The optometrist has a central role in the clinical management of refractive error in children and in the application of future modalities that may modify the development of ametropia. The following proposal, therefore, presents a programme of work that is both relevant to the optometrist and novel in hyperopia research. By combining assessment of ocular biometry, monitoring of normal growth rates, an intervention study using bifocal contact lenses in children will be the first to provide new data on whether human eyes can be stimulated to grow in response to a specific type of defocus. Consequently the research will offer a new perspective on the management of hyperopia and anisohyperopia. The findings will offer a potential new approach towards amblyopia treatment in children and insight into a strategy for optimal correction to encourage axial growth in hyperopia.