologist? They deal specifically with children, as they need to use prisms to look at their eyes; they don't use the big, scary machines that the adults use).

Good luck.

I have a niece who is also technechally blind... (20/200)... She also has light sensetivity (can't see in bright lights or sun light) AND color blindness... She is 13 now. He vision issues (acromitopsia) are degenerative... Eventually she will loose all sight. And she will not wear her glasses! (grrrr)... BUT she is and always has been a real scrapper... She was 2 and running literally RUNNING into things. There is no stopping this girl. Her vision issues have made her more determined to acomplish things.
She reads and watches tv, plays video games, etc (She has to sit about 3 inches from the tv and holds books REALLY close) She is a normal 13 yr old girl... She takes the younger kids out and plays with them in the yard. She gets things for us when we need her to... (Then holds them right up to her face to make sure its what we asked for. 99% of the time she's right on before she picks it up)
Yes, she will never be able to drive, but everything else she does... :-) I admire her SO much for her gumption.
As a baby we noticed that her eyes "bounced" up and down all the time... Then as a toddler she would push her face right into what ever was in front of her... Yes, as a munchkin trying to go to school and learn how to read, write, and tell colors she had some difficulties... But the school was awesome and did everything they could to help her learn in a way she could... Colors are pretty hard when all you see is shades of grey...
Unless your asking her to do something intricate most of the time you don't even notice that she has vision issues...

Take her to a pediatric ophthalmologist. THese are medicall surgeons who specialize in eye care. Optometrists take care of what the prescriptions will be for glasses.

She will have her eyes dilated. These are drops they put in her eyes so the dr can see behind, inside her eye.
They will give her a full evalutaion that is more indepth than an optometrist.
An ophthalmologist will also be able to give you a longterm prognosis.

My family has a history of congenital cataracts. My sister, her three kids, my daughter, and I, have all been diagnosed around three. My daughter and I see an ophthalmologist every 4-6 months. My other daughter is just near sighted, she can get away with the optometrist.

I saw no signs so they found out my son had vision problems for the kindergarten check up. He is a bit older so he argued. When he got his glasses he acknowledged that he did indeed see better. He's already broken his glasses, they are ALWAYS dirty, he's stopped forgeting them finally now that he's in second grade. They are always bent too. It was really really hard at first though but it's gotten easier.

I'd suggest looking for a sturdy pair of glasses! If you see children walking around with glasses ask the mothers about the glasses. Sure you have insurance, or you'll buy the insurance for glasses but the time between getting the re-order in and them being broken your child is still without glasses so insurance isn't all good. So make sure you still find good rated sturdy glasses.