Your appointment at the orthoptic department The Ryegate Children’s Centre

Your child has been referred to us by either your:

• Ryegate therapist
• consultant
• school entry vision screening
• transfer from Sheffield Children’s Hospital Eye Department

They have requested that we examine your child’s eyes.

The eye test will be performed by an orthoptist who is a specialist in testing children’s eyes. They will assess your child’s vision and find out if the eye muscles are working correctly.

Testing vision

It is important for us to test each eye separately to see if one eye is weaker than the other.  A patch or some glasses may be used to cover one eye in order to do this.  It would help if you could practice covering each eye in turn as a game before you come.

Your child’s vision is assessed by asking them to name or sign letters or pictures, or match letters or pictures on a card. You may want to practice the pictures by accessing the free Kays picture app on your phone to familiarise with the pictures.

Some children who are non-verbal can do a vision test by looking at pictures or black and white stripes on a card, whilst the orthoptist observes their responses.

Other tests will be done to assess how well the eyes work together. The emphasis is very much on ‘looking games’ rather than eye testing. This is because a lot of information can be gained about a child’s vision by observing them in play situations which is called ‘functional vision’.

What happens next?

If the orthoptist finds your child’s eyes are normal, they may be discharged.

It may be necessary to continue to monitor your child’s vision, such as:

• if no problem was found, but testing was incomplete, and we think that testing at your local optometrist would not be possible yet
• if your child has a medical condition requiring regular ophthalmic reviews

If your child has an eye problem (such as reduced vision, squint or a strong family history), the orthoptist will discuss referral to the optometrist or consultant ophthalmologist on a different day. This will either be at Ryegate or at the Sheffield Children’s hospital.