UC Berkeley Optometry Special Visual Assessment Clinic
Berkeley Optometry Eye Care
Internationally recognized for its excellence in patient care as well as its leadership in vision research, the University of California Berkeley School of Optometry provides comprehensive eye care to members of the Berkeley campus and the local community. More than 80,000 patients visit us each year.
What We Do
Our faculty and clinicians provide a full range of services from primary eye care to the diagnosis and management of vision problems caused by diseases such as glaucoma, cataracts, and diabetes. We offer a thorough assessment of visual and neurological systems. If further testing or treatment is needed, our patients can visit on-site specialty clinics, such as Low Vision, Ocular Disease, Binocular Vision, Sports Vision, Infant and Children’s vision, and Refractive Surgery.
Special Visual Assessment
If you or someone you know is in need of eye care and has special needs, such as a congenitally impaired child, this clinic can provide you with the utmost care and service.
About Us
The Special Visual Assessment Clinic (or SVAC clinic) specializes in treating patients with special needs. Using equipment developed at UC Berkeley to specifically treat those with special needs, our team optometrists can thoroughly evaluate eye health and determine visual needs.
Our Services
Visual assessments tailored to each individual
This clinic offers a wide range of eye care services and provides intensive assessment of these patients’ visual abilities. The quality of their lives are often improved with better corrected vision and understanding of their visual potential.
Our clinic serves infants, children, and adults with multiple disabilities including cognitive, motor, and hearing impairments that accompany their visual impairment or blindness. Referrals to the SVAC clinic result from the vision impairment specialists with Blind Babies Foundation, the California School for the Blind, Regional Centers, school districts, residential facilities, pediatricians, optometrists, and by word of mouth from parents of the children SVAC clinic serves.
Did You Know?
Special Needs that Affect Vision Include:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Preterm Birth or Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
- Down Syndrome
- Cerebral Palsy
- Other complex congenital syndromes
The Herbert Wertheim Centers of Excellence for Eyecare and Vision Health is comprised of several clinics, both on campus and in San Francisco.
For comprehensive eye exams, we take the following insurance:
EyeMed
Medical Eye Services (MES)
MarchVision
Medi-Cal
Vision Service Plan (VSP)
Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP)