Confusing call from the school nurse re eye test

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Apparently it was eye test day. The school nurse called my wife and said my oldest son tested that he needed glasses. Here is where it seems odd. They said he had one eye 20/20 and the other 20/15, which is better than 20/20 which is "standard".... Yet they said he will need glasses to help him track better, read and write etc. This makes no sense to me since I know my eyes are not the same and think most people have slight differences from eye to eye. Has it somehow become standard in recent years, with eye doctors losing long term customers to Lasik, to now "correct" this alleged defect in children?
 
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How old is he? I began wearing glasses at age 8, now prescription every 6 months until I was 16, then stabilized. A few years ago, my doctor told me that if I had tried to go a year between changes, I would have been less nearsighted.
Glasses will help the eyes work better together, better at tracking moving objects, judging distance, etc. Maybe he should call the shot here, if he has any real difficulty.
 
I remember them telling my parents I needed em at 13.I think my eyes were in the 20/30-40 range.Lost em within a week.Didnt really need glasses until my mid 20s.Now,I'm hopeless without em.
 
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I am an optometrist. The people who did the screening are not qualified to diagnose binocular dysfunctions. Your son could be hyperopic (far-sighted), have 20/20 or better visual acuity and still need glasses. They can't tell you that either, which is why I do not like school screening tests. Take him to an optometrist. Preferably one who has experience in vision therapy and doesn't practice in the back of a department store.

By the way, post-op LASIK patients typically need more eye care rather than less. Note that it was a not an optometrist that told you your son needed glasses.
 
MT99 said:
I am an optometrist. The people who did the screening are not qualified to diagnose binocular dysfunctions. Your son could be hyperopic (far-sighted), have 20/20 or better visual acuity and still need glasses. They can't tell you that either, which is why I do not like school screening tests. Take him to an optometrist. Preferably one who has experience in vision therapy and doesn't practice in the back of a department store.

By the way, post-op LASIK patients typically need more eye care rather than less. Note that it was a not an optometrist that told you your son needed glasses.
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5000 likes!

But you must be crazy--rely on a Doctor of Optometry to make a vision diagnosis!!?? Why all of my client's brothers-in-law, mothers-in-law, cousins, neices, nephews, friends, pastors, friends on the internet, websites they visit, TV programs they watch and movies they see ALL know how to practice law far better than me. So surely a school nurse is qualifed to make a medical/vison diagnosis if most of my clients can learn the law from friends, family, television, movies and the internet!

I use to be polite about it--now I simply reply "then go hire [insert appropriate "expert" here] to represent you--why did I spend $250,000 going to a top 20 law school 30 years ago when I could have simply consulted your brother-in-law!"
 
Reminds me of all the times my step daughter told us her friend at school said she needs braces and her dad is an orthodontist. So clearly the grade school daughter is qualified to say who needs braces just by looking at them. Not that anyone has absolutely perfectly straight and even teeth but need braces and want a more perfect smile is two different things.
 
Taking the Word of a School Nurse on anything except a cut needing a Band aid is not the best thing to do,Take Your Son to a good Eye Doctor,Not the one at Wall-Mart and have Him give Your Son a real exam.Just have a pair of Sun Glasses for Your Son to wear Home as They will dilate His Eyes and the Sun is Murder until They go back to normal.
 
I was declared functionally blind twice by idiot eye tests in the UK school system. First time when the card (dates me) was on an easel directly in front of a bright window, and the second time where to get sufficient separation I had to stand on a step across the room with a fluorescent tube not three feet from my face. I do have problems with accommodation, but not visual acuity.

After the first incident and a trip to London to a specialist who could find nothing wrong, we knew where to tell them to put the second test.:eek::D
 
See an opthamologist

These days I have to see an opthamologist and should have for a lot longer period of my life. It's just like going to any med specialist, insurance generally plays a good portion and you don't have to get the glasses from them though they will be glad to sell you a pair. Get a prescription, if need be and go to any number of eyeglass places that are a heck of a lot cheaper and have them fill it.

I'm no expert but I doubt the difference between 20/20 and 20/15 is enough to worry about and never heard anybody get glasses because their eyes were too good. I know I sure never had to worry about that.

PS I've been in some tests that were under bogus conditions performed by somebody 'trained'. I could take a hearing test at work and being in a loud environment I needed it. An RN gave the test but the 'silent' booth was in the middle of a factory and it was by no means silent. Then a guy was standing in the door bellowing at the nurse so loud I could hear him plainly which distracted me and her. I would have just run the test again, but she just let it fly.
 
If he can stab the food on his plate with a fork..............
he is good to go.

Some "Do gooders" rush into things and think they are helping.

I would go for another eye test to make sure before getting excited.
 
Reminds me of the hearing screenings we used to have at grammar school. They put those headphones on you and did a series of different pitched beeps and you were supposed to say yes every time you heard one. In the 7th grade we all decided just to sit there and not say anything and see what would happen. We got in a lot of trouble over that one. :D
 
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This reminds me of my physical to get out of the military. It was at the end of the Viet Nam war and the Army was pushing to get rid of as many people as fast as possible. The eye test consisted of the corpsman asking, "Can you read the No Smoking sign over there?" Saying Yes, passed the test. I guess saying, "What sign?" was failing!
 
Every district does vision and hearing screenings differently. My district contracts with a local Optometric provider for the vision portion. The kids are screened by optometry techs who know what they're doing. Not simply "some school nurse". Obviously, it's not a full eye test but is enough to indicate when problems may be present. When problems show up, no parent is ever notified that "your kid needs glasses", they are informed that a vision screening indicates a possible problem and a full eye exam is recommended.
I don't know your child's age, but even slight vision problems can interfere with success in school and it's worse for primary aged students who are just beginning to read. I'd spring for a full test if I were you.
 
When my daughter was in 8th grade a retired doctor of some sort did health exam on all the 8th graders. He promptly notified everybody in the school office that my daughters heart was totally defective and she would die without "proper" medical treatment eminently! My S-I-L has some serious heart issues, and our family is aware of mummers and arrhythmias. We decided to ignore this quack, He wouldn't allow her to do any sports except cheerleader. She is now 32, has 4 year old triplet boys. In the time of pregnancy, she got alot of screening on her vitals. While her heart isn't perfect, it is normal. When it comes to free advice, be careful! It isn't worth what you paid for it! (This goes for medical, leagle, or love!) Concerning the Quack, HIPPA laws would make me a rich man now! Ivan
 
I would take him to a pediatric opthamologist. Once you nail down the problem (or lack thereof), a yearly checkup at the optometirst is probably fine.

You don't let the oil change guy rebuild your transmission, so I wouldn't let the school nurse diagnose vision problems, either.
 
CAJUNLAWYER said:
Reminds me of the hearing screenings we used to have at grammar school. They put those headphones on you and did a series of different pitched beeps and you were supposed to say yes every time you heard one. In the 7th grade we all decided just to sit there and not say anything and see what would happen. We got in a lot of trouble over that one. :D
Click to expand...

So......The Caj we all know and enjoy is NOT; the new and improved version !?! You've been like this ALL the TIME !? but just more polished about it now ?

I betcha it would not take me all three guesses to figure out who suggested the original idea about the hearing scam.
 
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