April 15, 2025
By Syafiq Kusni
Photo courtesy of Dr. Kusni
Over the course of the last decade, my optometry training has taken me from Singapore to Australia. Regardless of where I’ve landed, one thing that’s been consistent from day one is my passion for helping myopic patients.
Being a high myope, I understand what it’s like to wear glasses since I was 10 years old. When I first started wearing glasses, there weren’t any options to slow that progression. Back then, you just got stronger glasses every year. As an optometrist with the proper tools at my disposal, it makes me want to give everything I can to my myopic patients.
Myopia Education Started in School
My introduction to myopia management started when I was in optometry school in Australia. At the time, orthokeratology, soft multifocal contact lenses and low-dose atropine were available to optometrists for myopia management, and as students, we learned the latest techniques and were introduced to the clinical research. However, at the time, the research certainly wasn’t coming out at the speed it is today. We didn’t have the information we have today about spectacles or even soft lenses, or emerging treatments like low-level red-light therapy.
When I started practicing, I dove headfirst into everything myopia management had to offer. I found every possible online journal and publication about myopia and read up on it as much as I could. I’m one of those myopia optometrists who wants to read every article as it comes out. The more I practice, that’s something that has been really helpful for me in patient care. I’m able to read about everything – from managing different levels of myopia or special cases to handling the business side of things.
The Impact of Myopia Control Spectacles
As an Australian myopia management practitioner, we have access to several treatment modalities – low-dose atropine, OrthoK, soft multifocal contact lenses, and myopia control spectacles. While a large portion of my patients gravitate to OrthoK, it’s important to me to offer them everything we have.
The introduction of myopia control spectacles was a game changer for my daily practice. One of the biggest things we’ve noticed is how much easier it is to get parents on board with myopia management. On the one hand, myopia control spectacles come in at a lower price point, which helps the barrier to entry for many families. It’s also much easier to explain the concept of glasses to parents and have them understand right out of the gate. When you tell parents that there’s a glasses option for their child, they are very keen on it. They expect that when they come in their child is going to need glasses or get a new pair of glasses. Having this option makes kids and parents more comfortable to get started with myopia management.
From a technical standpoint, I’ve noticed that myopia control glasses have to be properly fit on the child. If the frames don’t sit on the face the right way, the child isn’t getting that myopia control benefit. For many kids, it’s common for the glasses to slip down their face. I’ve made it a point to regularly review my patients at least every six months, if not earlier, to ensure that the glasses are doing exactly what we want them to do.
Myopia Is an Eye Health Issue
Photo courtesy of Dr. Kusni
Most of the parents that come into our practice have never heard about myopia management. However, I can’t blame them because of how new the specialty is. These treatments weren’t presented to us when we were kids, and I know my parents wouldn’t have been educated about them. Because of this, I find that most parents are initially in the skepticism stage. It’s our job to try to explain to them what we’re trying to do. Unfortunately, most parents still see myopia as a prescription-only issue and not an eye health issue.
That’s where I try to change the conversation. I explain to parents that myopia is a prescription issue that is affecting their child’s vision, but it’s also an eye health issue. If the child’s eyes get worse over time, they can develop several eye conditions as they get older. It’s not just about vision. This can be hard to convey to parents because these risks aren’t immediate. Some parents understand right away, and others take more time to really let it sink in. At the end of the day, we know as optometrists why we are doing this. It is our duty of care to educate our patients, so they know the importance of starting myopia management treatment as early as possible.
Spreading Myopia Awareness
In looking at the future of myopia management, my hope is that the space continues to grow each year. We know that with the myopia epidemic, 50% of the world is predicted to by myopic by 2050. We all have heard that statistic countless times. That number is just going to keep growing. My goal as an optometrist is to help the population in general so that maybe we can bring that statistic down – even if it’s just to 49% or 48%. If we as optometrists can really impact that statistic and make it lower than it’s projected to be, that would be life-changing for so many of our patients.
As optometrists, we have to utilize the tools we have to the best of our ability. We can’t be afraid of sounding like broken records when we talk to our patients. We have to start these conversations as early as possible. As soon as I see a patient getting to a slight level of myopia, or if they have myopic parents, I start educating them about it. The earlier we start, the better the outcomes will be.
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Syafiq Kusni, MOptom, is a Perth-based optometrist and the founder of Myopia Care Clinic, where he helps children slow the progression of short-sightedness and supports adults seeking glasses-free solutions through orthokeratology lenses. A high myope himself, Syafiq understands the journey firsthand, which fuels his passion for delivering personalized, effective care. He also mentors young optometrists, guiding them to build confidence in managing myopia with clarity and compassion. Outside the clinic, he enjoys running and exploring cafés and great food spots around Perth with his wife.
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