The
Royal Victorian Eye & Ear Hospital
A member of the Inner & Eastern Health Care Network
Meeting the needs of Victorians
for over 130 years
EDUCATIONAL VISION ASSESSMENT CLINIC 2003
The
Royal Victorian Eye & Ear Hospital
A member of the Inner & Eastern Health Care Network
Meeting the needs of Victorians
for over 130 years
EDUCATIONAL VISION ASSESSMENT CLINIC 2003
Students who are vision impaired may receive extra teaching support from the Visiting Teacher Service (VTS), Department of Education and Training.
The purpose of the Educational Vision Assessment Clinic (EVAC) is to determine the eligibility of the student for the VTS and to provide visiting teachers with information about the vision impairment.
Attendance at the clinic does not replace treatment by the student's oculist.
Each student is assessed by a multi-disciplinary team of professionals which include an ophthalmologist with paediatric expertise, an education officer and an educational psychologist.
A student is eligible for the VTS if s/he has sufficiently low vision to be regarded as partially sighted
(j.e. distance vision with glasses, if needed, is worse than 6/18 ( or its equivalent) and/or a visual field reduction to less than 20°) or is legally blind.
Following confirmation of vision impairment at the EVAC, the education officer will visit the student's school and develop an educational program to meet the student's needs.
A report with the assessment findings will be sent to the referring oculist or other referring source.
Most students attend the clinic only once, but sometimes review appointments are necessary. For example, vision may have improved to the point where the VTS is no longer required. Conversely, if deterioration has occurred, further assessment may be needed to ensure educational programming is appropriate.
NB: All students must have seen an ophthalmologist
within the past six months prior to being referred to the
EVAC.