Pediatric Vision Care in Austin Helping Kids See, Learn, and Thrive
Clear, comfortable vision is essential to your child’s development—both in and out of the classroom. At The Center for Vision Development, we specialize in pediatric eye care for children from infancy through adolescence. Whether your child is learning to walk, struggling to read, or experiencing behavioral challenges, our goal is to uncover and address any vision issues early—so they can grow with confidence and reach their full potential.
At the Center for Vision Development, we believe every child deserves clear sight and the confidence that comes with it. Vision problems in children can impact more than just seeing clearly; they can severely impact their learning, with 80% of learning in children being visual. Other than learning, a child’s vision also affects their confidence, social interactions and overall quality of life. Our pediatric eye exams are designed to detect and address these issues early on, setting children on a path for brighter futures.
Our team, The Visionaries, specializes in personalized care tailored to each child’s needs. Whether it’s an initial check-up or a focused treatment plan, we take time to understand your child’s vision challenges and give them the treatment they deserve in a safe, warm, and welcoming environment.
Pediatric Eye Exams at The Center for Vision Development What You Can Expect—A Comprehensive Eye Exam
In addition to basic visual acuity (distance and near vision), an eye exam may assess the following visual skills that are required for learning and mobility:
- Binocular Vision: How the eyes work together as a team
- Focusing
- Peripheral Vision
- Color Vision
- Eye-Hand Coordination
- Tracking
The doctor will also examine the area around and inside the eyes to check for eye diseases or health conditions.
You should share any relevant history regarding your child with your eye doctor such as a premature birth, developmental delays, serious illnesses, high fevers, a family history of eye problems, eye injuries, or medications the child is taking. It is also important to address any concerns or issues you or your child has that might indicate a vision problem.
If your eye doctor determines that your child has a vision problem, they will discuss this with you in detail including recommendations for treatment or a referral for additional testing if warranted. Treatment options often consist of several therapeutic options, such as eyeglasses or contact lenses, an eye patch, vision therapy, or ortho-k, depending on the conditions that are diagnosed. Since some conditions are much easier to treat when caught early, while the eyes are still developing, diagnosing eye and vision issues as early as possible is essential.
Following the guidelines for children’s eye exams and staying alert to any signs of vision problems can help your child reach his or her potential.
Eye Exams for Babies to 24 Months of Age
A baby’s visual system develops gradually over the first few months.
They must learn to focus, move their eyes, and use them together as a team. The brain also needs to learn how to process the visual information from the eyes to understand and interact with the world. With the development of eyesight comes also the foundation for motor development, such as crawling, walking, and eye-hand coordination.
Ensure that your baby is reaching milestones.
Keep an eye on what is happening with your infant’s development, and ensure that you schedule a comprehensive infant eye exam at 6 months. At this exam, the eye doctor will determine if your baby is seeing properly and developing on track and look for conditions that could impair eye health or vision such as strabismus (misalignment or crossing of the eyes), farsightedness, nearsightedness, or astigmatism.
Since there is a higher risk of eye and vision problems if your infant was born premature or showed signs of developmental delay, your eye doctor may require frequent visits to monitor their progress.
Eye Exams for Preschool Children: Ages 2 - 5 years
The toddler and preschool age is a period where children experience drastic growth in intellectual and motor skills. During this time, they will develop the fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination, and perceptual abilities that will prepare them to read and write, play sports, and participate in creative activities such as drawing, sculpting, or building. This is all dependent upon good vision and visual processes.
This is the age when parents should look for signs of lazy eye (amblyopia) - when one eye doesn’t see clearly, or crossed eyes (strabismus) - when one or both eyes turn inward or outward. The earlier these conditions are treated, the higher the success rate.
Parents should also be aware of any developmental delays having to do with object, number, or letter recognition, color recognition, or coordination, as the root of such problems can often be visual. If you notice your child squinting, rubbing his eyes frequently, sitting very close to the TV or reading material, or generally avoiding activities such as puzzles or coloring, it is worth a trip to the eye doctor.
Eye Exams in School-Aged Children: Ages 6 - 18 years
Undetected or uncorrected vision problems can cause children and teens to suffer academically, socially, athletically, and personally.
If your child has trouble in school or after-school activities, there could be an underlying vision problem. Proper learning, motor development, reading, and many other skills depend on good vision and the ability of your eyes to work together. Children with problems with focusing, reading, teaming their eyes, or eye-hand coordination often experience frustration and may exhibit behavioral problems. Usually, they don’t know that the vision they are experiencing is abnormal, so they can’t express that they need help.
In addition to the symptoms written above, signs of vision problems in older children include:
- Short attention span
- Headaches
- Frequent blinking
- Avoiding reading
- Tilting the head to one side
- Losing their place while reading
- Double vision
- Poor reading comprehension
20/20 vision is but one of 17 visual skills needed to see properly in sports/school
1 in 4 children goes undiagnosed with vision problems
Concentration + behavior may be the 1st signs of a vision problem
1 out of 5 children
needs vision correction