Eye See Eye Learn

Wow! Today at Health and Social Services we learned about a exciting new program that has come to our community. An important new program has been launched in Halton with the Ontario Association of Optometrists.

The program is called Eye See Eye Learn and reminds us of the importance of vision care for people of all ages. Its objectives are to detect, diagnose and treat children with vision problems so they can see and learn to the best of their ability. They also provide free eye glasses to any child participating in the program who needs them.

The program is launching with Junior Kindergarten students and in Halton here is the breakdown
69 public schools
40 Catholic Schools
68 Optometrists in Halton Region
More then 4,000 JK students are eligible

The examinations are covered by OHIP and the participating OAO Member Optometrists are waiving the fees when dispensing eyeglasses. The eye glasses have been donated and come with a 2 year warranty!

When a vision problem goes undetected the child is frustrated and can learn at a slower rate. Some suffer from negative self image and there has been cases of discipline issues, drop out and the need for special education.

I know from wearing glasses that at first I wrote off the headaches to stress, too much to read, poor lighting. Now that I have reading glasses I wonder how long before I went to the Doctor did I actually need them. Now I make the trip every second year to get my eyes tested for glasses but also for other diseases.

We had a great discussion at our Health and Social Services meeting about this program and also difficulty sometimes faced with children with hearing problems. It is great to see the OAO step up and offer such a great service here in Halton. The kids will be bringing home information about the program in the next week or so.

If you want further information you can checkout their website

http://www.optom.on.ca/students_and_educators/eye_see_eye_learn/what_is_eye_see_eye_learn