Office Safety & Scheduling Procedures Update

IMPORTANT: Your safety and health is our highest priority. Our staff members are working diligently to maintain a safe environment for all our patients who are receiving care at our office:

  1. If you have a sight or life-threatening emergency, please call 911 or contact your nearest Emergency Room.
  2. Due to the large number of patients returning to our office since the pandemic, we had to update our scheduling procedures so that we can ensure the safety of all our patients and staff. Typically, we are able to reply to most inquiries within about 1-2 business days.
  3. If you are new to our office, to streamline the scheduling process, please kindly email us at odtong@bxbsecure.com with the patient’s name, age, who referred you, and a 1-2 sentence description of your main concerns. All services are by appointment only. 
  4. If you have been to our office before, please email us at odtong@bxbsecure.com, text us at (626) 565-3534, or leave a voice message at (626) 578-9685 if you have any questions. Typically, we are able to reply to most inquiries within about 1-2 business days.
  5. PRECAUTIONS REGARDING COVID-19 AND OTHER ILLNESSES:
    1. COVID-19 PRECAUTIONS: If within the past 5-7 days you have experienced any symptoms (other than the COVID vaccine reactions), been in close contact with anyone with COVID, please inform our staff immediately.  
    2. Per the City of Pasadena Health Department, all patients and visitors are strongly recommended to wear face masks during the visit. Please contact our office prior to your appointment should you have any questions.  As a general safety precaution, all patients & staff members will receive a quick temperature screening upon entry.
    3. Download a PDF with further details of our Safety and Health Protocols.
  6. If you need any other assistance, please leave a voice message at (626) 578-9685 with your name and phone number so that one of our team members can return your call.

In-Depth Vision Evaluation

In-Depth Vision Evaluation

We Go Beyond 20/20!

Best Eye Exam

Good vision happens in a person’s brain/mind/body, not just in a set of eyeballs! Doctor Tong will examine and test the entire visual system of the whole person in order to determine the very best prescription and/or the most holistic vision care solution.

Our Eye Exam Tests Your Total Vision and Other Health Factors

Our eye exam will evaluate your total visual function as well as your eye health. Did you know that your eye health can tell us a lot about your overall health? Just one example: eye doctors can learn about a person’s overall cardiovascular health by examining the retina. So, while poets say that the eyes are the windows to the soul, optometrists say that the eyes are the windows to the brain and the body.

Testing for More than 20/20 Eyesight

20/20 just means that the person can clearly see a certain letter on the standard eye chart (equivalent to what a person with normal vision should be able to see at 20 feet).  There’s so much more to healthy vision than 20/20!

Our comprehensive vision exam goes beyond 20/20 to evaluate many important visual skills, such as:

  • Visual Acuity at Near (Clear Vision)
    Is vision clear and single at close distances? Clear sight at short distances is critical to reading, writing, close work, computer use, etc.

  • Eye Focusing Skills
    Do the eyes maintain clear vision at varying distances? Rapid, automatic eye focus adjustment is critical to learning, reading, writing, sports, etc. Deficiencies can cause visual fatigue, reduced reading comprehension, and/or avoidance of close work or other activities.

  • Eye Tracking and Eye Movement Skills
    Do the two eyes aim, move, and work as a coordinated team? Weaknesses in eye movement and eye tracking skills can cause numerous difficulties, including reading avoidance and/or poor reading skills, speed, concentration, and comprehension.

  • Convergence Eye Tests / Eye Teaming / Depth Perception / Binocular Vision Tests
    Weaknesses in binocular (two-eyed) vision and eye teaming skills can cause numerous difficulties, including convergence insufficiency and poor depth perception.

  • Eye Movement Skills

    Do eye movements show adequate muscle control, tracking, fixation, etc.? In the classroom, normal eye movements allow rapid and accurate shifting of the eyes along with a line of print or from book to desk to board, etc.  In sports, efficient eye movements contribute to eye-hand coordination, visual reaction time, and accurate tracking.

  • Reversal Frequency
    Is your child's confusion or reversal of letters or words (b, d; p, q; saw, was; etc.) within the normal ranges for a given age?  Past the age of seven, frequent visual and written reversals might indicate a visual perceptual dysfunction. Our comprehensive eye exam includes a complete visual skills evaluation which will determine whether your child's letter reversals are developmentally appropriate or are an indication of underlying visual perceptual processing issues.

  • Color Perception
    Color blindness affects 1 out of every 12 men in the United States and normal color vision is a requirement for some occupations. Know you or your family member’s status and options early. Our comprehensive eye exam includes a complete visual skills evaluation which will determine whether color perception abnormalities or color blindness are present.

Children Eye Exams

The American Optometric Association recommends that pre-school children receive a complete vision exam at the ages of six months, three years and five years.  It is particularly important that a child have a complete evaluation in the summer prior to entry into Kindergarten.  While in school, yearly evaluations are recommended.

Vision Exams for Adults

The American Optometric Association recommends a yearly eye exam for adults — not only to detect and to diagnose vision changes or problems — but also to maintain eye health and monitor overall health. For example, glaucoma, a disease caused by increased pressure in the eye, commonly goes unnoticed by adults. Regular vision examinations are also important for the prevention of vision problems created or aggravated by today's academic and professional demands.

Lazy Eye Tests (Amblyopia)

Specialized lazy eye tests for amblyopia are an important part of every infant's or child's first eye exam. A standard eye exam will not detect this serious vision impairment that affects 2 to 3 percent of all children. Getting the right testing for lazy eye is crucial.

We are experienced eye doctors in the testing and treatment of all types of binocular vision conditions, including lazy eye (amblyopia).

NOTE: other binocular vision impairments, such as Strabismus or Convergence Insufficiency can cause or be mistaken for lazy eye. However, lazy eye is its own medical diagnosis and is not the same as a diagnosis of Strabismus or Convergence Insufficiency.

Strabismus Eye Exams

Our eye examinations include special testing for the presence of strabismus because a standard eye screening or exam often does not test for problems with binocular vision (two-eyed vision), such as strabismus. Also, some types of eye turns are not easily seen in a mirror or by the untrained eye of an outsider.

Autism Eye Tests

Many autistic children and adults have treatable visual problems that can not be detected in a standard eye exam. Our experienced doctor provides specialized eye tests for special needs patients, such as those on the autism spectrum, including nonverbal autism. Our eye doctor also offers the full range of vision correction options for the autistic patient, such as a yoked prism or ambient prism prescription lenses and/or Vision Therapy. Many times, these highly effective forms of vision correction are life-changing for the autistic person.

Find out about Vision Therapy for Autism.

Vision Exams for Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD)

Individuals with sensory processing disorders need special vision exams because they often present with healthy eyes, 20/20 eyesight, and normal depth perception but still have faulty visual processing, eye tracking, eye teaming, or other undetected vision problems that interfere with successful reading, learning, and sports participation, etc. Testing methods for evaluating the vision of a person with Sensory Processing Disorders will vary based on the person's levels of physical, emotional, and cognitive development. Our eye doctor is a developmental optometrist who is very experienced in adapting the testing situation to the individual's capabilities.

Not all optometrists or eye doctors provide in-depth testing for the developmental and functional visual difficulties that can come with Sensory Processing Disorders. And not all offer the relevant treatment, such as Vision Therapy. We are Doctors of Optometry that provide developmental vision care and this area is one of our areas of focus. Our doctors have been providing vision evaluation and vision therapy for individuals with Sensory Processing Disorders for many years.

Find out about Sensory Processing Disorder and Vision Therapy.

Nonverbal Learning Disorders (NLD)

Our practice is experienced in testing and treating children and adults with Nonverbal Learning Disorders. As described in Sensory Processing Disorder above, these patients often have healthy eyes, 20/20 eyesight, and normal depth perception but still have visual processing, learning, and sensory problems that can be helped with corrective lenses and/or Vision Therapy.

Learn more about Vision Therapy for Sensory Processing Disorders.

Concussion & Traumatic Brain Injury Eye Tests

A medical doctor trained EMS, or sports professional can give a basic concussion eye test in the field following a traumatic brain injury. This quick eye test makes a rough assessment of the extent of the brain injury and to determine if there is a need for emergency medical care or discontinuance of play. This is not a substitute for a comprehensive vision evaluation by an eye doctor. Concussions and other types of traumatic brain injuries can affect many aspects of vision which can, in turn, negatively impact many areas of life, such as balance, gait, coordination, reading and learning abilities, memory, life skills, etc. It is important to have a vision specialist evaluate the injured person after any type of head or brain injury. We are experienced in neuro-optometric vision testing and rehabilitation.

Learn about Vision Rehabilitation for Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injury.

There's More to Healthy Vision than 20/20 Eyesight!

Learn more about symptoms of visual problems which affect
reading skills, learning disabilities and, in some cases, overall
reading, learning, school, sports and life success.