National children’s eye health campaign launched

CHICAGO — Prevent Blindness America has launched Star Pupils, a campaign designed to educate parents on children’s vision issues. 

Parents may visit starpupils.org to receive free sight-saving information about their child’s eyes, including information on common eye problems in children, eye safety and a family at-home vision test.

Starpupils.org also provides information for parents of school-age children. Since every state has regulations that vary, the Web site houses a comprehensive database for children’s vision care requirements for entering schools. 

“Healthy eyes and vision are imperative to a child’s success in the classroom,” said Hugh R. Parry, president and CEO of Prevent Blindness America. “With 25 percent of students in grades kindergarten through sixth having some form of visual problem that is serious enough to impede learning, it is critical for us to make our children’s vision health a priority today to ensure their success well into the future.”

Without a certified vision screening or eye exam, a child may have serious undetected vision problems. Some potentially blinding eye diseases and conditions can be successfully treated if detected early in life.

According to vision industry statistics, 80 percent of children diagnosed with a learning disability have an undiagnosed vision problem. And, 70 percent of juvenile delinquents have visual problems.

For more information on Star Pupils, visit starpupils.org or call 800-331-2020.