When glasses, contact lenses, surgery or medication don’t improve your vision, you have what eye doctors call low vision. Here at the Vision Rehabilitation Clinic at OHSU Casey Eye Institute, we help people with low vision improve their quality of life. Our specialists performs comprehensive low vision evaluations and provides counseling on how best to adapt to visual problems. We work with patients to meet their individual needs, whether it’s functioning better in daily activities at home, at school or on the job.

Our goal is to help each person remain independent as well as to provide ongoing support. We do this by recommending and dispensing visual aids, referring to community resources, and providing support services to patients and family members.

Contact us

Call 503-494-3098 for appointments or more information.
3303 SW Bond Ave, 11th Floor
Portland, OR 97239
Map and directions

What is low vision?

Low vision means you have difficulty seeing. For some people it’s difficulty seeing at night . For others, it’s reading. What these people have in common is that normal solutions like glasses or contacts don’t improve the situation. Common causes are macular degeneration, glaucoma, diabetes or cataracts. Low vision can occur at any age but is most common in older adults.

How we can help

You can get your life back! Our team of low vision specialists and occupational therapist help you and your loved ones navigate improvements in technology and tools to help you see better. We can provide you with special seeing devices like miniature telescopes, video reading systems, special eyeglasses and even binoculars that you wear like glasses. We can also give you advice on how to make simple, no cost adjustments in your personal life to improve your vision and maintain your quality of life.

What to expect

An initial evaluation will take about one hour. During this time, we take a detailed assessment of your needs. Next, we measure your vision using your current glasses and other low vision aids. The physician then proceeds with a trial of optical devices to find those that work best for you. Please bring with you any magnifiers or glasses you now use.

Optical devices

We use a complete supply of low vision aids including glasses, magnifiers, telescopes, video devices and computer/video devices in the examination as indicated by your particular needs. You can purchase optical prescriptions and low vision magnifiers here.

Ongoing support

If necessary, follow-up appointments are available, allowing you to practice using devices or meet your other vision rehabilitation needs. In addition, we offer a Low Vision Support Group at Casey and can refer you to other community resources.