Inadequate eye screening and testing for school children leaves them disadvantaged in the classroom, a Northern Ireland practitioner has warned parents and teachers.
At the launch of its School Vision project, timed to coincide with National Eye Health Week, Michael Gilsenan of Lee Opticians said children were missing out in the classroom because of poor eyesight.
A number of educational difficulties can be directly linked to eye problems, he said. 'These generally go undiagnosed due to lack of awareness by parents and teachers.'
Research shows that one in five children in Northern Ireland has an undiagnosed vision problem and the region is known to have a high incidence of hypermetropia, a particularly difficult condition for parents to spot.
Gilsenan said school vision screening could identify a range of eye problems which, if undiagnosed, could cause children to underperform. 'This is simply a disgrace when sight tests are free for all children in full time education in any optometrist's practice.'
St Clare's Convent primary School in Newry has worked with Gilsenan to set up a visual screening project to try to tackle the issue and used NEHW to launch the scheme.
Principal Michelle Monahan said staff were shocked to find out how many pupils had vision problems. 'The improvement in attainment levels for these children, post diagnosis, was most impressive,' she said.
Gilsenan further pointed out that 90 per cent of the region's children visit a dentist on an annual basis but as few as 20 per cent have their eyes examined in the same period and only 53 per cent in NI have had an eye exam.