A History of Orthoptics in the United States, Part I: “If You Build It, They Will Come”

Abstract

The year 2015 marks the 75th anniversary of the American Association of Certified Orthoptists (AACO), the second oldest orthoptic professional organization in the world. Since its inception, October 7, 1940, approximately 90% of all certified orthoptists (C.O.) have consistently maintained membership in their professional society. Approximately 80% of AACO members attend AACO-sponsored scientific meetings at least once annually. And 17–20% of members are actively involved in AACO leadership, management, and activities. Eye care has changed dramatically over the last 75 years, and orthoptics has successfully adapted to survive due to the fortitude and resilience of its practitioners. The AACO has weathered opposition from much more powerful competitors, ever-increasing health care regulation, and an evolution in the standard management of strabismus, only to emerge transformed and even more durable. One constant remains: the qualities that inspired thirty-three individuals to create a profession and a society dedicated to the care of patients with strabismus and disorders of binocular vision, and the education of parents, orthoptists, and ophthalmologists exist in every orthoptist today. These qualities are determination, creativity, dedication, and passion.