Guest speaker Dr Alicia Thompson with Specsavers' head of ophthalmic lenses and dispensing advancement Richard Couch (both centre, at back) and New Zealand workshop attendees

Specsavers’ recent dispensing workshop series featured paediatric facial anthropometry specialist Dr Alicia Thompson, who focused on developing the dispensing opticians’ (DOs’) frame-fitting skills for children.

Dr Thompson, director of education, research and professional development at the Association of British Dispensing Opticians, recently completed her doctoral thesis on ‘Paediatric facial anthropometry applied to spectacle frame design’, where she studied gender, ethnicity and Down syndrome paediatric facial parameters compared with adults. As part of her work, Dr Thompson also collaborated with a UK artist to create anatomically correct silicone children’s heads. Workshop participants used these to practice taking facial measurements on children of various ages and ethnicities and compare them with their own facial measurements to better understand the differences.

Taking facial measurements

Most spectacle frames for children are simply scaled-down versions of adult frames, said Specsavers dispensing advancement manager Rhian Evans. “The needs of a child differ significantly from those of an adult. The rate of growth, the way they see and interact with the world around them and the behaviours and techniques required to accurately dispense to them require careful consideration and a unique set of skills. Lenses for children must also be safe, cosmetically acceptable and positioned accurately to provide the desired effect of an effective, stable and comfortable optical correction.”

The four-hour workshops were delivered at six locations across Australia and New Zealand. “At every single location, the delegates were so engaged and very enthusiastic for both the subject and the professional development of their paediatric dispensing skills,” said Dr Thompson.