O.D. Scene
THE ENTERTAINING SIDE OF OPTOMETRY
O.D. Scene creator, writer and editor Jack Schaeffer, O.D.
It’s a disconnect we are all too familiar with: Ask any parent what’s more important, their child’s teeth or eyesight, and that parent immediately answers the latter. Yet, their child sees a dentist every six months and has never undergone a comprehensive eye exam. With the addition of the Pediatric Eye Health Essential Benefit, all O.D.s are hopeful parents start placing the same, if not more, importance on annual eye exams as they do on teeth cleanings.
Optometry is ready to take the lead in improving the quality of life of children. In fact, our profession has already done so through the College of Optometrists in Vision Development (C.O.V.D.) and in an array of practices across the country. As a result, many parents now understand the link between vision and learning and, thus, the importance of annual comprehensive vision exams and complying with the O.D.’s recommendations. Even better: They’ve told and continue to tell their friends and families about this connection and how their child’s optometrist made all the difference.
Here is the first in a two-part series on O.D.s who go above and beyond to ensure a child’s vision is as bright as his or her teeth.
Key Opinion Leaders Weigh in…
Ida Chung, O.D., F.C.O.V.D., New York, N.Y., Neil Draisin, O.D., F.C.O.V.D., Charleston, S.C. and Glen Steele, O.D., F.C.O.V.D., F.A.A.O., Memphis, Tenn.
Q: Why do you practice pediatric optometry, participate in InfantSEE exams and offer vision therapy (VT)?
IC: I’ve always dreamed of working with children and thought of becoming an elementary school teacher. My love of children, health sciences and the art of healing led me to pediatric optometry. Children can’t represent themselves for their eyecare needs. And, often, parents are not informed about the relationship between academic performance, learning and vision.
ND: Helping children see better is very rewarding. When you complete a case in which the parents have been told that nothing could be done to help their child or that the only treatment for their child’s strabismus is surgery and we are able to help the person, it makes me realize why I do this. VT changes not only a child’s life, but the lives of senior patients as well.
GS: I have always liked kids. I found my calling for understanding the influence of vision on development, especially in early development. VT was an interest in optometry school, but my fellowship greatly enhanced this interest.
Dr. Steele and wife Brenda at an AAO meeting.
The Chung family hiking in Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, Kempton, Pa.
Q: Can you describe your practice?
IC: I’m the director of optometric education and an associate professor at Western University of Health Sciences College of Optometry (WUCO) in Pomona, Calif. My practice consists of an excellent variety of pediatric patient care, clinical teaching, didactic teaching and administrative duties that keep me engaged in optometry.
ND: Our practice is a full-scope optometric practice with an emphasis on VT, specialty contact lenses and low vision.
GS: I’m completing 45 years at SCO. I had a private practice for 40 of those years emphasizing pediatrics and VT. I’m still having a blast and enjoy working every day.
Q: How should we educate patients and their parents to understand VT’s importance?
IC: The passing of the Pediatric Eye Health Essential Benefit is the door for children to receive comprehensive eye exams by optometrists. We must educate patients and their parents on the components of a comprehensive eye and visual exam as they relate to learning in school. When functional deficiencies impact the quality of life of that child, then VT can be introduced as a treatment.
ND: My practice website has a comprehensive array of data regarding developmental vision, VT and pediatric exams with information on how our programs can help kids. Upon entering the office, parents see a bulletin board with VT information. In addition, we have a TV in the reception room that highlights the signs and symptoms of vision disorders and how VT can help.
GS: Have information readily available in all physical areas of the practice and its website. Most adults have kids and grandkids; educate them. State the fact that 10% of babies have vision-related issues and that this statistic grows to 20% by school age, based on InfantSEE data.
Dr. Draisin and wife Carolyn visiting the coast of Maine.
Q: What is your opinion on myopia prevention?
IC: The best way to prevent myopia is not to have the family history. We can’t change family history, but we can change how a patient interacts with the environment. Spending time outdoors is associated with a myopia progression decrease. If exam reveals a functional cause, such as vergence and accommodative inefficiencies, VT in combination with lenses is a treatment option. Patients can also be counseled on visual hygiene solutions, such as performing near work at their Harmon working distance, taking rest breaks, workplace ergonomics and adequate lighting.
ND: If a child starts to show nearsighted tendencies and is involved in a VT program, we incorporate myopia control therapy, which includes techniques that are part of a binocular vision program with emphasis on procedures that relate to accommodation, spatial localization and depth perception. Also, we have had very good results with orthokeratology.
GS: I do everything I can to reduce the impact of the environment on the development of myopia, including telling parents to have their children play outside.
Having children play outside has been shown to decrease myopia progression.
The Drasin family celebrating Dr. Draisin’s installment as president of SECO.
Q: What can we do to develop a patient-screening protocol to uncover issues such as convergence insufficiency, so we can move into the preventive care mode of practice?
IC: I advocate comprehensive eye and vision care as the standard for preventive eye care. There is a continual need to educate the public, teachers, parents and fellow doctors of the relationship between vision and learning and the need to test and treat binocular vision problems.
ND: My practice sends newsletters and monthly letters to our referral sources to make them aware of how to efficiently sort patients who need VT services. In addition, we provide in-house seminars for interested O.D.s to learn about vision testing and VT. We have objective and subjective lists of questions and test results to help O.D.s interested in knowing more about the practice of VT.
GS: Risk assessment protocols are available from the AOA for convergence insufficiency, COVD has a quality-of-life checklist, and OEP has an Educator’s Guide and Checklist. It is the responsibility of the O.D. to understand the nature of the condition and “learn to look.”
The Chung clan at Joshua Tree National Park in Southeastern, Calif.
The Steele cabin built on the family farm in Tennessee.
Q: If you could have dinner with anyone living or deceased, who would it be and why?
IC: My late father. He passed away from liver cancer when I was a few months from starting optometry school. I would share with him what his sacrifices allowed me to become. If he wasn’t a garment worker, he would have made a wonderful chef. I would love to taste his cooking once more.
ND: President Ronald Reagan. I have always admired his work ethic. Having worked from the time he was a teen, I feel says something about the person. His speeches, even 30 years later, are relevant and powerful.
GS: Pat Summitt, head coach emeritus of the University of Tennessee’s women’s basketball team. She grew up roughly 20 miles from where I grew up, but 10 years later. I would like to talk with her about taking an unknown product – women’s college basketball – and almost singlehandedly making it what it is today. I would like to apply those principles to the continued development of InfantSEE and children’s vision within our profession.
Dr. Steele, wife Brenda and their five grandchildren.
Q: What is your prediction for the future of pediatric eye care?
IC: I see further integration of pediatric eye care into primary eye care, with specializations in vision development, VT and vision rehabilitation. Comprehensive eye examinations for all children prior to entering school are what children need to ensure they can learn to their potential.
ND: I see the future as very bright. The nation is very aware of alternative medicine, and pediatric eye care falls into that area. In addition with the ACA requiring a yearly exam and glasses for children younger than age 18, the future could be unlimited for pediatric care. Of course, we must make more optometry students aware of this specialization so we will have the needed O.D.s to provide the care.
GS: I see a wonderful opportunity for O.D.s to add pediatric vision care to their practice. The classroom demands on children are increasing and occurring at earlier ages.
The Chungs visiting Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.
Q: Who are the members of your family, and what do you like to do for fun?
IC: My husband Tim and our children Justin (15) and Katie (12). We love watching movies together and traveling. Personally, I enjoy volunteering for the COVD board and the NYSOA./AOA.
ND: My wife Carolyn and I have been married 46 years. We have three children. Alison is a psychologist and a baking entrepreneur, Leslie is a social worker, and David is an attorney. For fun, I play tennis and like to be active in various organizations, such as the College of Charleston Foundation.
GS: My wife Brenda, three grown sons and five grandchildren. We all get together Labor Day weekend and at Christmas time. In the past, we went to the beach in LA (that’s Lower Alabama), but now we go to our cabin near Nashville, Tenn.
Dr. Draisin and wife Caroline in Athens, Greece.
Q: What is your favorite movie, book, band and adult beverage?
IC: Movie: The Sound of Music; Book: Parent Effectiveness Training: The Proven Program for Raising Responsible Children; Band: U2; Adult beverage: wine.
ND: Movie: Gladiator; Book: Still Fooling Em: Where I’ve Been, Where I’m Going, and Where the Hell Are My Keys?; Band: Bon Jovi; Adult beverage: red wines
GS: Movie: Field of Dreams; Book: Principle-Centered Leadership; Band: Three Dog Night; Adult Beverage: cabernet.
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