Why Not Talk About Just Look Retinoscopy?
A number of my optometry friends have asked why I am talking so much about development and when will I start talking about Just Look Retinoscopy. My response is: I HAVE been talking about Just Look Retinoscopy. As a developing baby goes through ages and stages of development, they build patterns of exploration and attention. This becomes a continuum as they explore, find a curiosity, and attend to that curiosity until satisfied. In doing so, these patterns become default actions which may may the action easier or make it more difficult. With Just Look Retinoscopy, we can determine the patterns that have been established, the manner in which they are used, and the suitability for use in their cultural environment. This is a much better use of a retinoscope than for singular refractive testing.
In a Scientific American article entitled Infant Vision, Arnold Gesell wrote: “In the Yale research it was found that the returning light in the young retina varied significantly in relation to identifiable moments of the visual act. The variations were manifested in the motion, the direction, the speed, the brightness and sometimes the color of the retinal reflex. Characteristically an increase of brightness in the reflex occurs at the moment when the infant identifies an object of interest.”1
There is much to be learned as an infant begins to explore just as much as they learn to attend. Just Look Retinoscopy becomes an observation of the processes of development that have led to this interaction between attention and exploration. Thus, understanding the processes of development leads to a better understanding of Just Look Retinoscopy AND making observations through Just Look Retinoscopy leads to a better understanding of this child’s development. If we understand that vision must emerge as the key influencer of action toward engagement, then observing a child as they enter a task, engage in the task, and exit the task is important to know – much more than singular refraction.
A recent post from Wise and Wealthy suggested that “Your brain has two gears – a focus gear and a wandering gear.”2 He suggests that the wandering mind is important and the secret is intentional wandering. We place so much emphasis on the “focus” part and we often downplay the importance of the “wandering” part as if that is a distraction. We must encourage developing babies to explore to engage and satisfy their curiosities AND to find new curiosities. This is the stage where the actions and patterns we see at school age begin.
I use Just Look Retinoscopy as a means of observing a patient’s attention and exploration as they engage in a task. Just Look Retinoscopy is NOT a test of refractive conditions although such observations can be made during the process. Just Look Retinoscopy IS an observation of WHERE the child is looking, HOW they got to that point of engagement, HOW they engage (stability and sustainability), and WHAT happens when they decide to move on to the next engagement.
Gesell continues: “At every stage of growth during infancy, childhood and youth the visual mechanism undergoes changes which serve to reorient the ever-transforming individual. For him, the space-world is not a fixed and static absolute. It is a plastic domain which he manipulates in terms of the growing powers of his total behavior equipment.”3
Each culture sets priorities and expectations for the way an individual engages in a task, a cultural expectation if you will. Through Just Look Retinoscopy, we can observe the child as they enter, engage, and exit a task to determine if they have the ability to meet the cultural expectation. A child’s unique patterns of action in development will be revealed in Just Look Retinoscopy. If the child is slower to move to the attention phase of the action, if they are unstable and find sustaining difficult during the engagement, and continue attempts toward engagement when the expectation has moved on, such actions will be revealed in Just Look Retinoscopy. But this only happens under two conditions: 1. We understand that vision is the key influencer in actions toward engagement, and 2. We understand Just Look Retinoscopy as a means of observing these actions and determining if they are suitable to meet the cultural expectations
I encourage you to use your observations in Just Look Retinoscopy to ensure that vision is a key influencer in development, in fact the initiator, instigator and influencer of all actions toward engagement.
Suggested readings
Infant Vision; Arnold Gesell, Scientific American February 1950
The wandering mind: A gift we squander; Darius Foroux, Wise and Wealthy Newsletter, March 16, 2026
Infant Vision; Arnold Gesell, Scientific American February 1950