Screening of pre-school children for ocular anomalies. I. Screening methods and their practicability at different ages.

The screening of pre-school children for ocular anomalies, particularly amblyopia has been advised by Sheridan (I960), Savitz, Reed, and Valadian (I964), Aaberg (I968), Press and Austin (i 968), and Gansner (I968). However, many of the difficulties associ- ated with screening programmes of this nature have not yet been solved. Most children under 4 years of age do not attend kindergarten or other institutions, where opportunities for group visual screening are more readily available. Furthermore, though a variety of screening tests have been suggested for small children (Sheridan, 1963; Press and Austin, I968), there is no agreement on which best fulfils the necessary requirements.