What Tests are Done During an Infant’s Eye Exam?
A baby is not born with fully developed eyesight. It take a few months for this to occur. As a result an infants eye exam contain very specific tests designed to determine how well their eyesight is developing.
- Tests of pupil response asses the pupil’s ability to opens and closes properly in the presence or absence of light.
- “Fixate and follow” testing determines whether your baby can fixate on an object (such as a light) and follow it as it moves. Infants should be able to perform this task quite well by the time they are 3 months old.
- Preferential Viewing is a special test that uses special flash cards with designed with colored stripes on one side while the other side of the card is left blank. The stripes attract the infant’s eyesight so that the eye doctor can asses the how well the infants sight is developing.