InfantSEE is concluding the year with 174,000 assessments since the initiative’s inception in 2005, says The American Optometric Association (AOA) Foundation in a press release.
To celebrate the program’s 20th anniversary, The AOA Foundation says it reconnected with “Baby Piper," who in 2015, became an internet sensation when a video of her using glasses for the first time went viral. Over the next decade, that family video would generate millions of views worldwide, the press release states.
According to The AOA Foundation, the video also brought national attention to the importance of comprehensive eye care for children, and the AOA’s campaign to raise awareness of its role in child development—conveying the message: the earlier a condition is diagnosed, the sooner it can be treated, improving a child’s chances for a positive outcome.
“I’m about to be 11 and I’m in fourth grade,” Piper says. “I’m in cheer and Girl Scouts and I’m about to do volleyball. I like to draw and do crafts and make books. I like doing gymnastics, too. And if I couldn’t see, I wouldn’t be able to do this stuff as easily.”
In 2015, when Piper was 10 months old, her parents took her to the pediatrician, concerned she wasn’t meeting certain developmental milestones.
“She wasn’t walking. She wasn’t crawling,” says Andrew Verdusco, Piper’s father. “She couldn’t grab things off the floor. We noticed something was going on, and we decided to get her checked.”
The pediatrician recommended the family consult an optometrist, and that’s how they met Josiah Young, OD, of Opticare Vision, in Newport, Kentucky. Due to her age, Piper qualified for a no-cost assessment under The AOA Foundation’s InfantSEE program.
“Dr. Young was amazing,” says Piper’s mother, Jessica Sinclair. “Finding him and being able to get an appointment with him changed everything.”
Dr. Young diagnosed Piper with hyperopia (farsightedness) and examined Piper’s eyes and prescribed her glasses.
According to The AOA Foundation, Piper’s parents had no idea that the video views would take off the way they did. After being posted on Facebook, the video was shown on CNN and YouTube, among other media.
“I can’t take it,” Savannah Guthrie, co-anchor, said when the video appeared on the “Today” show.
In the video, 10½-month-old Piper is sitting at a table when a pair of pink glasses is placed over her head and on to her face. Her lips curl into a sweet smile and her bright eyes grow wider and wider, as if to say, “Hey, I can see!” Her head swivels back and forth.
“I wanted to cry, honestly,” Piper's mother says, adding, “to see that she could actually see...I was just so happy.”
Piper's father adds, “It’s definitely a great feeling. We look back on it now and our reaction is pretty much the same every time.”
According to The AOA Foundation, the video has had a lasting impact—for Piper and her family, as well as for Dr. Young’s professional reputation.
“Since then, we’ve seen oodles of infants for glasses,” Dr. Young says, noting how publicity from the video had resulted in numerous referrals from other clinicians, including from a nearby children’s hospital.
“It has had a pleasant effect,” he adds. “It has raised awareness nationwide about getting kids’ eyes checked. ...I had to update my frame selection because we were getting so many little ones [needing] glasses.”
As for Piper, she doesn’t remember the hubbub the video created, but she has been told about it, the press release states.
“She’s looking at the magazine right now,” her mother says, referring to the September 2015 issue of AOA Focus that featured her family.
Commenting on her own reaction in the video, Piper says, "I was in shock. Maybe I was thinking, ‘I see my parents now.’ I think I was happy about it.”
Piper's mother adds, "You could see our faces for the first time.”
According to The AOA Foundation, the family continues to encourage other parents to make an appointment with their doctor of optometry if they notice their children are falling short of expected developmental milestones.
Piper echoes that sentiment, with her message to parents: “Get your kids’ eyes checked!”
According to The AOA Foundation, there are currently more than 4,000 InfantSEE providers, with over 10% of them recent graduates.
The AOA Foundation says InfantSEE has helped over 15,000 children start their journey to an improved quality of life after receiving a diagnosis, such as amblyopia, from a participating InfantSEE optometrist.
InfantSEE student education workshops, with Johnson & Johnson’s support, deliver hands-on experience with seasoned doctors of optometry and infants throughout the year. In-person options at Optometry’s Meeting, Western Regional Conference at UC Berkeley, and Midwestern Regional Conference at Indiana University provide real-world experience, while virtual workshops through EyeLearn provide access to students across the country, The AOA Foundation says. OM