Dayton Lyons club upgrades vision screening methods for students

Jeepers, creepers now's the time to check those peepers.

Especially now that the Dayton Valley Lions Club has obtained a new Visagraph III eye tracking computer, only one of three such systems in Nevada.

The Visagraph III uses specialized goggles to track a student's eye movement when reading.

"It tracks eye movements, eye speed and can see if the child is missing lines or skipping lines or going back over lines," said Dr. Cody Bengoa of Meier Eye and Vision in Reno. "It can also check reading speed with comprehension rate and profiles the eye skills necessary for reading."

Bengoa added that the new equipment can aid in identifying a child's appropriate grade level based on their eye skills.

Dayton area children will get free vision screenings including testing on the Visagraph III from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 1 at the Dayton Valley Senior Center on Dayton Valley Road.

The screenings are open to elementary- and intermediate-school students, and organizers hope it will ward off improper vision development that can lead to a poor academic performance.

Program director Jack Epperson said about 30 percent of all students have undiagnosed vision problems that lead to poor performance in school and some have been labeled as slow learners or misdiagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder.

The screenings will be performed by Bengoa and Dr. Richard Meier and, in addition to the reading skills, will test visual acuity, or clarity of distance, ability to focus, eye movement and refractive status, which measures whether a person is nearsighted, farsighted or has astigmatism.

The tests will also focus on visual motor integration, which Bengoa defined as how the eye muscles and the brain worked together.

"A lot of the visual skills necessary for learning involve focusing, eye stamina and how the eyes work together," Bengoa said. "We also check depth perception and color vision."

The doctors will also make recommendations to patients based on the results of the screening results.

This vision screening day is sponsored by Dayton Valley Lions Club, Parents Active for Vision Education, St. Ann's of the Comstock Knights of Columbus and doctors Meier and Bengoa. No reservations are necessary.

If you go

WHAT: Vision screenings for elementary and intermediate school children

WHEN: 9 a.m. April 1

WHERE: Dayton Valley Senior Center, Dayton Valley Road, Dayton

CALL: 246-5523 or 720-5584

- Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111 ext. 351.