In his myopia update session at the 2025 Optometric Management Symposium, William H. Stephen, MTh, OD, FIAOMC, provided practical scripts on how to talk to children and parents about myopia. These scripts covered how to discuss lifestyle changes, spectacle lenses, multifocal contact lenses, orthokeratology, and low-dose atropine. 

Lifestyle Scripts

To the child: “Your eyes grow like the rest of you, but too much close-up time makes them grow the wrong way. You need to play outdoors every day to keep them healthy.”

To the parents: “2 hours outdoors a day isn’t just playtime—it’s treatment time.”

Spectacle Lens Scripts

To the child: “Your eyes are growing like the rest of you. Right now, they are growing too fast, so everything is blurry [when you look] far away. Glasses will let you see clearly and help your eyes grow up healthy!”

To the parents: “For the treatment lenses to work effectively, it is important that the glasses are fit well and worn properly all the time.”

Multifocal Contact Lens Scripts

To the child: “Your eyes are growing like the rest of you. Right now, they are growing too fast, so everything is blurry far away. With contact lenses, you will see clearly and your eyes will grow healthy!”

To the parents: “For the treatment to work effectively, it is important that the contact lenses are worn every day.”

Orthokeratology Scripts

To the child: “You wear these contact lenses while you sleep and take them out in the morning. Then, your vision stays clear all day without glasses!”

To the parents: “It’s like Invisalign braces for the eye—it only works if you wear them every night.”

Low-Dose Atropine Scripts

To the child: “With just one drop in each eye at bedtime, we can help your eyes [be] healthy.”

To the parents: “Some kids experience a bit of light sensitivity. But we start with the lowest dose and check in regularly.”

Other Lecture Highlights

Dr. Stephen also reviewed myopia risk factors, including limited outdoor time, prolonged near work, and family history, and underscored the importance of early screening with an axial length measurement, cycloplegic refraction, and topography for all pediatric patients. Case studies demonstrated that early and consistent intervention can significantly slow axial elongation.

“Measurement without follow-up is trivial,” he said. “Measurement with follow-up is management.” OM