FAQs: Pediatric Eye Care

Our pediatric ophthalmologists see children from birth until age 18 for all eye and vision issues, both medical and routine. If you would like to schedule your child an appointment with us, call 509-456-0107.

Our pediatric ophthalmologists do see adults, but only for eye muscle and double vision issues. They do not do full dilated eye exams or routine glasses checks on adults. Both Dr. Colburn and Dr. Weed have an adult eye muscle clinic once a week on average. If you or a loved one has eye muscle or double vision issues, call 509-456-0107 to schedule an appointment with us.

Yes, we see children from birth until age 18 for all eye and vision issues. Make sure we are able to accept your routine vision insurance by calling 509-456-0107. See also the answer below under "When should my child have a first eye exam?"

While we are happy to see your child for a routine eye exam, it may not be necessary. Most children do not need a routine eye exam during childhood. Reasons we would recommend to come for an eye exam include: 

  1. An eye or vision concern from a parent, doctor, or teacher
  2. A family history of a major eye or vision problem during childhood
  3. A failed vision screening

To schedule an appointment, call 509-456-0107.

We do full dilated eye exams for almost all new patients and you should plan on this. It is important to us that we provide your child with a comprehensive eye exam of the highest quality and dilation is required for this purpose, particularly for children. We also generally will dilate pupils for yearly eye exams thereafter. If follow-up eye exams are needed in between the yearly exams to closely follow your child's eye issues, these will usually not require dilation. Find out more about what to expect at your child's eye exam.

Yes, our pediatric ophthalmologists are well-trained in techniques to examine children of all ages, including newborns and toddlers children. We often employ toys and spinning lights to make the exam fun and keep the child's attention. In some circumstances, we may need to bring the baby back to the clinic for a repeat exam if we cannot get all the information we need at the first exam.

For pediatric patients, we accept almost all insurances, including all of the Washington state Medicaid programs, Idaho Medicaid, and VSP. Currently, we do not take EyeMed for routine vision coverage and we do not take Montana Medicaid. For assistance in checking on whether we take your insurance, call 509-456-0107.

The first eye exam will usually take 1.5 to 2 hours as there is paperwork to complete, and we will usually do a full dilated exam. Please plan accordingly.  We will make every effort to be efficient with your time while making sure that each and every patient gets the care they need.  Future follow-up visits, if needed, will usually be much shorter. Find out more about what to expect at your child's eye exam.

Typically we will only see two siblings per half-day of clinic.  More than two 2 siblings at a time makes our clinic flow more difficult and often will leave you and other patients waiting much longer. We do make occasional exceptions for established patient families, especially if they travel a great distance to see us.  Please be advised that any missed appointments for multiple siblings will likely result in only one sibling being scheduled per half-day of clinic going forward. To make appointments for your children, call 509-456-0107.

Missed appointments include either a no-show or a cancellation with less than 24 hours notice. Missed appointments make it difficult for us to provide your child with adequate care and follow-up and hinder our ability to serve other children who need care and could have been seen in that appointment. We will send a reminder notice to reschedule after missed appointments. 

After three 3 missed appointments, we may dismiss you from our practice, and you would need to seek follow-up care with another pediatric eye care provider. Of course, we will take into account illnesses, weather, and family emergencies, so please communicate with us in these situations as soon as you are able.

Both Dr. Colburn and Dr. Weed go to all of our clinic locations:  South (Downtown Spokane), North, and Spokane Valley.  We are pleased to have a location close to your home to better serve you and your children. To schedule an appointment with us, call 509-456-0107.

Both Dr. Colburn and Dr. Weed perform surgery at our surgery center and Sacred Heart Children's Hospital.  Small children and patients of all ages with health issues will have surgeries performed at Sacred Heart.  Older children and healthy adults usually have surgeries at the Spokane Eye Surgery Center.

Yes, we have options for evidence-based vision therapy for convergence insufficiency, including home and office options. Our pediatric ophthalmologists will give your child a full evaluation and will give you an opinion on whether there are any evidence-based reasons to consider vision therapy for your child.

Yes, there is a Spokane Optical shop conveniently located in each of clinics, offering quality eyewear and excellent customer service. You are not under any obligation to use our eye glasses shop in order to see us and will be provided with a glasses prescription that can be used anywhere that accepts your insurance.

There are many good reasons to limit screen time for kids, but at this point we do not have evidence of permanent eye damage risks. However, a lot of screen time could lead to eye dryness, irritation, and eye strain. 

Although we generally discourage staring directly into bright lights for any extended period of time, a brief look into a flashlight is unlikely to cause any permanent harm. However, it is important to know that lasers, including laser light displays or even laser pointers, can cause serious and permanent eye damage and vision loss. Lasers of any kind are not toys, and children should not be allowed to play with them.