Addressing vision deficiencies at an early age is key for a child’s development and the local district of Lions Club International is working to ensure no area youth slip through the cracks.

Dave Leon, coordinator of the Lions District 14-U Kid Sight program, pitched the organization’s screening efforts at a recent Lehighton Area School District board meeting.

“We’re asking for the opportunity to serve the district with our equipment,” Leon told the board. “Schools are already required to do vision screenings, so we’re looking to assist in providing that service.”

Lions Club officials demonstrated the hand-held Welch Allyn Spot auto-refraction device, which is held about 3 feet from a child and can measure required data for children.

Leon said the local Lions district, which covers Carbon, Schuylkill, Monroe and Pike counties, is in its second year of using the equipment after the cameras were provided at a low cost.

“We put in place the infrastructure to screen all the kids in our district between 6 months old and 6 years old,” Leon said. “We focused on that age group because those are the kids that are often forgotten. When kids get into school, the nurse does a screening, but there is nothing in the parents manual that tells them to take a 1-year-old to an eye doctor.”

The screening service is provided to the community at no cost and, even though young children are the target, anyone can benefit from it, Leon said.

The camera can pick up on signs of nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, among other concerns.

“It looks at how the eyes work together and we can pick up on even subtle versions of eye misalignment,” Leon said. “It can also help detect when one eye is stronger than the other. All of these things can lead to lazy eye.”

More than 1,500 kids in the four-county Lions district have already been screened with the equipment, and Leon continues to reach out to schools and day cares, hoping to add to the list.

Any community member can contact the Lions Club and ask to be screened, no matter their age.

“We’re not eye professionals, but this camera gives us a pre-warning that something may be happening,” Leon said. “You’ll then get a printout to take to the doctor and they can start using that as a reference when suggesting where to go from there.”

Lehighton Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver said he requested more information on the program from Leon.

“I think it’s something we could definitely look at piloting in our prekindergarten program,” Cleaver said.

He added that parental permission would be sought before a screening would take place.

Leon said the Lions can also help families with eye doctor recommendations and with expenses that may be incurred from eye exams or glasses.

“If you have eyesight problems, you have that as part of your baggage coming into school,” Leon said. “Kids that can’t see the board act out. If a kid can’t see a ball coming his way, they likely won’t participate in sports. We’re hoping to help avoid that altogether and start by this simple screening process.”