Email Secretary Sebelious Today on this Important Issue

I just sent this email to Secretary Sebelius...won't you do so as well? You can contact her at [email protected] ...

Dear Secretary Sebelius:

As a Professor of Pediatrics/Binocular Vision at the Illinois Eye Institute/Illinois College of Optometry, every day I see children who suffer from serious eye health problems (such as amblyopia) because they have not been the beneficiary of appropriate eye and vision care. Please make sure that a pediatric vision care health benefit is based on a solid foundation of direct access to and coverage for an annual comprehensive eye and vision examination, appropriate follow-up care and treatment provided by an eye doctor . There should be no barriers created to restrict access to eye care, especially since up to 1 out of every four school-aged children suffer from a vision problem that could have been effectively treated if properly diagnosed.

I am very active in helping various organizations get the word out about the eye health problems associated with 3D movies, 3D in the home and 3D in the classroom. As part of a team put together by the American Optometric Association, we created a public health document,that clearly shows the importance of single, clear, binocular (two-eyed), pathology free vision in order to appreciate 3D. As simulated 3D educational tools become routinely used in the classroom, we must make sure our students do not have eye health problems that interfere with their educational success.


As you know from your recent meeting with Dr. Dori Carlson, President of the American Optometric Association (AOA), the 2011 School Readiness Summit, which included experts from the U.S. Department of Education and leading national children's health and education groups looked at the failing system of vision screening that leaves millions of children and families to deal with learning difficulties and other serious developmental consequences of undiagnosed and untreated vision problems.


The School Readiness Summit issued a joint statement http://www.aoa.org/documents/Joint_Statement.pdf, signed by more than 30 leading organizations representing doctors, nurses, teachers and parents as well as large employers, supporting "comprehensive eye exams as a foundation for a coordinated and improved approach to addressing children's vision and eye health issues and as a key element of ensuring school readiness in American children."


Please take a moment out of you busy schedule to look at 3D in the Classroom: See Well, Learn Well and the research on how absolutely inadequate vision screenings are at detecting the eye and vision problems that affect our youth.


For 3D in the Classroom: See Well, Learn Well please click here.


For information on how inadequate vision screenings are, please click here.


Access to quality eye health care is essential to overall good health, excellent daily living skills, and academic performance. I urge you to continue to work with the AOA to ensure that the pediatric vision care essential benefit provides for direct access to comprehensive eye exams and follow-up care our children require. Thank you for all your efforts that will make sure our children have the visual abilities they need to do well not only in school, but in life.


Sincerely,


Dominick M. Maino, OD, MEd, FAAO, FCOVD-A
Professor of Pediatrics/Binocular Vision
Distinguished Practitioner, National Academies of Practice
Leonardo da Vinci Award of Excellence in Medicine, Recipient
Professor, Pediatrics/Binocluar Vision Illinois Eye Institute/Illinois College of Optometry
3241 S. Michigan Ave. Chicago, Il. 60616 312-949-7280 (Phone) 312-949-7358 (Fax)  [email protected] (Email)
Blog http://www.MainosMemos.blogspot.com

American Academy of Optometry in Boston 2011

Photographs of ICO folks and others at the American Academy of Optometry in Boston 2011

During the last AAO meeting, I had an opporutniey to take a few tos of my friends and colleages. Click aobve and enjoy. DM

Special Article: Oculo-Visual Problems of Patients with Special Needs

Individuals with special needs often have numerous undiagnosed and untreated oculo-visual problems. The World Health Organization has noted that the number one cause of treatable visual impairment in the world is uncorrected refractive error (nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism and presbyopia) (see side bar). This is also true for those with developmental, physical, genetically induced and psychiatric disability, as well as those with acquired and traumatic brain injury. This paper briefly reviews the frequently encounter disabilities and their associated oculo-visual problems.....

 Comments: I wrote this article for the therapists who frequent this very good website.Click on the link above to read all of the article. 

Watch for this book to coming sometime in 2012! DM

AAC Assessment & Customizing iPad/iPods for Communication: Hands-on Training with Three AAC Apps

AAC Assessment & Customizing iPad/iPods for Communication: Hands-on Training
with Three AAC Apps

January 18, 2012      9:00-3:30

This seminar is designed for individuals involved in the identification, set up and training of AAC systems. The consideration of iPads/iPods in AAC Assessment will be discussed as well as strategies for app selection. Further, the afternoon session provides three one-hour break-out sessions for hands on training of three AAC apps: Proloquo2go, TouchChat and SonoFlex. These sessions will include discussion on how to customize specific apps and AAC systems to meet individualized needs determined through assessment. All participants will have the opportunity to attend each break out session. Some iPads will be available for shared use (3 people to a station) during the hands-on training sessions. Participants are also encouraged to bring their own iPads/iPods with Proloquo2go, TouchChat and/or SonoFlex/ SonoFlex Lite (SonoFlex Lite is a free app).

Fees and Registration: Register by January 4, 2012 for the early-bird rate of $130 per person or $120 per person for a group rate of three or more attendees from the same location. After January 4, 2012 the rate is $150 per person. Space is limited for this course so please register early!

Payment will be accepted with credit card or check made payable to the “UIC Assistive Technology Unit”

For more information on this seminar and enrollment, visit http://www.idhd.org/ATUTrainings/aac1-18/index.htm

9 Greatest Inventions for the Physically Impaired

9 Greatest Inventions for the Physically Impaired