What is Lions KidSight?

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KidSight is part of a nationwide initiative of the Lions Clubs to help parents, childcare providers, and educators find and correct children's vision problems. Lions offer this valuable community service absolutely FREE!

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Texas law requires mandatory vision screenings for children aged 4+ entering child care or school for the first time, as well as those in kindergarten and grades 1, 3, 5, and 7. Those results must be reported to the Department of State Health Services (DSHS). DSHS allows computerized screenings (such as with our SPOT device mentioned below0 for kids under 6, but requires the traditional Chart screening for those older than 6.

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KIDS UNDER 6 YEARS OLD:

Our first priority is to increase the number of children screened in the 6 month to 5 year old age group. One of the primary reasons is to detect Amblyopia (Lazy Eye) which can be treated more easily in children up to 7 years of age. SPOT it early treat it early.

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SPOT is a breakthrough device that quickly and easily detects vision issues across all age groups. SPOT helps ensure children have an opportunity to reach their full potential.

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About 80 percent of learning is acquired visually, yet as important as vision is, screening approaches are often inaccurate and cumbersome, especially for younger children. Undetected vision disorders can significantly handicap a child's potential. SPOT is a better way.

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Designed to work as easily with toddlers as with teenagers, Spot provides reliable data in seconds. With Spot, healthcare professionals can now confidently assess eyesight for all ages.

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What Spot Sees:

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Spot is powered by sophisticated technology that quickly detects the indication of the following vision issues:

* Near-sightedness (myopia)

* Far-sightedness (hyperopia)

* Unequal refractive power (anisometropia)

* Blurred vision, eye structure problem (astigmatism)

* Pupil size deviations (anisocoria)

* Eye misalignment (stabismus)

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In just seconds, Spot provides a comprehensive, reliable analysis that enables informed decision making about the need for follow-up diagnosis.

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KIDS OVER 6 YEARS OLD:

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DSHS requires that screening be done with the traditional Chart for kids 6 and over. The variety of chart is the standardized SLOAN chart. Rather than test for the vision issues detected by the SPOT, Chart screening concentrates on Visual Acuity, which is a measure of the ability of the eye to distinguish shapes and the details of objects at a given distance.

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The Lions Club of Lago Vista has a substantial group of dedicated members who have trained on the SPOT device as well as in the practice of Chart screening. DSHS requires that anyone screening kids in the State of Texas take and pass a State Certification Class, and all our screeners are State Certified.

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The burden of screening and reporting falls on the shoulders of our school nurses, and the Lions are proud to relieve them by completing all or most of the necessary screenings, freeing the nurses to take care of the kids. For several years we have worked closely with the Lago Vista Independent School District and the Liberty Hill Independent School District, and we do the great majority of their screenings.

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If you would like to schedule a screening activity for a group (children or adults or a mix), or if you would like to ask a question, please contact our KidSight Chair, Don Johndrow at djohndrow@gmail.com or phone or text to 512-934-8832.

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