Prevent Blindness offers free resources on children’s vision topics, including eye conditions, safety, eye patching and more
As many families are preparing for a new school year, Prevent Blindness has declared August as Children’s Eye Health and Safety Month. A variety of free resources from Prevent Blindness and its National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness are available to the public, educators, and allied health professionals on children’s vision issues including web pages, printable fact sheets, social media graphics in English and Spanish, as well as expert and patient videos.
“We know that being able to see clearly is a strong predictor of academic success,” said Jeff Todd, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness. “We’ve developed expert-approved resources that are designed to help kids reach their highest potential through healthy vision, for this school year and for life.”
Prevent Blindness offers free materials on children’s vision issues, including myopia (nearsightedness), amblyopia (lazy eye), strabismus (crossed eyes), retinopathy of prematurity, and the effects of juvenile diabetes on vision. Prevent Blindness has also developed new resources on patching for amblyopia, including video testimonials from children who are patching, and a new Focus on Eye Health Expert Series episode, featuring Sandra S. Block, OD, MEd, MPH, president of the World Council of Optometry, professor emeritus of the Illinois College of Optometry, and Emeritus Member of the Prevent Blindness Board of Directors.
Preventing eye injuries is a critical way to prevent vision loss in children. Dedicated resources on safety and eye protection including contact lenses, sports, UV, screen time and digital devices, and home and toy eye safety are also available.
Prevent Blindness is working to establish a national approach to children’s vision, and continues to advocate for the recently reintroduced Early Detection of Vision Impairments for Children (EDVI) Act, H.R. 2527. Led by Congressional Vision Caucus co-chairs Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL-12) and Marc A. Veasey (D-TX-33), and recently co-sponsored by Rep. Janelle S. Bynum (D-OR-5), Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY-2), Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, (D-DC-At Large), and Rep. Melanie A. Stansbury (D-NM-1), this bipartisan legislation, if passed, will establish the first national program specifically aimed at improving children’s vision and eye health. The EDVI Act is currently supported by more than 100 state and national organizations. To learn more about the EDVI Act, and how to contact your representatives to be a voice for children’s vision, visit the Prevent Blindness Legislative Action Center.
For More Information
General information on children’s eye health and safety
The National Center for Children’s Vision and Eye Health at Prevent Blindness
Vision care financial assistance resources in English and Spanish