The development of a new tool for testing the eyesight of children under three could mean more children receive treatment for vision difficulties earlier, leading to positive effects on learning and development.
Children under three struggle with the precise tests used for older children. With that in mind, researchers from the School of Optometry & Vision Science at the University of Waterloo created the Waterloo Differential Acuity Test (WatDAT), a new method for measuring vision equally precisely in younger toddlers.
WatDAT shows children four shapes, three of which are identical, such as a house among three circles. The tester asks them to point out the one that is different. This exercise is done at progressively smaller sizes until the child can no longer do it.
