By Roger Allen
At the request of the Iowa Lions’ KidSight headquarters and North Mahaska school at New Sharon, Montezuma Lions Roger Allen, Kathy Cox and Linda Boeding screened the vision of 34 preschool and daycare children at New Sharon on Tuesday, April 29.
Except for two children already receiving professional eyecare, results were favorable. The children ranged in age from six months to four years old.
On Wednesday, April 30. the Lions’ screening team photographed the eyes of 19 children who provided the necessary consent form at Montezuma’s ZumaZoo Daycare.
The vision of one child will be monitored closely. A retake photo of one child’s eyes is needed.
Statewide, the Iowa Lions KidSight program has screened the vision of over 800,000 children since its beginning 25 years ago. Statistically about five percent of children screened have been referred for further vision examination, according to KidSight.
Parents have typically been unaware that a vision condition needing attention is present in their child’s eyes. Most conditions are best corrected when discovered at a young age.