Eye health has always been important to me, especially as a reader and writer.
When I first heard that the Midland Lions Club was hosting KidSight vision screening for elementary school students, my first thought was the old-fashioned method that I went through in the 1990s. We would be called one by one to sit at a table, put our face flush against a vision screening machine and watch for images to come into focus.
Being naturally anxious about taking any kind of test, I was fearful of failing despite being unable to prepare in any way.
I ended up getting my first pair of glasses in second grade. In addition to being able to better read the chalkboard, my initial bespectacled appearance earned me five minutes of instant fame from my classmates.
KidSight takes a different approach.
A whole classroom of preschoolers lined up along one side of the room, waiting their turn. One by one, they were invited to take a seat with Lions Club member Roger Frazer across from them on a rolling desk chair. Soon, it was time for me to try conducting a screening.
At one end, the kids were dazzled by the pulsing colorful light display and bird sounds emitting from the device. On the opposite end of the camera, I was watching a black-and-white, almost infrared, image of their faces. The goal was to focus the screen on their eyes for a second or two until the camera got a clear reading.
The challenge was reaching the right distance for the camera to scan the child’s eyes. A couple centimeters could be the difference of being too close or too far away. I quickly understood why I got the rolling chair.
The children sat as still as they could, waiting for the test to be completed. Sometimes they only had to sit in the chair for a couple of seconds. The first – and longest – test I gave took me a couple tries, causing the wait time to extend to a couple minutes.
Every test I gave came back with good results. If the camera detected any issues – including astigmatism and lazy eye – with a student’s sight, the Midland Lions Club would print off a copy of the report for their parents or guardians with a request to see an optometrist. If the family cannot afford a doctor’s visit or even a set of glasses, the club is willing to provide financial support.
At the end of each visit, each child was invited to pick out a picture book to take home, a reward for their patience. The books are purchased through the club’s charity fund.
The Midland Lions Club is always looking for more locations to host vision screenings. If interested in scheduling a vision screening event, contact Lynda Stark at lyndastark46@yahoo.com or 989-385-0220.
The next public vision screening hosted by the Midland and Coleman Lions Clubs is set for Dec. 13-14 at Sanford Centennial Museum, 2222 Smith St. in Sanford.
Shop talk with a real team of vision screeners
The Midland Lions Club has offered free vision tests for the past 10 years through KidSight. Its main focus is testing kids ages 6 months to 5 years old. In addition to preschools, the club provides public vision tests at Home Depot, the Midland County Fair and River Days.
Lynda Stark is the KidSight coordinator for the Midland Lions Club. She was joined by fellow Lions Roger Frazer, Dick Ivan and Bob Stoney.
How many kids on average does the Midland Lions Club screen per year?
Frazer: When we were doing it before COVID, we were (testing) 250-300 kids a year.
Stark: We may do more than that this year because we have some additional places to go.
How often do you hold screenings?
Stark: Our focus is primarily in the fall when kids are back in school. We do have other screenings at various other events… At the Midland fair we tried to do (testing) for the whole week and one time we only had two kids in a whole day, so we decided not to do that again. You live and learn. (At River Days) we do it in the morning before the chicken dinner.
Frazer: River Days wasn’t bad because they have a lot of kids there.
What do you enjoy most about providing KidSight screenings?
Stark: There are two things I enjoy most. I think that most of the times our camera finds things…that no one would know except for this screening. A 2-year-old would have no way of telling you that something’s not quite right because it’s right to them. We find things that the parents many times have no idea about. I think it’s a valuable tool for parents. Typically, at each vision screening we have about 10% of the children who have something show up. I think that’s a valuable thing for the community.
The other thing I like about it is at public events when people will come up to us and tell us about something that the Lions Club has done for them or for a relative. That makes you feel good, that the work that you’re doing is helping people and they’re appreciative.
Frazer: This is one of the real service programs that we do. We give money to various organizations, but this is a personal service. We see the kids, we know we’re helping the kids. This is the best service that our Lions Club provides.
Stark: I agree. It goes right back to the reason there are Lions. Helen Keller said she wanted Lions to be “knights for the blind.”
Why is it so important to screen kids so early?
Stark: I think it’s because there really isn’t any other way to find out if they have a sight-related problem. I don’t know any other way. I’m not an optometrist, maybe there are other ways – but this is a simple way to find out if they have a problem, very quickly.
Ivan: The other thing is that if you catch them and the parents follow up, you can correct the problem before the kid starts to read. When he hits first grade, he’s going to start reading; the better their eyes are, the better they’re going to be in the long run.
Is there a job or activity that you haven’t tried or are curious about? Do you have a job that people know little about and do you want to share your experience with readers? If so, contact Victoria (Tori) Ritter at vritter@mdn.net.
