Goodwill seeks volunteers to screen children in schools for ‘lazy eye’

Staff Report

Youngstown

Youngstown Area Goodwill Industries’ Amblyopia Vision Screening Program is seeking volunteers to test children.

Training is scheduled from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday at the Goodwill facility on Belmont Avenue in Youngstown. Danielle Michaels from the Ohio Department of Health in Columbus will conduct the training session, which is mandatory for all program vision screeners.

For more information, contact Nancy Chambers, amblyopia program coordinator, between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. Tuesday at 330-759-7921, ext. 1222.

Trained vision screeners go into preschools in Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties and screen children for amblyopia. Training, all necessary materials and partners are provided.

Screenings are scheduled morning or afternoons, Monday through Friday. Sessions generally take about two hours. All scheduling and follow-up is handled by the program coordinator.

Amblyopia, commonly known as “lazy eye,” is reduced vision in an eye resulting when the pathways of vision in the brain do not grow strong enough. Anything that interferes with clear vision in either eye during the critical birth to age 6 visual-development period can cause amblyopia. If a problem is detected, the child’s family is urged to take the child for a complete professional exam. Financial assistance is available for qualified families.