Teachers Corner

The first step is to establish a partnership with the UCI Health Eye Mobile. Yes, that does include some fancy legal paperwork. That’s what makes it official and also gives us permission to be on school grounds. Once that is in place, we are ready to start helping your students!

To learn more, please email us at eyemobile@uci.edu or call us at 949-824-6363.

Together we will set up a date that we can do preliminary vision screenings in the classroom. Ideally, it would be best if we can use a corner of the classroom where we can screen each child and limit the distractions as much as possible, but we will make it work with the space that is available. The screening itself is done with a special gadget (Plusoptix Vision Screener or Retinomax) that gives us an estimate of the child’s prescription. 

FAQs

Are the results from the classroom screening used to prescribe glasses?

The in-classroom screening is just the first step and gives us an idea of the child’s vision. We use research published by both the American Academy of Optometry and the American Academy of Ophthalmology to determine if the child needs to be referred for a comprehensive eye exam on the Eye Mobile. A pediatrician’s office or school nurse may do visual acuity testing and refer children to the Eye Mobile when their visual acuity is 20/40 or worse. The test is done at a distance and tests far vision. It's our experience that children between 3-5 are hyperopic (difficulty seeing up close) and often have astigmatism (blurry vision near and far).

Do you prescribe glasses at the initial in-classroom screening?

No, the results from the in-classroom screening will tell us if a child needs a full, comprehensive eye exam. Yes, all children should have an eye exam by an eye doctor, especially those referred after the initial screening.

When is a parental consent form required?

A parental consent form is required when a child is referred from the classroom screening for a comprehensive screening on the Eye Mobile, which indicates that they may need to wear glasses. If a teacher or parent has any concerns about a child’s vision, we are more than happy to schedule them for a comprehensive eye exam.

Once a teacher sends us the signed consent forms, we schedule a date for the Eye Mobile, a 32’ long clinic on wheels, to visit the school. We can see 15-18 kids each day typically starting at 8:00 am, scheduling one child every 30 minutes.

Things to remember:

Parents are an important part of the process. We want to discuss a child’s results with their parents if possible. In the event a parent is not able to attend, a school representative can escort the child to their comprehensive eye exam on the Eyemobile.  

Kids will be dilated as part of their comprehensive eye exam. This allows the Optometrist to see the whole eye and make sure that it is healthy. Dilation will wear off in a few hours. The child will still be able to see, but when they look at things up-close, it may be blurry. We provide paper sunglasses to kids so the light doesn’t bother them. 

We make it easy for the kids. We encourage kids to participate in the exam, but if a child is scared, non-verbal, or just doesn’t feel like playing along, we can still do the exam and get results.     

We provide the eyeglasses. If the eye exam indicates that a child needs prescription glasses, they can choose from a selection of fun kid-size frames right there on the Eyemobile. We know that if children really like the shape, color, and design of the frames, they are more likely to wear them consistently. And consistency is the goal! We tell parents that even though the brown and black frames might ‘go with’ more of the child’s wardrobe, the goal is for the kids to like their glasses and be proud to wear their glasses. Glasses are awesome!

We aim to make glasses ‘cool’ and make the kids who need them feel special. When we deliver the glasses, we present them to the children in a special ceremony, which often makes children who don’t need glasses wish that they did.

We will deliver approximately 2-3 weeks after the eye exam.

All of our lenses are made of polycarbonate material, in other words, which makes the lenses shatterproof. Yes, glasses can still break and dogs love to chew them! If this happens, fear not, parent or teacher can call our office and request a one-time replacement.  

How to make sure the child wears their glasses. 

You can help! Sticker charts, positive praise, and kind reminders are all helpful in encouraging kids to wear their glasses.

FAQs

Time to adjust. It is important we remind parents that both the eyes and the brain are adjusting to seeing with glasses! It takes a little longer for some kids to get used to wearing them, so it is important to keep encouraging them. If after 2 weeks there is no positive progress, please let us know. We may want to schedule another visit to find out what the issue is.

Our challenge. Now it’s up to all of us to make sure the kids wear their glasses. Each pair of glasses is delivered in a plastic case and includes a strap for their glasses and a cleaning cloth. The child may find other cases and straps in colors and styles that they prefer at a local retail store. The goal is to make it fun for the child to wear and care for their glasses. 

When to see a specialist. A comprehensive eye exam may indicate that there may be something that needs an expert’s attention. In those cases, the Eye Mobile optometrist will recommend that the child is seen by a pediatric ophthalmologist. 

Why an optometrist and not a pediatric ophthalmologist? We recommend that every child sees an optometrist for their regular eye exam. Sometimes it is necessary to see an ophthalmologist when vision problems are more complicated.

What’s the difference between eye specialists?

Ophthalmologist: for complete eye care services including eye exams, medical eye care, surgical eye care, and diagnosis and treatment of eye conditions related to other diseases. Education:  Bachelor’s degree, 4-year medical school, 1-year internship, and 3 years residency.

Optometrist: for general eye exams and vision tests; to prescribe and fit eyeglasses and contact lenses.  Education: Bachelor’s degree + 4-year professional program.  Degree:  Doctor of Optometry (DO).

We are here to help you every step of the way.  Call or email to let us know how we can help.  949-824-6363 | eyemobile@uci.edu