Improving spectacle wear in school children

The distance between the screener and the student (usually 6 metres) should be measured and marked appropriately. The student’s chair may move around, so make a mark on the floor where the front legs of the chair should be. Check that the chair is in the right place before assessing each child. If using a standard, unlit visual acuity chart, the room should be well lit, taking care to avoid reflections off the chart. Backlit charts can be used in a darkened room. Students should not be distracted by strong external sources of light. Before starting to measure visual acuity, the optometrist/ refractionist should check that the environment is correctly set up by sitting where the student will sit.