Organization looks to educate young children about eye health

April 5, 2011

Many people may not be aware of their personal risk of blindness, particularly if they haven't shown any signs of symptoms. Although doctors recommend yearly eye exams as a way to monitor certain developing diseases, some individuals may not follow this recommendation.

Prevent Blindness America, which is based in Chicago, is looking to educate others about the importance of having vision checked. According to the Chicago Tribune, the organization gave the Chicago Public School district 1,000 kits of its Star Pupils eye-health curriculum that will go to kindergarten, first and second graders.

Organization leaders are hopeful that children will take what they learned through the packets and use the information to help educate others.

"If children learn something in school, they will come home and bug their parents until it's accomplished," Jacinda Adams, Prevent Blindness' vice president of marketing and development, told the news provider. "We have several avenues to get to parents, and one we were missing was going directly to schools."

According to the American Optometric Association, regular eye care exams can help people be on alert for such conditions as age-related macular degeneration (AMD).