Questions for Your Eye Doctor

Adapted from: Idaho Project for Children and Youth with Deaf-Blindness

1. What is my child's distance acuity for each eye individually and both eyes together?
2. What is my child's near vision acuity of each eye individually and both eyes together?
3. How large of an area can my child see left-to-right and top-to-bottom? (Visual field)
4. Can my child see better in the central field or on the sides? (Peripheral field)
5. What, if any, medical eye condition does my child have?
   1. What are the causes of this medical eye condition?
6. Is this a progressive/degenerative condition?
7. If the condition is a progressive/degenerative loss, what further visual problems do you anticipate my child having?
   1. If the condition is a progressive/degenerative loss, how rapidly should one expect changes to occur?
   2. What symptoms might I observe that indicate a change in my child's visual functioning?
8.  How well does my child do at tracking a light or object?
9. How well does my child do fixating on a light or object?
10. Do my child's eyes work together well? (Convergence behavior)
11. Can my child's eye condition be corrected? If so, how: glasses, surgery, etc.
    1. Will my child ever need eye surgery for his/her eye condition?
    2. If "yes": a) what type of surgery?, b) why do you think surgery is necessary?, and c) when (at what age) should this surgery be performed?
12. What will my child's distance acuity be with prescriptive lenses (glasses)?
13. What does my child’s distance acuity actually mean in terms of usable vision?
14. What will my child's near vision acuity be with prescriptive lenses (glasses)?
15. What does my child’s near vision acuity actually mean in terms of usable vision?
16. What size print can my child distinguish or read, and at what distances?
17. How often should my child wear his/her prescriptive lenses? At all times? For distance? Work only? For close work only?
18. What should we expect in terms of daily functioning (e.g., light sensitivity, eye strain, fatigue, headaches, squinting, color blindness, lack of depth perception)?
19. What kind of lighting is best for my child (e.g., low, average, above-average intensity)?
20. If special lighting is needed, how should the lighting be positioned (overhead, at back, etc.)?
21. What restrictions, if any, should be placed on my child's activities (e.g., physical education)?
22. What problems could arise if my child does not follow these restrictions?
23. How often should my child visit an eye specialist to either check his/her glasses prescription or for a routine check-up?
24. What suggestions do you have for teachers who are working with my child?
25. What information should be shared with people who interact with my child?
26. What adaptations do you think my child might need [e.g., magnifier, closed-circuit TV (CCTV)]?
27. What local and national organizations can I call if I have further questions?

An acuity of 20/200 means that a person sees something at 20 feet what an individual with "normal" eyes sees at 200 feet.