The job description of optometrists varies between different European countries. In some countries optometrists also examine children’s vision, but in Finland ophthalmologists always do eye exami-nations and prescribe glasses for children under the age of eight. The European Council of Optom-etry and Optics (ECOO) is aiming at standardizing the guidelines for optometrists’ practice across Europe. In Finland preparations for the change have been made by adjusting the curriculum of optometry students. In this study we wanted to find out how examining a child differs from examin-ing an adult. This could help to evaluate what kind of further education is needed for optometrists in case they will be permitted to examine children’s vision.

In our study we wanted to find out how ophthalmologists examine children’s vision in practice. Our research is a qualitative research and we used theme interviews to gather information for it. We interviewed five ophthalmologists. The purpose of our study was to describe what a child is like to examine and what kinds of methods are used when examining children’s vision. We also wanted to know what kinds of special features a child’s visual system has and how those features have to be taken into account when correcting children’s vision. In our study we focus on children under the age of eight.

The results of our study showed that a child differs from an adult in many ways when being exam-ined. A child must be treated differently than an adult. It also takes a lot more time to examine a child and understanding the results might be more challenging. The fact that a child’s vision system is still developing brings additional responsibility for those who do the examinations. If a mistake is made when treating a child’s vision it might cause problems that are very difficult to solve later. Methods used in the examination of the child’s vision are basically the same as those used to examine adults. The main difference is that children’s refractive error is usually determined by using drugs that prevent natural accommodation. When correcting a child’s vision one has to take some matters into account. The visual system is not fully developed and a child has a natural tendency to accommodate strongly. When examining children’s vision the main issue is to detect and treat amblyopia and strabismus. When examining and correcting children’s vision it is more important to have medical knowledge compared to when dealing with adults.