2020:
Make this The Year of Vision!

PREVENT BLINDNESS HAS A NEW WEBSITE AND LOGO
Prevent Blindness has released a new logo, and a website which concisely organizes and displays their vast amount of content. Prevent Blindness feels strongly it is imperative to provide the public with as much knowledge and as many resources as possible, as we continue to work to improve access to eye care for all.
Click below to check out the new websites:
CHECK OUT OUR NEW ONLINE LOOK!
We are excited to announce our newly redesigned website is live! Thanks to Prevent Blindness, CVMA has a fresh new look. Our main goal was streamlining content making it easier to access information. Please take a minute to visit the site , look through our Resources section and share with your networks ! We will be adding new information regularly, so check back often, and send us your feedback!

Also debuting is new awareness PSA which will be on our website soon! Thanks to CVMA member, Shanyn Toulouse , Northeast Regional School Nurse Consultant, for providing us with this opportunity to extend our message.
MORE SCREEN TIME
MAY SHOW SYMPTOMS OF VISION-RELATED PROBLEMS
IN CHILDREN
Lockdowns and stay-home orders to minimize spread of the novel coronavirus have maximized digital device use. In April,  Gallup reported  83% of U.S. school-age children were learning remotely through school-sponsored online distance education.

A recent article by the American Optometric Association reminds us that "children will start talking about how print looks fuzzy after a while, or swims in and out, and this is going to uncover uncorrected astigmatism, uncorrected anisometropia, or uncorrected eye movement problems. Some things that might have been glossed over before or not as obvious, will start coming out."

To learn more about potential signs of a childhood vision problem, visit our website, or download a signs and symptoms checklist here . As always, if you are concerned about your child's vision please make an appointment for them to have a comprehensive eye exam from an eye doctor.
NEWS FROM CVMA PARTNERS
Massachusetts Commission for the Blind: virtual town hall on Friday, June 5 from 11am to 12:30pm . Join the MCB’s second Virtual Town Hall to build a community of support for individuals who are blind and visually impaired across the Commonwealth. Hear service updates and resources. Click here for the Zoom link to join.

Healthcare for All – Click here for Covid 19 resources in many languages.

The National Center for Children's Vision and Eye Health and School Health are hosting a Webinar on Thursday, June 4 at 3:00 PM: Vision Screening Tools for Children From Birth to Age 3 . Register here .
2020 BONNIE STRICKLAND CHAMPION FOR CHILDREN'S VISION AWARD
Applications for the 2020 Bonnie Strickland Champion for Children’s Vision Award are open until June 5th .  The award was established by the The National Center for Children's Vision and Eye Health (NCCVEH) Advisory Committee to recognize significant contributions by an individual or group to improve public health approaches for children’s vision and eye health at the state or national level. For more information and to apply click  here.  
PREVENT BLINDNESS
FOCUS ON EYE HEALTH NATIONAL SUMMIT
GOES VIRTUAL!
SAVE THE DATE ! July 15, 2020 for the National Summit, “An Eye to the Future”. The agenda will look to the technologies, treatments, social impacts, and policies that will shape vision health in America in the coming decades.
CVMA MEMBERS RELEASE
NEW RESEARCH
A study by CVMA coalition members Hilary Gaiser OD, MSc, Bruce Moore OD, (CVMA Co-Chair) and Gayathri Srinivasan, MS, OD, FAAO, from the New England College of Optometry, was recently published in the May Journal of Optometry and Vision Science .

The study assessed the validity of detecting amblyogenic refractive errors by the Spot vision screening device in children ages 24 to 96 months. As vision screenings are conducted to detect significant refractive errors, amblyopia, and ocular diseases, it is desirable for the devices to have high testability, sensitivity, and specificity.

Results of the study showed that the Spot vision screener accurately detects low spherical refractive errors and astigmatism. To improve the sensitivity in detecting hyperopia, the cutoff criteria from the current Spot screener referral criteria had to be lowered.

Read more about the study here.
JUNE IS CATARACT
AWARENESS MONTH
A cataract is a clouding of the eye’s lens, which blocks or changes the passage of light into the eye. Vision may become blurry or dim because the cataract stops light from properly passing through the lens, normally transparent, to the retina. Generally a cataract does not cause pain, redness or tears.

Cataract is the world's leading cause of blindness with 42 % of all cases of blindness in all nations. In the U.S. with over 25 million Americans developing a cataract, it is the leading cause of low vision contributing to half of all cases.

Although most cataract cases in the United States are in older adults, children may also develop cataracts. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, cataracts in a child can be present at birth or develop after birth. Without treatment, pediatric cataracts can cause poor development of the visual pathway between the brain and the eye. Diagnosing and treating cataracts early in a child's life is critical to promoting normal vision development, and avoiding their visual impairment.

Risk factors for cataracts include:
  • Older age
  • Intense heat or long-term exposure to UV rays from the sun
  • Certain diseases, such as diabetes
  • Inflammation in the eye
  • Hereditary influences
  • Events before birth, such as German
  • measles in the mother
  • Long-term steroid use
  • Eye injuries
  • Eye diseases
  • Smoking

Although cataract is the world’s leading cause of vision loss, it can be treated successfully with access to quality eyecare services. Cataract surgery, a common surgery, improves the vision of 95% of patients who have it. Traditional cataract s urgery and follow-up corrective lenses and eyeglasses can be covered by Medicare or private medical insurance.

For more information click here.

Want to be a part of our effort? Join our Facebook Children's Vision MA Advocacy Group
To support the work of Children's Vision Massachusetts, please consider making a DONATION