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Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Join our Primary Education forum to discuss starting school and helping your child get the most out of it.

Primary education

7 Year old eyesight problem

17 replies

rp1608 · 25/07/2011 16:28

So I found out that my daughter can't read small writing, so ok we made an appointment for the optician, etc, she might have Glaucoma as well

But it turns out that quite some time ago at school, she told a teacher she couldn't read a book because the letters were too small!?! So the teacher told her to get a different book with bigger letters, and we were not told about this problem. I feel very concerned that the school did not address this issue with me.

I want to know what your reactions are to what the teacher said.

Thanks

OP posts:

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mrz · 25/07/2011 16:37

I've been telling a parent for a year her daughter can't see 2 inch high letters on the IWB from a distance of a few feet (apparently the previous teacher also raised the problem) ... still hasn't been for an eye test. Yes you should have been told if it was a problem in school.

throckenholt · 25/07/2011 16:53

I am not sure if you have been to the optician or not yet ?

I took my 8 year old for the first time last year. And mentioned they aren't happy reading small writing - claiming it is too small. And the optician said it is common at that age and down to familiarity. As you get more fluent with reading you can cope with smaller letters - but when you are learning then you need very clear large text to make it easier.

IndigoBell · 25/07/2011 17:02

School should have taken her more seriously, and should have told you to get her eye tested. :(

qwerky · 27/07/2011 12:59

I think it is a parent's responsibility to have regular eye tests but the school really should have mentioned if they suspected she had problems :(.

Saying that, I do think that parent's should be made aware that up until the age of 7(ish) many eye problems can be 'cured'. After this age, the problems can only be corrected.

Maybe it is because we are a family of glasses wearers but both my kids have been attending the optician since they were 3.

Scholes34 · 27/07/2011 13:21

Surely she must have encountered the same problems when reading books at home? In which case it's easy to see how a problem might have been overlooked.

mollymole · 27/07/2011 13:59

parents should be taking their children for regular FREE eye check ups (on the NHS) from around 3 years of age (unless the health visitor recommends it sooner, in which case they will probably be seen by the Hospital Eye Service) - yes school should have picked up on this, but so should you have done.
and who has said she might have glaucoma - this can only be identified by an optician/opthamologist

IndigoBell · 27/07/2011 14:02

It's all very well saying take your child to an optician - but they don't pick up many vision problems at all.

My DD needed bifocal glasses and 2 opticians missed that.

Jinx1906 · 27/07/2011 14:13

I only took my kids for an eye test when they started reception, but both were reading simple text and there was no reason to suspect that there was a problem. I'm not sure how a small child can have an eye test done as they involve a lot of letters. I remember with our oldest that the optom. said that he was confident she did not have any problems despite the fact that she got a lot of the letters wrong. She was 4+1/2 at the time. He seemed to think it had a lot more to do with my DD's knowledge of the alphabet than her eyes and told us to come back in 6 months.

It is perhaps worth observing things such as how far is holding a book from her face when she is reading. Does she often squint when watching the telly etc..

IndigoBell · 27/07/2011 14:17

Jinx - they have tests that don't involve letters for small kids.

They can test babies eyesight to some degree!

LynetteScavo · 27/07/2011 14:22

Bit of a highjack..Indigo Bell I've taken your advice, and DS2 now has bi-focals, (tinted green). He lost his first pair after one week!! But now we have the second pair and they seem to really help him.

I think teachers are told so many things by so many children that one offs can be forgotten/over looked. I've got a head ache, my tummy hurts etc, etc, can be something serious, but my be nothing, and in a class of thirty one adult can easily miss something, so I wouldn't totally blame the teacher. DD's teacher did tell me that DD was having trouble reading the board. There's nothing obviously wrong with her eye sight that an optician would pick up, but then I haven't had her tested by a behavior optometrist.

DS2 have been tested since they were one....there are lots of ways of testing small children, which don't involve letters, lol!

LynetteScavo · 27/07/2011 14:23

Sorry, that lol, seems quite rude when I read it back....it wasn't meant to be!

spanieleyes · 27/07/2011 14:27

Perhaps the teacher assumed a parent would already know if their child had poor eyesight. I've mentioned it to parents before and been told "Yes, she really should wear glasses but doesn't like them"

Dorje · 27/07/2011 14:33

You have to take responsibility for your own child.

It's common enough for a child to want bigger text without there being eye pathology.

I sense from your post that you are angry, but pointing the finger and playing the blame game with the teacher for your child's eyesight is the lazy way out of parenting.

Get your DD an eyesight test, and stop wasting your energy on trying to shift the blame for the guilt you feel.

Next we'll be hearing about how a teacher missed diagnosing stomach cancer as the child had complained of having a pain in her tummy!!!

LawrieMarlow · 27/07/2011 14:47

I think the school should have mentioned something. Despite my mum and dad both wearing glasses, it wasn't until I was 6 and my teacher mentioned that I kept copying from other children (because I couldn't read what was on the board) that they took me to the optician. I am quite short sighted (currently -10.75 and -11) so glasses did help a lot.

I took DC to the optician from about 3; they are 5 and 7 and so far their sight is fine (which is nice).

mrsbaffled · 27/07/2011 20:35

Yes, they can test eyes very early:
DS2 had his first eye test at 2 weeks old. Quite impressive really! it involved the lady tapping boards with pictures on and seeing where he was focussing. Then they put drops in his eyes and used a bright light to look for astigmatism.

youarekidding · 27/07/2011 20:58

I agree it's the parents responsibility to get a child's eyes tested regulary.

DS passed the year R checks for sight and hearing despite being given glasses 4 months later and suffereing acute attacks of glue ear at the time and under the ENT. The tests just pick up the extremes. EG DS could read the letters but the fact they were/are blurry didn't get picked up/ he didn't mention!

3 months after DS had his tested my teacher friend got her DC's done as I mentioned they should as a matter of course. Her DC1 has moderatly poor vision in 1 eye and needs glasses to prevent a squint - and no lonbger complains daily of headaches! Teachers are NOT options and shouldn't be expected to double up as so.

youarekidding · 27/07/2011 20:59

optitions not options

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