What happens during vision screening?There are several types of visual screening tests. They include:Distance vision test. School-age children and adults are usually tested with a wall chart. The chart has several rows of letters. The letters on the top row are the biggest. The letters on the bottom are the smallest. You or your child will stand or sit 20 feet from the chart. He or she will be asked to cover one eye and read the letters, one row at a time. Each eye is tested separately.Distance vision test for preschoolers. For children too young to read, this test uses a wall chart similar to the one for older children and adults. But instead of rows of different letters, it only has the letter E in different positions. Your child will be asked to point in the same direction as the E. Some of these charts use the letter C, or use pictures, instead.Close-up vision test. For this test, you or your child will be given a small card with written text. The lines of text get smaller as you go farther down the card. You or your child will be asked to hold the card about 14 inches away from the face, and read aloud. Both eyes are tested at the same time. This test is often given to adults over 40, as close-up vision tends to get worse as you get older.Color blindness test. Children are given a card with colored numbers or symbols hidden in a background of multicolored dots. If they can read the numbers or symbols, it means they probably are not color blind.If your infant is getting a vision screening, your provider will check for:The your baby's ability to follow an object, such as a toy, with his or her eyesHow his or her pupils (black center part of the eye) respond to a bright lightTo see if your baby blinks when a light is shone in the eye
