Back-to-School Prep: Vision Screening Partnership Supports Arizona's Children
Over the past several weeks, we’ve been inundated with back-to-school messaging through commercials and other advertisements. Most of that messaging centers around purchasing supplies and clothes for children.
Uniforms? “Check.”
Backpacks? “Check.”
Supplies? “Check.”
Vision and Hearing screening? “Uhhh…..”
Experts say that preparation is paramount to a child’s academic success. But what happens when you don’t know what to prepare them for?
That’s where partnerships such as University of Arizona Cooperative Extension and First Things First come in. The UA Cooperative Extension provides vision, hearing and developmental screenings for kids under 5 in Pinal County. The program is funded by First Things First, a voter-created, statewide organization that funds early education and health programs to help kids be successful once they enter kindergarten.
“There was a need to make parents aware of the importance of timely and comprehensive development and sensory screenings,” said Esther Turner, senior program coordinator for the UA Cooperative Extension in Pinal County. “A large number of children residing in the region are not receiving those essential screenings.” For some children, the screenings are vital. Just ask Debbie Benitez and her daughter, Ava, who took part in one of the screenings. “Awareness is important because the signs aren’t always there when your child has an issue,” said Benitez whose daughter was 3 years old when a vision screening revealed a serious and advanced form of astigmatism.
“I just didn’t believe she had a vision problem because her learning wasn’t being impacted,” Benitez said. “Even before the age of 3, she (Ava) could recite her ABCs, all of the corresponding phonics, shapes, colors – I mean, I just couldn’t believe that she had an issue with her vision.”
Ava was being cared for at one of the early childhood centers in Pinal County, where the UA Cooperative Extension screens young children. After the screening, program coordinators called to follow up and encouraged Benitez to follow up with an eye doctor. Benitez was thankful she did.
“It turns out she has quite the prescription,” she said. “In fact, when the technician provided her prescription to the eyeglass maker, he said, ‘you’re kidding,’ because he saw these little frames and this big prescription.”
Benitez still gets emotional when talking about Ava’s experience with putting on her glasses for the first time:
“It really impacted me as a mother when we took her to get her fitting and the person that was helping her get the glasses on had a nose ring. Of course, I noticed it, but Ava never saw it. So, when she put the glasses on for the first time, she looked at her and said, ‘what is it?’ Ava tried to touch her nose. The framer told her, ‘you can see my nose ring now?’ and that’s when I just lost it. I felt such guilt for so long – I did not realize she lacked that definition in her vision.”
Fast forward a few years, and Ava is cheerfully sporting her new specs with pride and excelling in school. She’s been recognized as one of the best readers in her class and continues to progress. Benitez admitted that without correcting Ava’s vision, her learning could have been seriously delayed entering kindergarten.
“To have a delay right off the start is a tough obstacle to overcome,” Benitez said. “I’m very grateful that the screening was offered and that there was a tool available for us because I was not prepared at all. It wasn’t something I was anticipating – it was just something that was offered to us and we’re very grateful.”
Turner agreed.
“A child’s most important developmental years are those leading up to kindergarten. First Things First is committed to helping Arizona children age five and younger receive quality education, healthcare and family support they need to arrive at school healthy and are ready to succeed,” she said. “Cooperative Extension is the awarded grantee that is funded to provide and administer the Development and Sensory Screening Program.”
Jennie Treadway, instructional specialist with First Things First in Pinal County, went on to say: “I feel an overwhelming warmth that cannot be described in words when I help a family help their child. I feel honored to be a part of the Cooperative Extension family!”
To learn more about this program and its positive, social impacts, head to their web site.