Infant See Week doctors
The following area doctors are participating in InfantSee Week. Visit infantsee.org or call (888) 396-3937 for more information and to find doctors in other areas.
Dr. Michelle Staarmann, Fairfield, (513) 874-1718
Dr. Tom Nye, Hamilton, (513) 887-1100
Dr. Don Faimon, Maineville, (513) 677-8866
Dr. Nathan Bjork, Middletown, (513)793-8486
Dr. Jeffrey Collins, Oxford, (513) 523-6339
Dr. Diana Gilbert, West Chester, (513) 860-0400
Dr. Michael Lyons, West Chester, (513) 779-3937
Dr. Richard Deutch, West Chester, (513) 860-0400
Dr. Brenda Montecalvo, Beavercreek, (937) 320-0300
Dr. Ross Collins, Beavercreek, (937) 429-0266
Dr. Marc Gilbert, Dayton (937) 228-2020
Dr. Kathleen Rudolf, Dayton, (937) 228-2020
Dr. DeVon Meyer, Eaton, (937) 456-5559
Dr. Joseph Studebaker, Englewood, (937) 836-3041
Dr. Peter Studebaker, Englewood, (937) 836-3041
Dr. Robert McLear, Greenville, (937) 548-6111
Dr. Heath Gilbert, Kettering, (937) 293-8685
Dr. David Anderson, Miamisburg, 937-866-3471
Dr. Carolyn Davis, Troy, (937) 339-7956
Dr. Faith Salyer, Troy, 937-339-7956
Dr. Scott Schwartz, Troy, (937) 339-2115
Dr. Lauren Grillot, Troy (937) 339-7956
Dr. Karen Fortman, Sidney, (937) 492-9197
Dr. Janessa Simon, Sidney, (937) 492-9197
Dr. John Beigel, Sidney (937) 492-9197
Dr. Cara Frasco, Springboro (937) 885-1126
Dr. Kara Hampton, Springboro, (937) 748-2955
Dr. Dennis Roark, Springfield, (937) 399-4101
Dr. Lindsay Florkey, Yellow Springs, (937) 767-7991
Dr. Frank Tangeman, Celina (419) 586-2909
Dr. Paul Wilken, Celina, (419) 586-5149
Dr. Brian Gerlach, Celina, (419) 586-3151
Dr. Christa Heckman, Minster, (419) 628-3017
Dr. Mark Bidlack, Van Wert, (419) 238-9244
Dr. Darrin Karcher, Van Wert, (419) 238-9244
Symptoms of vision problems in children
Here are indicators of eye problems from Dr. Kathy Rudolf, an optometrist at Dayton Optometric Center, and Dr. Brenda Montecalvo, a partner at Nova Vision Care in Beavercreek.
Eye rub
Although there may be other reasons for such behavior, a child who frequently rubs his or her eyes or has frequent headaches might have an issue with their eyes, Rudolf said.
Red eye
Rudolf often asks parents to bring in photos of their children showing how their eyes react to the camera’s flash. If one of the pupils is bright white instead of red, there might be eye crossing or other issues. “If eyes are crossed, you are not developing that depth perception,” she said.
Sitting still
Montecalvo said babies with sight issues might be fearful of heights or be inactive compared to others babies. “They will sit and do nothing,” she said. “They can’t judge what’s around.”
Mason MacGregor had vertical lines in sight and crossed his eyes when the cute stuffed animal touched the tip of his nose.
It was not a complete eye examination, but Dr. Brenda Montecalvo, a partner at Nova Vision Care in Beavercreek, said things looked promising for the bright-eyed Fairborn tot who turns a year old today.
Montecalvo was at The Greene last week promoting InfantSee Week.
More than 250 optometrists around the state are participating in the program through Friday.
They offer free eye examination to infants 6 to 12 months old as part of the week supported by American Optometric Association in partnership with The Vision Care Institute of Johnson & Johnson Vision Care.
Some of the doctors will hand out complementary baby sunglasses.
Finding out about eye problems early can spare a child developmental issues down the road, Motecalvo said.
“A lot of kids tell me they had double vision a long time and they thought it was fine. They figure everyone has to deal with that so they don’t tell anybody,” she said. “All of those (vision) issues should be able to be picked up on so they don’t have to deal with it and it doesn’t affect their development.”
One in 10 infants is at risk from undiagnosed eye and vision problems, but InfantSee Week organizers say only 14 percent of children from infancy to age 6 have had a comprehensive eye assessment from an eye care professional.
Ellen Miller, 38, of Springboro said she and her husband learned the tough way the importance of early detection.
They only learned their now 8-year-old daughter Lauren had amblyopia, commonly known as lazy eye, after the girl exhibited problems reading in kindergarten.
“It affected her in school. It affected her socially,” Miller said. An avid soccer player, Lauren had difficulty with tracking and peripheral vision.
The Millers learned last year during InfantSee Week that their youngest child, Molly, had similar issues.
They acted quickly and sought vision therapy for the now 2-year-old at Motecalvo’s office.
“(Molly) is great. We fixed it all,” Ellen Miller said. “It took me a couple of months to fix it opposed to how it was with Lauren. We’ve been working on it since she was 5 and now she’s 8.”
Dr. Kathy Rudolf, an optometrist at Dayton Optometric Center, said many parents mistakenly think eye examinations given in pediatric offices are enough.
“It isn’t always sufficient to know if the eyes are working well,” she said.
Optometrists can check infants for a variety of conditions such as glaucoma, refractive errors (near sightedness and far sightedness), strabismus (crossed-eyes) and invasive cancers like retinoblastoma, Rudolf said.
“If (retinoblastoma) is not caught early enough, it can take a child’s life,” she said. “It is those cases that thankfully are rare, but you don’t want to lose the opportunity to find that out.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2384 or arobinson@DaytonDailyNews.com.
About the Author
