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20
In Part IV., under the heading "General Conclusions," the
Committee makes two points: —
1. That a more searching test is necessary than the one at
present employed in the schools for the detection of visual
defects.
2. That children should be brought earlier under the test
than is done at present, when only children who have
attained the age of eight are tested as a routine measure.
The routine test for defective vision referred to in the Report
is Snellen's long distance test, which is the one in general use in
the School Inspections and Clinics.
With regard to point 2, I am pleased to be able to state that
in this district children of five to six years of age (i.e. entrants)
have had their vision tested in school as a routine measure
since 1924.
I was impressed by the possibility of a defect in vision being
overlooked for the first three school years—or even longer if a
child misses the first inspection—when an earlier test would have
avoided this.
In practice, testing the vision of children of five presents no
real difficulty—it only requires patience. Many children already
know their letters when first seen—actually most of them do not
pronounce the letters as such, but make the appropriate sounds
which is how they are taught the alphabet in the Infant class.
These, however, are quite simple to follow.
It is much easier, but not imperative, to have someone to
point to the letters, as a young child finds it difficult to keep its
place when reading. In most Infant Schools the Head Teacher
will do this, and she is a great help, as her presence tends to
allay any nervousness on the part of the children. Most children,
however, respond well. Young children are usually pleased to
show what they can do.
The actual testing is done by the Nurse who accompanies the
Medical Officer, and for the Infants we always use Dr. Nash's
modification of the Snellen test type consisting of the five vowels
in " lower case" type, which are the letters and type that the
Entrant is most familiar with—whereas other cards are printed
in capitals.
Any children who cannot read, or where the testing is doubtful,
are referred to the subsequent Re-inspection. In three or
four months' time most of them can be tested. An exceptional
case which still does not know the letters is referred to the
Routine Medical Inspection next year—so that at the worst, a
child's vision is tested at six years of age.