Tools
Children’s Eye Health
Children’s Eye Health
The overall prevalence of visual impairment in children, including all refractive errors, is 7% to 8.2%. The prevalence of amblyopia (lazy eye) is 2.9% to 3.9%. – The Eye Digest
- Children usually become nearsighted between the ages of 8 and 12. – The Eye Digest
- Eighty percent of everything a child learns is acquired through his or her visual system. About sixteen percent of all children suffer from inadequate visual skills and up to ninety-four percent of children with reading problems have reduced visual skills. – American Optometric Association (AOA)
57% of youth with visual impairments have attended postsecondary schools in comparison to 68% of the general population and only 27% of persons with disabilities overall. – National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS)
- 264,000 children 6-14 years of age have difficulty seeing words and letters in ordinary newsprint even when wearing glasses or contact lenses. – Survey of Income and Program Participation (1997)
Up to 25% of school-age children may have vision problems that can affect learning, but only 14% of children receive a comprehensive eye exam before starting school. Nearly 10 million kids have undetected vision problems. – College of Optometrists in Vision Development, August 2004
- There are approximately 55,200 legally blind children. – American Institute for the Blind
