Our prevention services help children start school free from a critical barrier to school readiness and promote eye health, eye safety, and inclusion of people with visual impairments throughout our communities.
Vision Screenings for Pre-K Children
- Our free vision screenings for pre-kindergarten children – ages 0-6 – are conducted with an advanced hand-held Spot Vision Screener that is highly accurate in the determination of conditions such as nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatisms, strabismus, and amblyopia.
- Our Focused Futures partnerships seek to connect qualifying families with free eye care services from participating professionals.
- The Spot Vision Screener works on children as young as 6 months and is especially effective for use with children who are on the autism spectrum, have other physical challenges, or have language difficulties.
- Families of children referred for care receive printed screening results to share with an eye care professional.
- We screen 5,000 or more children ages 0-6 in a year, and up to 15% of these children are found to have a visual impairment of some degree.
- Our two most senior Prevention Specialists are certified as children’s vision screeners from the national Prevent Blindness program. Our third Prevention Specialist has a Doctor of Optometry degree from the Southern California College of Optometry.
- Most of our screening events are held at preschools, in daycare centers, and during kindergarten registrations or orientations. Screenings for school-aged children also are available upon request.
- Our C. Well Bunny Goes to School education program also can be presented at screening events.
Community Education Programs
- Our educational programs for preschool children, students, adults, and professionals promote eye health, eye safety, and inclusion of people with visual impairments.
- Our C. Well Bunny Goes to School presentation introduces preschoolers to basic concepts about eye health and safety.
- Our Low Vision Road Show shows audiences the specialized services that are available to people with visual impairments.
- Our Eyes in the Library presentation encourages students to discover the similarities and differences between human and animal eyes.
- Our Doing Things Differently presentation helps professionals interact effectively in their workplaces with patients, customers, and clients with visual impairments.
- Customized presentations are available on a limited basis.
Contact for Information
Jennifer Pandolfo, 570.992.7787, Ext. 222