Important causes of visual impairment in children include amblyopia, strabismus and significant refractive error. Children with these conditions may benefit from early detection to allow treatment. Early detection and treatment is the key for successful management of children with visual disorders. If detected during childhood, treatment for amblyopia is effective and inexpensive. Although amblyopia is a treatable disorder if detected in childhood during the brain's "critical period" for vision development, every year the problem goes undetected and untreated in thousands of US children resulting in permanent visual disability for the individuals and hundreds of millions of dollars of annual economic loss to society. Furthermore, other less serious types of childhood vision problems, such as refractive errors, may contribute to academic underperformance if not identified during childhood. What ages, venues, and methodologies are best to perform vision screenings and when full eye examinations are indicated remains to be determined. , Nevertheless, nearly universal agreement exists among U.S. government agencies, health experts, educators, and charitable vision organizations that children should be screened for visual disorders, even if asymptomatic. To date, a combination of scientific, logistical, economic, and legislative shortcomings have prevented vision screening goals from being met for many U.S. children.