Mack Backs Bill for Kids' Eye Vision

Mack backs bill for kids' eye vision

Written by: Amie Parnes and Deirdre Conner Publication: Naples Daily News

August 2, 2005 -

By AMIE PARNES and DEIRDRE CONNER, Staff Writers
August 2, 2005

He couldn't make out the words or the numbers.

For months, years even, Connie Mack would stare hard at the chalkboard, textbooks, homework assignments, and shrug.

"What does that say?" teachers would ask. He didn't know. The words were blurry.

But the future congressman said he didn't know any better. That was the way it was supposed to be, he thought.

Teachers labeled him as having a learning disability and for a while his parents had to come to terms with that. They spent extra time helping Mack with his homework. They hired tutors. Nothing worked.

It was not until third grade when Mack visited a doctor that he received a diagnosis: He needed glasses.

In order to prevent others from having an equally frustrating experience and just in time for the start of the new school year, Mack, R-Fort Myers, co-sponsored legislation last week that would create a $75 million grant program to encourage states to upgrade their vision screening and exam requirements for students. The programs would target children who have not received screenings or exams as well as students who have received exams but need a follow-up treatment, Mack said.

At a press conference in Fort Myers with Lee County Schools Superintendent James Browder on Monday, Mack encouraged parents to have their children's eyes checked before school begins next week.

If parents take action to get their kids' eyes checked, it could go a long way toward the state and district-wide push for literacy, said Lee School Board Chairwoman Elinor Scricca.

"If a child can't see, a child can't learn and a child can't read," she said.

Like Mack's, many children's eye problems can go unnoticed, said School Board member Steven Teuber.

"I was surprised when I didn't find my daughter's (vision problems) until we were at a baseball game and she couldn't read the back signs," he said. "A lot of times parents don't even recognize that their children have those type of problems, but they're real and they do actually impede the learning."

Thirty one states, including Florida, require vision screenings for students but do not require follow-up examinations for those children who fail, Mack said.

The grant in Mack's proposed legislation would pay for eye exams, although it would not provide money for children who can't afford to buy glasses or contact lenses.

"That means in Florida and around the country, millions and millions and millions of our children are falling through the cracks," Mack said in a recent interview. "I really suffered in school because of my eyesight. Those years are so important. You're building the foundation for the rest of your education."

Mack said his problems in school stripped some of his self-confidence as well as his writing and grammar skills.

It took him until after college to catch up with reading at grade level, he said Monday.

Even now, Mack said, "they're still not where I want them to be."

http://mack.house.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Articles.View&ContentRecord_id=119&CommitteeType_id=0&Issue_id=0&CFId=853501&CFToken=78494759