GIVE YOUR CHILD THE BEST VISION & FOCUS FOR 2020

Believe it or not 64% of children go undiagnosed and struggle in class as well as sports due to a visual problem. 

Back to school is just round the corner and we want our parents to be prepared. School bag? Tick! Pencil case? Tick! ...Psst! Has your child had an eye check? Whether this is your child's first day at school or not, it's great practice to get your child's eyes checked at least once a year. Why? Because, as we all know, children grow up fast - too fast! And with growth spurts, their eyes are prone to changing and developing quickly too. So it's always best to keep an ‘eye’ on young eyes as they grow. No matter the age, it's recommend that your child's eyes are regularly tested from as young as 6 months; nursery through to school. 

Your child's vision is vital for their eyes and brain development, as 80% of their learning is through the visual system. With our team of paediatric optometrists, we can make sure your child gets the best head start in school as well as everyday life. Children often are not aware if they do have a visual issue, this is because they don’t know any different and have adapted to their environment. We don’t want our children struggling with vision everyday, so that’s why OCULA is here to help inform and teach our community the importance of children’s eye health, as well as educate our patients about the prevention tools that can be put in place to help keep young eyes healthy. 

Often if a child struggles to grasp the basics in reading and writing, this can affect not just their ability to learn, but also self-esteem, behaviour and life choices. That’s why, at OCULA, we encourage you have your child’s assessment with one of our registered Behavioural Optometrist who is also a binocular vision specialist. A Behavioural Optometrist can look for any vision problems as well as any vision-related learning difficulties. We do fun, interactive and non-invasive assessments whilst making sure your child feels comfortable throughout the experience. Along with these fun assessments we also go the extra mile in explaining your child's vision to them in ways they can understand. 

At our technologically-advanced clinics in Queenstown & Wanaka, we can test each of the 17 different visual skills a child needs to perform at their best. Whether you think your child may have myopia (shortsightedness) or might be dyslexic, we can offer the advice and support you need.

It can be overwhelming if your child has a visual or learning impairment. At OCULA, we’re with you every step of the way, from assessment, diagnosis and treatment. We have a network of educational psychologists, doctors, health care professionals, speech-language therapists and occupational therapists who are on hand to help. We take a multidisciplinary approach and work together to build a management plan tailor-made for your child’s health and educational needs.  

We encourage parents to bring in their children for a once a year check-up appointment for peace of mind and to track their eye development. We love welcoming our regular clients back to the clinic, but also love seeing new faces joining the OCULA family. We all look forward to meeting you and your family, so don’t be shy and pop in and see us before the school bell rings! 

Back to school is on 27th January: Click here to book your child to see us before the back to school date