Could a Child Be Struggling to See Without Anyone Knowing? What an Ontario Study Found
Squamish, Canada - October 7, 2026 / Garibaldi Eye Care /
SQUAMISH, BC, October 7, 2026 — Garibaldi Eye Care, the optometrist Squamish families have relied on for years, is highlighting published Ontario research showing that roughly one in ten kindergarten-aged children has a vision problem that can go undetected without a proper screening. The downtown Squamish practice, led by Dr. Brandon Baker and Dr. Ashala Mah, is using the findings to encourage local families to book an eye exam for kids before a child starts school — and every year after, not just around back-to-school season.
Ontario Study: For Most Children With a Problem, the Screening Was Their First Eye Exam
A study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal screened 4,811 kindergarten children across 43 schools in 15 Ontario communities and found that 10.7% had a vision problem, according to researchers Nishimura, Wong, Dimaras and Maurer. Amblyopia, commonly known as lazy eye, was identified in 3.4% of children screened, and clinically significant refractive errors — problems like near- or far-sightedness that affect how clearly a child sees — were found in 6.7%. For 67.2% of the children identified with a problem, the school screening was the first eye exam they had ever had. The findings match a pattern Garibaldi Eye Care sees in children who come in only after a vision problem is already affecting their reading or schoolwork.
“Most of the kids found to have a problem had no idea anything was wrong,” said Dr. Brandon Baker, optometrist at Garibaldi Eye Care. “Vision problems in young children are easy to miss because kids don't always know their sight is off — they assume everyone sees the way they do. That's exactly why an eye exam for kids shouldn't wait for a school screening to catch something.”
Squamish Families Encouraged to Make Eye Exams a Yearly Habit, Not a Seasonal One
Garibaldi Eye Care says the Ontario findings reinforce what the practice sees in the Sea to Sky Corridor: children who are struggling with reading, focus, or coordination at school sometimes have an underlying vision issue that hasn't been caught. Because school-based screening programs vary in how often they run and what they can detect, the practice recommends a comprehensive eye exam every year, starting well before kindergarten rather than waiting for a problem to surface.
“The advice to parents is the same every year: don't wait for back-to-school to think about a child's eyes, and don't wait for a school screening to catch something either,” said Dr. Ashala Mah, optometrist at Garibaldi Eye Care, who wrote Iris Sees the Eye Doctor, a children's book designed to help young patients feel comfortable before their first visit. “A comprehensive exam checks things a classroom vision screening simply isn't built to catch, and starting early means a child's eyes can be followed as they grow, not just checked once something's wrong.”
Garibaldi Eye Care is currently accepting new pediatric patients at its downtown Squamish location near Save-On-Foods. The practice's children's exams are designed to be low-stress for young patients while checking visual acuity, eye alignment, binocular vision, and overall eye health — the kinds of issues the Ontario research found are frequently missed without a dedicated exam. Families throughout Squamish and the wider Sea to Sky Corridor can book an appointment by phone or through the practice's website at any time of year.
Contact Information:
Garibaldi Eye Care
38222 Eaglewind Blvd
Squamish, BC V8B 0C5
Canada
Brandon Baker
+1 778-906-0936
https://garibaldieyecare.com/
