When Helen Keller challenged Lions Clubs International in 1925 to become “Knights of the Blind” in the crusade against darkness, Lions did just that. They have worked tirelessly alongside Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) and its partners throughout the world, to restore vision and fight preventable blindness.
The Comox Valley Monarch Lions Club, in co-operation with Comox Valley School District 71, has recently completed the “Your Vision Is Our Vision” Program for the 2018-2019 school year. Known as SPOT, this program is a vital part of the Lions’ goal to identify children within our community with vision issues.
A child’s vision is important to their success in and outside the classroom. If vision problems are left untreated, it could affect learning abilities and personality. SPOT screens children early in their school years for potential indication of myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), astigmatism (blurred vision), anisometropia (refractive power), strabismus (gaze), and anisocoric (pupil size).
The SPOT vision screener used to check a student’s eyesight, is a handheld portable camera. It looks at both eyes at once and each scan takes approximately 15-30 seconds per student. SPOT screening is not a comprehensive eye exam. The SPOT screeners are not qualified eye specialists, but are technicians trained and qualified to use the screening camera. Should a scan indicate a vision issue, a letter is sent from the school to alert parents and guardians of a potential vision problem and encourage them to have their child’s vision examined by an optometrist. In B.C., children are eligible for free eye exams up to the age of 18.
This is the third year the Monarch Lions have screened SD 71 students. This school year, Grades 2, 4, and 7 students in 15 elementary schools were screened during October. A total of 1,455 students were screened and 67 were recommended for further testing by an optometrist.
Since the 2016 inception of the Lions SPOT Scan, 3,591 students in the Comox Valley have been screened with 179 being referred to visit an optometrist.