“If [children] have severe amblyopia, the bad eye in the brain is going to start shutting down those pathways because that eye isn't functioning, and that can lead to permanent blindness unless it's assessed early,” Sandy said.
About the program
The Lions Club’s KidSight vision screening program works with children as young as six months old to detect vision problems using a Plusoptix camera, which takes a picture of their eyes and can detect vision problems within 30 seconds, Sandy said.
Vision problems detected include nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism, unequal pupil size, “lazy eye,” glaucoma and Stargardt disease. The Martins said such diseases don’t usually have symptoms and can go undetected otherwise.
During the 30-second process, children are supervised by the day care staff, seated across from a certified vision screener and asked to look at the camera device to take a picture of their eyes. The device immediately detects whether the child has passed the screening or needs to be referred to an optometrist for further examination.
Additionally, Houston Cy-Fair Lions Club provides free glasses to children whose parents can’t afford them.
The impact
Since 2015, the KidSight program has served 18,966 children, and 2,179 were referred for complete eye exams. The organization continues to reach out to day cares in Cy-Fair to offer their services and reach children in need.
Parul Shah, owner of Children's Lighthouse of Houston in Copperfield, said the day care center has welcomed Houston Cy-Fair Lions Club for the past six years and referred three to four children to optometrists annually.
“It's an entirely painless and fast process that can make a life-changing improvement in their kid’s future,” Shah said. “Because with issues with eyesight, it impacts their mobility and it impacts their ability to learn; so, it's one of the easiest ways that you could help your child.”
Houston Cy-Fair Lions Club was founded in 1957 and provides families with food each Christmas and supports several local scouting organizations such as Wreaths Across America in addition to executing the vision screening program.
The group also sends physically handicapped children to summer camps and assembles 500 meals for Kids' Meals Houston quarterly.
Chuck Martin said Cy-Fair Lions Club is holding a kids meal event on Sept. 24 at their facility at 7 p.m. and will be distributing 1,000 Lions Kids Meals.
- 9600 W. Little York Road, Houston
- www.houstoncy-fairlions.org
