Florida Senate - 2024 (NP) SR 482



By Senator Berman





26-00774-24 2024482__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing August 2024 as “Amblyopia
3 Awareness Month” in Florida.
4
5 WHEREAS, amblyopia is the most common cause of vision loss
6 in children, and
7 WHEREAS, amblyopia can cause permanent vision loss if not
8 detected and treated early in life, and
9 WHEREAS, the detection of amblyopia and other vision
10 threatening disorders, including retinoblastoma tumors,
11 cataracts, and strabismus, in early childhood increases the
12 chances of successful treatment, especially if the disorder is
13 detected before a child reaches 5 years of age, and
14 WHEREAS, many forms of amblyopia are difficult to detect
15 and can be identified only through proper screening techniques,
16 and
17 WHEREAS, the sooner children are identified as having
18 amblyopia or other vision-threatening disorders, the sooner
19 treatment can commence, and
20 WHEREAS, millions of children in the United States are left
21 with permanent vision loss due to undetected amblyopia and other
22 childhood vision disorders that could have been detected with
23 proper screening and successfully treated, and
24 WHEREAS, less than 20 percent of preschool children are
25 currently screened for vision problems, despite the fact that
26 such screening is a covered service by many health insurance
27 plans and health maintenance organizations, and
28 WHEREAS, parents should be encouraged to have their
29 children screened for vision problems before admission to
30 preschool, and
31 WHEREAS, the Florida Society of Ophthalmology and the For
32 Eye Care Foundation, Inc., believe that it is of paramount
33 importance to promote statewide preschool vision screening, with
34 the goal of testing all children between 3 and 5 years of age,
35 NOW, THEREFORE,
36
37 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
38
39 That August 2024 is recognized as “Amblyopia Awareness
40 Month” in Florida.