• Alberta Health partial coverage is available towards one eye exam per year for all children until they turn 19.*
• Eye See…Eye Learn™ supplements that coverage by providing free eyeglasses to kindergarten children who require a prescription.
• The program is administered by the Alberta Association of Optometrists. Children’s eye exams are partially funded by Alberta Health, and the free eyeglasses, lenses and cases are provided by our partners.
• To book an appointment, select a participating Eye See…Eye Learn™ optometrist, then enter your postal code to find an optometrist close to you. Book an appointment.

*Optometrists can charge for insured services that the optometrist deems exceeds the AHCIP benefit and Albertans are responsible for additional costs incurred at the time of treatment. Practitioners are required to discuss fees with their patients before providing the service.

Find an Eye See…Eye Learn™ Optometrist

• Kindergarten-aged children are eligible to participate in the program from July until they begin Grade 1.

• It does not have to be the child’s first pair of glasses.

• Your child will receive a eye exam, which is partially covered by Alberta Health Care.*
• If your child is of kindergarten age, they will also receive a free pair of eyeglasses, as prescribed by your optometrist. The glasses are covered by a one-year manufacturer’s warranty.

• In Alberta, 25 per cent of children begin Grade 1 with an undiagnosed vision or eye health problem.
• Vision problems can interfere with a child’s ability to learn during their first critical years in school.
• For the first 12 years of a child’s life, 80 per cent of learning is visual.
• Good grades go hand in hand with good vision!

• The Alberta Association of Optometrists recommends children have their first eye exam between the ages of six and nine months, their second between the ages of two and five, and one every year after that.

• No, it’s recommended that children have their first comprehensive eye exam at just six months of age.
• Your optometrist usually uses object techniques such as shapes and pictures to determine your child’s focusing characteristics. They will also assess your child’s eye health and vision.

• Alberta Health Care partially covers the cost of an annual eye exam for all children, until they turn 19.
• All Albertans are also partially covered for any medically necessary exams, such as red eyes, eye infection, and injury or inflammation of the eye and eyelid.

• Nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, which can all be corrected with eyeglasses.
• Lazy eye (amblyopia), which is weak or low vision in one eye as a result of an uncorrected prescription during the early years of development. It’s the leading cause of preventable vision loss. If detected and treated early, before the age of six, it will often resolve completely.
• Crossed eyes (strabismus) is where an eye can turn in or out. It is a muscle condition in which a child’s eyes are not properly aligned with each other. Coordination of a child’s eyes, and their ability to work together, starts to develop in infancy. A child will not outgrow crossed eyes (strabismus) without treatment, and the condition may become worse. In an attempt to avoid double vision, the brain eventually disregards the image from one eye, causing vision loss.
• Eye coordination is the ability of both eyes to work together as a team. Good eye coordination keeps the eyes in proper alignment, but a minor misalignment of your child’s eyes can cause symptoms like double vision, fatigue and headaches.

• Many vision and eye health conditions have no symptoms, and can only be detected through an eye exam.
• Even if children are experiencing symptoms, they may not realize it—they assume the way their world looks is normal!

• Children who have poor vision often find it difficult to focus on their work, and may even be misdiagnosed with a learning or behavioural disability.
• Up to 60 per cent of children who are diagnosed with learning disabilities actually have undetected vision problems.

• This is probably the biggest misconception about vision and eye health.
• While a 20/20 vision score is great, it does not mean that your child has all of the vision skills required for healthy learning and development.
• Comprehensive eye exams do so much more than determine if a child sees well. They also help your optometrist diagnose, treat and prevent diseases and disorders affecting the eyes and visual systems.

Contact us for more information about Eye See…Eye Learn™ and children’s vision and eye health at alberta.association@optometrists.ab.ca.