ACO Advanced Certificate in Children’s Vision 2026 (ACO-ACCV)

ACO Advanced Certificate in Children’s Vision 2026 (ACO-ACCV)

Available from: 6/02/2026 (AEDT)

Where to publish: https://profession.aco.org.au/advanced-certificate-in-children%E2%80%99s-vision

Provider: Australian College of Optometry

Contact: Shazia Tahseen, [E] cpd@aco.org.au, [P] 03 9349 7546

Activity Outline

The Advanced Certificate in Children’s Vision remains one of our most popular courses offered. In this comprehensive course you will learn up-to-date, evidence-based clinical practices in paediatric optometry. Upon completion you’ll have the knowledge to confidently analyse, diagnose, and manage your paediatric patients.

The course curriculum is designed to meet the current and emerging needs of paediatric patients, with a recently added module on Refractive Management that provides a comprehensive review of hyperopia management and emerging myopia therapies in children. With insights from topic experts including paediatric optometrists, ophthalmologists, orthoptists, and paediatric health experts, you will be positioned to apply your newly acquired knowledge and skills to enhance your professional practice and make a greater impact in your role.

This 6-month course is based online, allowing you to learn remotely and flexibly. As part of your learning journey, you will undertake a clinical placement with an expert in paediatric eye care to gain more confidence in providing eye care to children of all ages. You will be assessed with a mix of an online exam, written case reports, case studies and a critical appraisal task.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the course design, philosophy and points of contact, where and how to access course content and to understand the assessment tasks
• Discuss what constitutes an optometric paediatric examination, review the prevalence of refractive errors and associated visual disorders in children, overview the critical thinking process underlying refractive prescribing decision making and discuss the nuances with respect to communication within a paediatric consult
• Discuss the important factors in the control of accommodation and convergence, assess phorias, functional ranges and near points of accommodation and convergence, diagnose and plan the management of the common accommodation and convergence disorders in children
• Explain the origins and pathogenesis of amblyopia, describe the forms of amblyopia
• List neurological anomalies associated with amblyopia and identify children who are at risk of amblyopia
• Use appropriate techniques to comprehensively assess and diagnose amblyopia, understand the evidence base for conventional amblyopia treatments and how to tailor a management plan and understand the interdisciplinary nature of amblyopia management and the benefits of working with other healthcare professionals to maximise visual outcomes
• Discuss emerging amblyopia treatments and care approaches
• Understand appropriate optometric motor and sensory testing of children with exotropia, discuss management of exotropia with lenses and prisms and understand when ophthalmological referral is appropriate
• Understand appropriate optometric motor and sensory testing of children with esotropia, understand management of esotropia with lenses and prisms
• Understand when ophthalmological referral is appropriate
• Manage infants and children who have undergone strabismus surgery
• Understand the causes of incomitances in paediatric patients, understand implications of these incomitances, understand treatment objectives in relation to this
• Discuss clinical implications of sensory fusion and stereopsis and relationship to motor fusion
• Understand the history of and clinical importance of anomalous correspondence and eccentric fixation
• To understand the importance of early treatment and the impact of delay in treatment.
• Understand the key features of infantile onset strabismus and subtypes of IOS
• Discuss management of infantile onset strabismus – the rationale for treatment, timing and methods for treatment, surgical treatment options, and the benefits of treatment
• Understand when referral of strabismus to ophthalmology care is warranted and discuss considerations while co-managing strabismus with ophthalmology
• Discuss the changes in terminology and classification for nystagmus
• Describe the overview of the main types of nystagmus found in paediatric patients, and their systemic or ocular associations and understand eye movement recording in the context of nystagmus for diagnostic purposes
• Outline the increasing epidemiology and burden of myopia, discuss the significance of myopia, aetiology and the risk factors which contribute to myopia and the available myopia management options and evidence behind these
• To understand the current intervention options available for myopia management, choose an appropriate intervention for a child with myopia and evaluate and modify myopia intervention strategies in optometric practice
• To understand the changes in refractive error from early childhood to adulthood, discuss how hyperopia can impede on learning and prescribe appropriately for hyperopia
• Discuss the visual profile of Australian school children, discuss the importance of vision screening from a public health perspective and discuss the battery of tests involved in a paediatric screening program
• Discuss why The Convergence Insufficiency Treatment Trial is an excellent case study of an “ideal evidence base”
• Understand the neurological mechanisms of saccadic eye movements and the theory and evidence behind training saccadic eye movements. Discuss the principals behind designing an effective visual perceptual therapy program (VT) and understand the limits of vision therapy and know when to refer appropriately to other health professionals
• To understand that learning disabilities encompasses a group of conditions with multiple possible contributing factors
• To understand when referral is important and to whom the child should be referred
• Discuss the evidence base for treatments and that there are areas of controversy
• To understand concepts in child development and discuss underlying developmental causes for vision problems and how to evaluate various learning difficulties
• To understand that learning disabilities encompasses a group of conditions with multiple possible contributing factor, understand when referral is important and to whom the child should be referred and discuss the evidence base for treatments and that there are areas of controversy
• To develop an approach to the management of acute eye conditions in children
• Diagnose and manage common paediatric eye conditions presenting in optometric practice
• Diagnose ocular disease findings and management in the setting of paediatric systemic disease
• Discuss the prevalence, prognosis and management of congenital nasolacrimal duct obstruction
• Understand the features and management of congenital ptosis. Identify common lumps and bumps in the paediatric orbit and be aware of the red flags
• Critically appraisal in the context of journal article evaluation and work collaboratively in small groups to appraise and critically evaluate journal articles
• Observe in clinical practice with discussion of cases seen with supervisor

Max CPD hours awarded: 44.25

Session Information