Crooked Glasses; Can Effect More Than Just Your Appearance
Rebecca-Lyn Roberts ABOC, NCLEC.


When was the last time you brought your car for a tune up? The same question should be asked about your glasses as well.  Our glasses, need routine care just as our cars do!

How often do we accidentally fall asleep with our eyewear on our face? How often do we drop or accidentally sit on our glasses? Bringing your glasses to a local optician for regular adjustments can save eyestrain, headaches, dizziness and can all around allow you to have better vision out of your eyewear.

What is an Optician?
1: a maker of or dealer in optical items and instruments
2: a person who reads prescriptions for visual correction, orders lenses, and dispenses eyeglasses and contact lenses, preforms adjustments to eyewear, fits contact lenses
(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

Opticians can be found at your family eye doctor, privately owned optical shops, and even large chain stores including but not limited to Lens Crafters, BJs, Costco, Target and Walmart. Some optical stores will not adjust outside frames and it is important to know most have a policy that they are not responsible for any breakage to outside frames when adjusting them.  But, with today’s world it is common to find an optical shop within a five-mile proximity, so it is important to bring eye wear in for routine inspections and adjustments.  

What Does Misalignment Actually Do to My Prescription?
When your glasses are first given to you by an optician, the glasses are and should be throughouly adjusted to you to ensure your lenses are aligned correctly with your facial features as well as your prescription.  In order to see light passes through the optical center, through the pupil and focuses in the back of your eye.  If this is off center in any way your vision can be obscured, and eye fatigue, dizziness, headaches, and general discomfort can occur. Your prescription is centered in your frame using a measurement we call Pupillary Distance, this is the distance in-between your two eyes, and also, your optical center height, this is where the center of your eye sits in the frame. So, if the glasses become misaligned, you are not looking through the full strength of your eyeglass prescription. Wearing progressive lenses; also known as invisible lined multifocal lenses, that are misaligned can cause tremendous amounts of eyestrain and difficulty seeing at fixed distances.

Works Cited

Steiner, J. (n.d.). Can Crooked Glasses Make Your Eyesight Worse? Retrieved March 09, 2018, from http://endmyopia.org/crooked-glasses-worse-eyesight/

Optician. (n.d.). Retrieved March 09, 2018, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/optician

Crooked glasses. (2009, February 18). Retrieved March 09, 2018, from https://mindflowers.wordpress.com/2008/11/02/crooked-glasses/

February 2018
EducationOAA Leadership Conference Follow-Up
By Maryann Santos, Program Director, Vision Care Technology, Goodwin College

Opticians Association of America held their OAA Leadership conference in Charleston, SC, February 8-10, 2018. Imagine being in a general session, breakouts, and socializing with opticians, apprentice opticians, opticianry students, industry leaders, frame, lab and lens representatives from all over the country. Each year the OAA puts on an outstanding conference that allows for learning, connecting, and sharing together for the sole purpose of fostering opticianry.

A part of the fun for me is experiencing the state roll call. Chris Allen, OAA’s Executive Director, calls each state and the attendees from each state respond by raising their hands, clapping, or hootin’ and hollerin’. It’s energizing to see the excitement each state brings to this conference. There were attendees from all corners of the U.S., and as far away as Alaska.

Dozens of student and apprentice leaders in opticianry attended. They had unique breakout sessions specifically designed for their leadership growth and development.

Attendees had the opportunity to choose from three different breakout sessions throughout the three days. Some topics were: State Society By-Laws, Promoting State Societies Online, Starting an Optical Program, How to Become a Presenter, Choosing a Convention Venue, Partnering With Your Partners, ANSI Standards, Branding and Mission Work. There is something for everyone, wherever they are in their optical journey.

Opticians give back. Monies were raised for The Vision of Hope Foundation, the giving arm of the OAA. Before the commencement of the conference, Vision of Hope participated in an eyecare mission trip in Charleston. A local optical shop closed for the day to allow for the mission work. Fifty-four people were served and 50 of them needed eyeglasses. One was an eleven-year-old girl who received her first pair of eyeglasses. Her prescription was -4.50. This child was astonished when she saw birds flying in the air for the first time! There was also a referral for glaucoma. Opticians serve; it’s what we do. If you have a heart for serving and/or you are able to contribute financially, visit the “giving back” tab on the OAA website.

Each year, OAA Leadership has their conference in a location where attendees can explore the surrounding area. Beautiful Charleston, SC, is a hospitable and historical city. The people of Charleston are friendly (singing in the street and on the elevator), and the dining options are tremendous and delicious.

If it weren’t for the generous Partners, this conference would not be able to run at its current level and capacity. Peruse the OAA website to view the list of Partners. These are the companies that believe in the optician.
Keep an eye out for next year's conference!

Opticians Association of America: www.oaa.org. Vision of Hope: www.oaavoh.org

January 2018
Continuing EducationFuture LeadersBy Maryann Santos, Program Director, Vision Care Technology, Goodwin College
At the college, our Vision Care Technology students are introduced to the “players” in our industry beginning with the 3 O’s (opticianry, optometry, and ophthalmology), frame, lens, and laboratory representatives, and state and national organizations.
The one organization that unites all opticians is the Opticians Association of America (OAA). Each year the OAA puts on a State Leadership Conference drawing opticians, optical students, apprentice opticians, state society members, and industry representatives and optical leaders from across the country.
Student and apprentice optician attendance has been on an upswing in recent years. The first year of “Leadership”, there were 5 or 6 students, the past three years, there were more than 30 student attendees! Many return bringing classmates and/or colleagues, and some have entered leadership positions themselves after the networking opportunities they developed at the conference. The student track of three day courses includes topics on how to run a board meeting, understanding the various officer positions and committees within the make-up of a state association, and how to become a leader at your college, state association and even on a national level.
Students can apply to the OAA for a grant to help defray the cost of attending. Many who are not awarded a national grant, are able to receive support from their state associations. The state associations also financially support apprentices from their states who indicate their commitment and desire to attend.
The students develop a strong bond and remain connected through an OAA Leadership student Facebook page and online chats. Before leaving the conference, they develop a "leadership action plan". Upon their return home, students work on implementing their plans and keep in contact with their leadership classmates and mentors throughout the year. In addition, the students elect a representative to serve on the OAA Board of Directors.
Upon their arrival to the conference, students and apprentices are assigned as members of the welcoming committee and immediately meet other students and leaders. When not in student leader development classes, they attend general sessions and breakout sessions with national leaders as guests of their home state associations. State associations have created positions for student leaders to be able to serve as directors to their own boards.The passion for our profession grows from this conference. Megan Tyler, 2nd year Goodwin College Vision Care Technology student said, “Leadership 2017 was an anticipated event for me as a first year Ophthalmic Science Student. With so much still unknown about the profession and how I would even fit in to the world of optics, I was skeptical about my take away from it. The three days that I was in Savannah, GA, felt like I was a part of something incredible, something that was going to change the way people see the world (literally). Going into the 2018 year, I cannot wait to return, because walking into a room of strangers and feeling like you can accomplish the world with the amazing work that we do and feeling like you are at home, will be a feeling I will never forget. A feeling I will return with to the OAA State Leadership Conference every year.”
This year’s OAA State Leadership Conference will be held February 8-10, 2018 in Charleston, SC. Let’s make this a record turn-out! For more information and registration, go to http://www.oaa.org/events/2018/02/08/2018_oaa_ldr_conference.