Optical Prism October 2014 | Page 44

Glimpses EYE SEE... Eye Learn Continues to Grow Ontario Association of Optometrists (OAO) is pleased to announce the launch of Eye See…Eye Learn® in Durham Region. Eye See…Eye Learn® is a not-for-profit program designed to detect, diagnose, and treat children with vision problems, providing OHIP-insured eye exams and free glasses to junior kindergarten students in various regions throughout Ontario. Many parents don’t know that every child in Ontario under the age of 19 is entitled to an annual OHIP-insured eye exam by a doctor of optometry (a valid Ontario Health Card is required). Through Eye See… Eye Learn®, children in Durham Region starting junior kindergarten this fall will be eligible to receive their first pair of glasses free if prescribed through an eye exam by a participating doctor of optometry. An important initiative, given that one in four children has a vision problem and that 80 per cent of classroom learning is visual. Eye See...Eye Learn® will soon reach more than 110,000 students with the recent expansion of the program to Toronto and now into Durham Region. Eye See…Eye Learn® will be available in Eastern Ontario by January 2015 and in Northern Ontario by July 2016. The program is funded in part 44 Optical Prism | October 2014 by the Government of Ontario and administered by Ontario Association of Optometrists in conjunction with more than 40 school boards, community, and industry partners. Further information is available at EyeSeeEyeLearn.ca.