Illinois College of Optometry Study Determines Birth Order Can Affect Reading Readiness and Academic Performance CHICAGO – Birth order is thought to affect everything from a child’s personality to IQ. Now researchers at the Illinois College of Optometry have concluded that birth order can also affect vision. In the first known study of its kind, researchers have concluded that first-born children tend to have better eye movement skills, which suggest a higher reading readiness prior to entering kindergarten. Drs. Christine L. Allison and Darrell G. Schlange, professors at the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago, presented the findings at the American Academy of Optometry’s annual meeting in Denver. “Our research demonstrates that first or only children enter kindergarten with better visual function,” said Dr. Allison. “This may result in early school success and earlier reading when compared to children later in the birth order,” said Dr. Schlange. The results suggest that coloring, drawing, putting together puzzles, solving mazes and working in activity books — activities first-born children are routinely encouraged to perform before entering kindergarten — may lead to better eye movement skills at that age. Parents can help their children develop the eye movement skills necessary for early reading by focusing on one-to-one activities, such as reading books to their children, and near eye/hand activities such as coloring, drawing, or playing with puzzles, the researchers said. The study also looked at changes in visual function and found that 30 percent of students had developed vision problems between kindergarten and third grade. Not one of these students had been diagnosed with visual problems during their pre-kindergarten exams. “This is a trend we expect to see more often,” said Dr. Allison. “Students today use technology, such as computers, hand-held devices and tablets, in the course of their school day, but we are finding that those devices put undue stress on visual systems while they are still developing.” Researchers are careful to point out that increased screen time is only one variable at work; others include changes to kindergarten curriculum, less time for recess and recreation, and increased demands on students’ visual attention. Nevertheless, they recommend monitoring children’s use of backlit screens, even for educational purposes, to give kids’ visual systems a better chance to develop appropriately. The findings are part of a longitudinal study that followed a small population of students with similar socioeconomic backgrounds from kindergarten to third grade. Students at a Chicago parochial school were given comprehensive eye examinations including vision tests and full ocular health evaluations the summer before they entered kindergarten. A subset of the same group was examined again the summer prior to entering third grade. “We believe more research is needed to further examine the rapid changes in our children’s visual functions,” said Dr. Schlange. “Ours was a small sample size but we saw big changes.” Changes in visual function can have an effect on academic performance. “Reading in third grade historically moves away from the ‘learning to read’ model and becomes more focused on ‘reading to learn,’ which is why it is so important to diagnose any new or worsening vision problems before they cause academic difficulties,” said Dr. Allison. Based on their research, the doctors advise parents take their children for yearly eye exams beginning in kindergarten. “Very often, kids don’t know they can’t see properly, and they won’t tell their parents they have trouble seeing,” said Dr. Schlange. “That’s why it is important that children return for yearly follow-up exams as they get older and they experience increased visual demand from activities in and out of school.”

The following students earned a spot on the dean’s list for the fall quarter of the 2014-15 school year by achieving a quarterly GPA of 3.5 or better and earning no grade below a B or H (honors) in all patient care courses: First Year Bedi, Manveen Brachmanski, Mark Brady, Brittney Brar, Ekjot Chan, Jessica Chee, Megan Dunphy, Erin Ellerkamp, Aleice Fabisch, Megan Fraser, Louchlyn Ghotra, Jasmine Goldberg, Jill Gorz, Michael Groth, Benjamin Harris, Taylor Haugen, Trey Heisler, Melissa Henriksen, Mark Hohs, Kathryn Jansen, Samantha Kennedy, Jenna Kiani, Binesh Lau, Jenny Lazzarin, Bryan Li, Lu Li, Stephanie Literski, Alexandra Littel, Matthew Mak, Suet Mei Miller, Shanna Nadarajah, Vakishan Nagendran, Kiruthika Naidu, Jason Nisar, Sara Oetomo, Elaine Pacheco, Sarah Patel, Manali Patel, Neil Phan, David Poznic, Benjamin Pudjowargono, Andrew Pym, Christina Raies, Daniel Roma, Maria Sahota, Sheran Sandhu, Sandeep Saras, Hussam Sathchakham, Jessica Sawyer, Talitha Sherdil, Raihana Sherman, Zachary Smith, Mitchell Takahashi, Kirie Trinh, Cindy Uhlenhopp, Alex Van Houten, Kevin Vang, Ka Zoua Vasilova, Liliya Vezinaw, Chloe Walburg, Zachary Weidner, Megan Williamson, Martin Wong, Alicia Wong, Michael Wright, Justin Yoon, Lauren Zabaneh, Aida Zeeben, Brandon Second Year Ahrar, Shari Alexopoulos, Denise Arneson, Gretchen Bandstra, Alaina Bartek, Ann Berens, Ashley Blavat, Jamie Bouras, George Brandt, Alexandra Brenart, Robert Burton, Margaret Busaileh, Hanan Chahine, Ryan Chan, Trina Corbin, Stephanie Cowling, Jessica Daraban, Daniel Dennis, Erica Do, Leha El-Khazendar, Sarah Enns, Kelly Esposito, Thomas Fervaha, Manraj Frantz, Bryan Fulton, Tyler Giraldo, Tatiana Goretsky, Rachel Gorski, Emily Haider, Amina Harris, Marni Hasler, Rachel Heaslip, Allison Heer, Sonia Hemphill, Ashley Hok, Nicole Hutchins, Emily Ibrahim, Nagwa Jacobs, Matthew Jhamb, Sameera Kaur, Harjot Khatoon, Sabah Kim, Bosung Klein, Steven Klover, Kori Konwinski, Nicholas Kothari, Payal Kroona, Katie Lafreniere, Julie Lau, Tiffany Low, Michelle Lydon, Jennifer Ma, Gabrielle Meyer, Megan Meyer, Robert Moghadam, Christina Nguyen, Melissa Pfeiffer, Kevin Phung, Y Nhu Pietruszka, Matthew Piper, Alexandra Reeves, Cassie Reynolds, Renae Rosado, Ariel Rosenthal, Bethany Sarazen, Sean Sasitharan, Mathuraa Schaeffer, David Seibert, Spencer Shabo, Eva Simon, Nicole Singh, Bobby Soder, Katelyn Tai, Aaron Thurmes, Amanda Vehab, Senija Velasco, Monique Wang, Helen Waters, Anna Wilgenbusch, Casey Williams, Jenna Wohlers, Megan Woodward, Melissa Yeung, Brian Yoo, Hye Seon Zimmerman, Ashley Third Year Ahmed, Umema Anderson, Elisabeth Boettcher, Brittany Caudill, Eryn Chan, Adrienne Chawla, Harsh Crampton, Nicole Cullen, Stephanie Dean, Emily Dong, Jonathan Encarnacao, Cayley Fisher, Claire Gagnon, Erica Haghani, Sara Hake, Amanda Hammang, Laurel Jaros, Joelle Jawdi, Ammar Kordon, Victoria Kulick, Jessica Kusek, William LaLiberte, Stephanie McHugh, Caitlyn McLaughlin, Mallory Minnix, Julie Paek, Helen Panchal, Naiya Patel, Jaymeni Petkov, Zory Pietrzakowski, Ryan Powell, Kimberly Pukhovich, Irina Quan, Steven Roghair, Christopher Rosenberg, Jamie Solomon, Stratton Steinberg, Olivia Thomas, Jacie Tu, Tiffany Varney, Kelly Vuong, Joanna Wilczek, Margaret Winans, Alicia Wozny, Natalie Fourth Year Allenstein, Curran Andrews, Kristie Badyal, Kevin Bartolini, Alyssa Berger, Ryan Bohn, Briana Bromann, Gretchen Brown, Janelle Chaudry, Mariam Cheema, Mandeep Cordell, Taia Dave, Forum Delano, Richard Drossman, Amy Green, Katherine Hammond, Paul He, Pearl Hemann, Susan Holland, Zachary Holmberg, Kathrine Howell, Aundrea Hui, Ian Karim, Fatima Katsikos, Ashley Kazmer, Krista Kiekhafer, Logan Koutnik, Edward Kruthoff, Christopher Lam, Verissa Larson, Christian Le, Vy Lemburg, Emily Lewis, Jessica Luu, Amy Ma, Benxiao Masood, Sara Menos, Jonathan Minhas, Harpreet Moen, Garrett Morales, Allison Omidghaemi, Sepideh Ortiz, Isaac Patel, Ridhi Patel, Shreya Rehal, Manpreet Robbins, Agnieszka Rogers, Jenna Ryba, Michelle Samuels, Michael Satchithanantham, Nir Sawicki, Lea Shahi, Avjit Shukla, Ravi Siblani, Leila Smith, Preston Sorenson, Emily Spalding, Melissa Sullivan, Meghan Swenson, Jami Tai, Jennifer Tang, Joanne Tholen, Ashley Toader, Maria Tobyne, Anne Trivedi, Sonal Tylka, Barbara Uppal, Jasandeep Vongluekiat, Irene Walsh, Elizabeth Walsh, Meghan Weinfurter, Cassandra Williams, Jacqueline Wong, Lisa Wu, Patrick Zielinski, Patricia

The following students earned a spot on the dean’s list for the summer quarter of the 2013-14 school year by achieving a quarterly GPA of 3.5 or better and earning no grade below a B or H (honors) in all patient care courses: Third Year Anderson, Elisabeth Boettcher, Brittany Boyle, Brad Chan, Adrienne Chawla, Harsh Crampton, Nicole Cullen, Stephanie Encarnacao, Cayley Fiedler, Jacie Fisher, Claire Fridman, Alla Gagnon, Erica Gami, Yesha Guardiola, Bianca Haghani, Sara Hake, Amanda Han, Mengli Hanneman, Angela Ibrahim, Fatima Jaros, Joelle Jawdi, Ammar Keding, Amy Khan, Majid Kusek, William LaLiberte, Stephanie Lemke, Jenna Locy-Fowler, Chelsea McHugh, Caitlyn McLaughlin, Mallory Minnix, Julie Paek, Helen Patel, Eva Petkov, Zory Pukhovich, Irina Quan, Steven Roghair, Christopher Rosenberg, Jamie Sadler, Anna Sayed, Saher Scanlon, Brianne Solomon, Stratton Steinberg, Olivia Tam, Sally Varney, Kelly Vizza, Elizabeth Vuong, Joanna Wilczek, Margaret Wozny, Natalie Yi, Eunice Fourth Year Allenstein, Curran Andrews, Kristie Bartolini, Alyssa Batalo, Dillon Berkowitz, Rachel Blood-White, Christi Bohn, Briana Boudreau, Amanda Broek, John Bugajski, Christopher Burtch, Robert Chan, Jaime Chatha, Manmeet Cheema, Mandeep Choi, Joann Choi, Young Choy, Alexander Dave, Forum Doyle, Brian Drossman, Amy Du, Jessica Finch, Ashley Frizzle, Kinzy Hammond, Paul He, Pearl Hemann, Susan Holcomb, Jennifer Holland, Zachary Holmberg, Kathrine Hueske, Megan Hui, Ian Jass, Ryan Johnson, Tyah Kampschneider, Jenna Katsikos, Ashley Kazmer, Krista Kitzmann, Eric Koutnik, Edward Kruthoff, Christopher Kwan, Stephanie Le, Vy Lewis, Jessica Madriaga, Jayson Marquez, Mark Matz, Milana Menos, Jonathan Metz, Caitlin Morales, Allison Nangia, Ankit Nguyen, Xuan Nguyen Omidghaemi, Sepideh Ovitsky, Erwin Palmer, Brett-Ashley Patel, Dixit Patel, Shreya Peachey, Tayler Polster, Samantha Rai, Harminder Rice, Samantha Ritter, Andrew Robbins, Agnieszka Rogers, Jenna Russell, Michael Ryba, Michelle Satchithanantham, Nir Schad, Jason Schaefer, Angella Servi, Michael Sorenson, Emily Spalding, Melissa Spoula, Melissa Swenson, Jami Tailor, Krupa Tholen, Ashley Toader, Maria Trivedi, Sonal Tsiganenko, Yana Tylka, Barbara Walsh, Elizabeth Walsh, Meghan Weinfurter, Cassandra Wong, Lisa Zielinski, Patricia

Open to all, the ICO Wellness Fair will be held on September 24, 11:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., and give us tips and ideas on how to live a safe and healthy lifestyle. The one-day event will be in the gym and have healthy snacks, free flu shots, raffle prizes and more. There will also be several organizations including Divvy Bikes, Chicago Public Library, American Heart Association, Illinois Organ Donor Association, Access Health, Fitness Center and Michigan Avenue Immediate Care.  Please RSVP for the ICO Wellness Fair by September 23. Don’t miss it!

The 2014-2015 season influenza  vaccination will be offered without charge to all ICO students, faculty and staff on September 24th, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., in the gym.  This will take place in conjunction with the ICO Wellness Fair. This event is a ‘walk – up’ – no appointments necessary.  We expect student traffic to be higher between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. due to lecture and lab schedules.  If you have the opportunity to visit outside these hours, you may experience little or no wait time. For questions, faculty and staff can contact Michael Butz and students can contact Beth Karmis.  If you have questions about the vaccine, take a look at the CDC’s flu vaccine information sheet.

Jill Maher from Allergan will be joining ICO Private Practice Club on Wednesday, September 24 at 5 p.m. in LC room 1201. She will talk about the process of starting a career in optometry, market dynamics and trends specific to optometry. Dinner will be provided. This event will be free for Private Practice Club members and $5 for non-members. Please RSVP for this special event by Monday, September 22 at noon. If you haven’t signed up for PPC, you will have the chance to do so at the event. Clinic attire required. This event will earn you 1 raffle ticket! Private Practice Club will be having a year end raffle as an incentive for members to attend events that they have signed up for. Each event that a member signs up for and attends will earn them a raffle ticket. If a member signs up for an event and doesn’t attend TWICE they will no longer be eligible to win the raffle. PPC will distribute the tickets at the end of the school year.

The Student Association and Community Service Organization are hosting a blood drive today (Monday, September 15) in the gym until 1:00 p.m. Walk-ins are more than welcome!

The Illinois College of Optometry is proud to announce the winners of the 2014 Alumni Association Awards. Ten optometrists and one corporation will be honored for professional achievement, leadership in education and excellence in philanthropy, on Saturday, September 6 at the InterContinental Chicago. The 2014 Alumni Association award recipients are: Golden Gavel Awards Charles W. Harrill, OD ’74, Dipl. ABO Pamela A. Lowe, OD ’88, FAAO, Dipl. ABO Dominick M. Maino, OD ’78, MEd, FAAO, FCOVD-A Jeffrey R. Varanelli, OD ’98, FAAO, Dipl. ABO, ABCMO Alumnus of the Year Award Donald J. Bush, OD ’79 (posthumously) Young Alumnus of the Year Award Jennifer S. Harthan, OD ’06, FAAO Distinguished Friend Award Essilor of America, Inc. Professional Achievement Award Peter A. Russo, OD ’87, FAAO Excellence in Education Award Yi Pang, OD, PhD, FAAO Humanitarian Award Ruth S. McAndrews, OD ’79, FVI Lifetime Service Award C. Clayton Powell, Sr., OD ’52, MPH, DOS Congratulations to the 2014 Alumni Association Award winners. For more information about the awards and how to nominate a deserving individual, call 312.949.7080 or e-mail alumni@ico.edu.

ICO’s Homecoming is September 5-7.  Join your classmates and colleagues for a weekend full of educational, networking and social events for all to enjoy. The registration deadline is Friday, August 29, so sign-up online today and guarantee your seat.

One of ICO’s annual traditions for the incoming class is the President’s Welcome/White Coat Ceremony, a special event when students are presented with a white clinic coat, signifying the transition into professional education. This year’s event is Saturday, August 23rd at 1:30 p.m., in the Lecture Center. At 11:00 a.m. in the LC there will be a brief orientation for parents.

Pilates will be held in the Gym on Monday evenings beginning September 8 from 6:45-7:45 p.m. ZUMBA will be held on Tuesdays beginning August 26 from 12:15-1:15 p.m. , and replace the Abs & Arms and Waist Down classes that day. Also, please sign up for Fall into Fitness, which begins Monday August 25. Email Sarah Edgeworth with any questions.

ICOlympics, a Student Association-hosted event, will take place on the lot next to the Residential Complex on Saturday, Aug. 16. Events include limbo, water balloon toss, volleyball, dodgeball, relay race, tug-of-war, and hot dog and watermelon eating contests. A sign-up sheet is posted on the SA bulletin board outside the mailroom in the President’s Lounge. Even if you don’t compete, attendees will still receive free food, drinks and an ICOlympics T-shirt. Faculty and staff are also welcome to swing by and watch. Festivities will begin at 10:30 a.m., when students can start picking up their T-shirts. Food and drinks will be available at 11, and the competition will start at noon and go until 4 p.m. Use #icolympics if you plan to tweet or Instagram the event!