MONROE - Maddy wears glasses, and she happily chooses from several pairs to accessorize her wardrobe on a daily basis.
But glasses are more than just a fashion statement for Madeline DeMuth, a 4K student in the Monroe School District. They are helping to reverse a vision problem first identified last year by Monroe Lions Club's eye scan at the school district's Child Development Days.
Without her corrective lens - and a 6-month stint wearing an eye patch - Maddy could have become legally blind in her left eye.
The Lions Club eye scan was an optional activity, and Maddy had never shown any indication of a vision problem, according to her parents, Dan and Lisa DeMuth, Monroe, who took Maddy to the school event.
So they were surprised when Maddy's scan revealed her eyes were not working together, and Keith Ginner, a Monroe Lions Club-certified screener, recommended that Maddy see an eye specialist.
Maddy was officially diagnosed with a type of amblyopia, sometimes called lazy eye, by a pediatric eye specialist. She had 20/20 vision in her right eye and 20/200 vision in her left eye. Her right eye had been responsible for all of her early learning and abilities.
But she had more than an eye problem, Lisa DeMuth said.
Because the left eye was so far out of focus, Maddy's brain had learned to disregard any information coming through that eye. Left untreated, the problem would have most likely led to her being legally blind in the eye by age 7. So Maddy has been working with her doctor to teach her developing brain to reengage with the left eye before it becomes a permanent condition.
Maddy's sight is improving, said her mother, and even at her young age, Maddy understands she must wear her glasses to get her eye and brain working together again. Even wearing the eye patch wasn't a big deal for her.
Maddy told classmates "she needed the patch, because, "My eye needs to talk to my brain better,'" Lisa DeMuth said.
The DeMuths say they are grateful for the Lions Club services and presence in the schools and day care center, and for their time commitment that found Maddy's vision problem.
"Her doctor said it was a really good catch for them. It's a hard one to pick up on," Lisa said.
They encourage other parents to get their children's eyes scanned.
"It's worth the half hour out of their day to go," Dan DeMuth said.
Maddy still remembers her eye scan last year at Child Development Days. It was easy, and didn't hurt, she said.
"And I got glasses," she said, "... 'cause I want my eyes to be better."
Ginner was back for Child Development Days Thursday and Friday at Abraham Lincoln Accelerated Learning Academy.
Last year he used a small Polaroid camera to photograph the preschoolers' eyes, with each photograph costing about $1.25.
But this year, Ginner has an easier-to-use digital camera with a built-in database to produce faster and more credible results. Photos - and retakes of wiggly kids - now cost the club nothing extra.
The equipment to provide simple, non-invasive eye scans was purchased by the Monroe, Brodhead, Albany, Monticello, New Glarus and Mount Horeb Lions Clubs with a grant from The Kalscheur Family Foundation.
The clubs scan about 1,000 children annually, and about 8 to 10 percent of the children are identified for a recommendation referral to a vision specialist, according to Milo Parker, chairman of the Community Service Committee of New Glarus Lions Club.
With the new equipment, the clubs have plans to increase their efforts to screen additional children, Parker added.
The camera measures sphere, cylinder, axis, gaze and pupil size of both eyes simultaneously. Its unique measurement technology is sometimes referred to as photorefraction.
The database determines referrals, eliminating the need for individual interpretation by Lions members on site. The criteria for a referral is certified and set by Prevent Blindness America.
Screening takes less than a second and in this time interval, 36 pictures of both eyes are recorded. The Lions Club volunteers are scanning for possible problems, not diagnosing conditions. But the scans indicate when professional vision exams are recommended. A "pass" or "refer" screening result is displayed automatically.
The new, portable camera detects vision disorders in children to fight amblyopia, provide full refraction information during eye exams and help in researching the functioning of the eye. According to the manufacturing company, Plusoptix, the device can detect amblyopia with a sensitivity as high as 92 percent and specificity as high as 88 percent.
But glasses are more than just a fashion statement for Madeline DeMuth, a 4K student in the Monroe School District. They are helping to reverse a vision problem first identified last year by Monroe Lions Club's eye scan at the school district's Child Development Days.
Without her corrective lens - and a 6-month stint wearing an eye patch - Maddy could have become legally blind in her left eye.
The Lions Club eye scan was an optional activity, and Maddy had never shown any indication of a vision problem, according to her parents, Dan and Lisa DeMuth, Monroe, who took Maddy to the school event.
So they were surprised when Maddy's scan revealed her eyes were not working together, and Keith Ginner, a Monroe Lions Club-certified screener, recommended that Maddy see an eye specialist.
Maddy was officially diagnosed with a type of amblyopia, sometimes called lazy eye, by a pediatric eye specialist. She had 20/20 vision in her right eye and 20/200 vision in her left eye. Her right eye had been responsible for all of her early learning and abilities.
But she had more than an eye problem, Lisa DeMuth said.
Because the left eye was so far out of focus, Maddy's brain had learned to disregard any information coming through that eye. Left untreated, the problem would have most likely led to her being legally blind in the eye by age 7. So Maddy has been working with her doctor to teach her developing brain to reengage with the left eye before it becomes a permanent condition.
Maddy's sight is improving, said her mother, and even at her young age, Maddy understands she must wear her glasses to get her eye and brain working together again. Even wearing the eye patch wasn't a big deal for her.
Maddy told classmates "she needed the patch, because, "My eye needs to talk to my brain better,'" Lisa DeMuth said.
The DeMuths say they are grateful for the Lions Club services and presence in the schools and day care center, and for their time commitment that found Maddy's vision problem.
"Her doctor said it was a really good catch for them. It's a hard one to pick up on," Lisa said.
They encourage other parents to get their children's eyes scanned.
"It's worth the half hour out of their day to go," Dan DeMuth said.
Maddy still remembers her eye scan last year at Child Development Days. It was easy, and didn't hurt, she said.
"And I got glasses," she said, "... 'cause I want my eyes to be better."
Ginner was back for Child Development Days Thursday and Friday at Abraham Lincoln Accelerated Learning Academy.
Last year he used a small Polaroid camera to photograph the preschoolers' eyes, with each photograph costing about $1.25.
But this year, Ginner has an easier-to-use digital camera with a built-in database to produce faster and more credible results. Photos - and retakes of wiggly kids - now cost the club nothing extra.
The equipment to provide simple, non-invasive eye scans was purchased by the Monroe, Brodhead, Albany, Monticello, New Glarus and Mount Horeb Lions Clubs with a grant from The Kalscheur Family Foundation.
The clubs scan about 1,000 children annually, and about 8 to 10 percent of the children are identified for a recommendation referral to a vision specialist, according to Milo Parker, chairman of the Community Service Committee of New Glarus Lions Club.
With the new equipment, the clubs have plans to increase their efforts to screen additional children, Parker added.
The camera measures sphere, cylinder, axis, gaze and pupil size of both eyes simultaneously. Its unique measurement technology is sometimes referred to as photorefraction.
The database determines referrals, eliminating the need for individual interpretation by Lions members on site. The criteria for a referral is certified and set by Prevent Blindness America.
Screening takes less than a second and in this time interval, 36 pictures of both eyes are recorded. The Lions Club volunteers are scanning for possible problems, not diagnosing conditions. But the scans indicate when professional vision exams are recommended. A "pass" or "refer" screening result is displayed automatically.
The new, portable camera detects vision disorders in children to fight amblyopia, provide full refraction information during eye exams and help in researching the functioning of the eye. According to the manufacturing company, Plusoptix, the device can detect amblyopia with a sensitivity as high as 92 percent and specificity as high as 88 percent.