Services for Special Needs Populations
The Special Populations/Pediatric Visual Impairment Service provides the most up-to-date and comprehensive eye care for our patients who require services beyond standard primary eye care. This includes, but is not limited to, patients with Down Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Autism, hearing impairment and visual impairment.
This service is staffed by Dr. Catherine Heyman, a Diplomate in Pediatrics in the American Academy of Optometry and a Fellow of the College of Optometrists in Visual Development, who is specially trained in the care of children with special needs. Through her fifteen years of experience working with this population, she has gained an understanding of the visual, educational, and developmental needs of children with low incidence disabilities. Dr. Heyman works closely with the pediatric residents during these evaluations. The visual system can be evaluated using objective techniques that are less or not at all dependent on the child’s ability to respond. Using this data, spectacles or low vision devices can be prescribed that meet the individual visual needs of each child, to augment daily living and allow the child with visual or developmental impairment to function better in the classroom setting.
Consultation services can be provided to other professionals working with these children, including comprehensive vision reports that provide individualized classroom recommendations necessary to maximize the visual functioning of each child. The faculty or residents may also be available to attend IEP/IFSP meetings at the parent’s request. The Special Populations/Pediatric Visual Impairment Service offers caring and comprehensive visual services for children with special needs.
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