It really is a great idea. Typically, the eyes are pretty neglected at infant pediatrician appointments. Sure they shine the little light in their eyes a few times, but if more attention was paid to having a complete eye exam early, a lot of eye diseases/problems could be caught and treated with greater success.

So...Hayden had the works! Since this program was "born" only about a month ago, the doctor that Hayden saw, confessed that he was sort of a test subject. She hadn't quite ironed out her routine for this exam yet. I told her we were happy to be her guinea pigs.

Here are some of the tests that she performed:

• She used paddles with various designs to test his recognition of color and pattern.
• She used a toy to test his peripheral vision (bringing it in from the sides, top and bottom).
• She used lenses and an instrument to look into his eye (to check the eye surface).
• She checked to make sure he didn't have a lazy eye or wandering eye.
• She tested his ability to distinguish contrast (she showed him three cards, one at a time, each with a pattern on it...on each subsequent card, the pattern got lighter and lighter in color - he didn't recognize the third one since it was SO light...I could barely see it, and it definitely was not enough to attract his attention to the card).
• She tested his prescription (he is slightly far-sided, which is good at his age. As his eye muscles develop, that far-sided tendency will go away and he will have near perfect vision - or so she predicts...he could run into problems and need glasses later in life depending on certain factors (computer use, etc).
• She dilated his eyes to see into the back of his eye and check for retinal abnormalities (tumors, mis-shape, etc).

It was very in-depth. Hayden passed with flying colors and all is well. She advised that his next exam be around his 3rd birthday and then once more before he starts school just to make sure everything is on track. -- mam