Health Screening in Schools

At last, I'm back! A new school term has begun.

I just recently read an American blog article on vision screening in
schools. It seems that there are a number of social and legislative
issues regarding stuff like vision screening in schools in the USA.

This got me thinking. When I was at school - not so long ago, every
child had his or her ears and eyes checked at least once a year. This
was performed for free, and if there was a problem, the parents were
informed of the results.

OK, we didn't have the luxury of having a resident school nurse like
many schools in the USA and UK - a nurse/doctor/optical technician
visited the school once a year. It wasn't a perfect system, and it had
some flaws. For instance, we had to line up in alphabetical order, and
read an eye chart. If you happened to have poor eyesight, and you were
at the back of the queue, and had a good memory - you tended to have
"perfect" vision.

The thing is, to learn effectively a child needs to be able to see and
hear. There is no getting around this. If a child cannot see or hear
properly, the challenges involved in educating that child are
extraordinary! Just ask any parent of a blind or deaf child.

Having been out of school for a while, I'm not sure how schools in South
Africa (or the rest of the world for that matter) handle this particular
situation. I certainly don't hear much about vision or auditory
screening in schools here. How would a school handle a case where the
parents can't afford classes or hearing aids for the child?

If you know what's going on in this area, please drop a comment.

School Report Services <http://www.schoolreportservices.com/> wishes
you a happy day further!