WEI at Surrey Place

Waterloo Eye Institute at Surrey Place is a partnership between the University of Waterloo School of Optometry & Vision Science and Surrey Place, funded by an anonymous charitable foundation.

The purpose of the partnership is to provide high-quality eye and vision care to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as to research the prevalence of vision disorders within this population and the best methods of providing individuals with appropriate eye care.

People with intellectual and developmental disabilities are among the most underserved when it comes to eye and vision care. Reasons for this may include individuals having difficulty communicating what they see or don’t see, health-care practitioners not recognizing that vision problems may be contributing to learning or behavioural issues, and the reluctance of some optometrists to see patients with special needs, whether due to lack of training and experience or lack of time and/or accessible infrastructure.

The WEI at Surrey Place project began in July 2024. Appointments are available to Surrey Place clients only by referral. Visits take place at Surrey Place’s Etobicoke location, where two full suites of optometric equipment are permanently set up.

Eye appointments at Surrey Place take place in an environment that is often already familiar to the patient or will become familiar with follow-up appointments. Exams and follow-ups aren’t rushed – we take the time necessary to ensure the patient is comfortable so the exam can be successful. We have all the necessary facilities, including wheelchair-accessible exam lanes and the equipment to check the vision of non-verbal patients.

Appointments are led by optometrists skilled in examining patients with developmental disabilities and upper-year student interns who are learning from those experts. The project therefore also aims to produce tomorrow’s optometrists who have training and experience with patients with special needs.

If you're not a Surrey Place client and live in or near Waterloo Region, please check out the eye care for people with special needs at our Waterloo Clinic.

For directions, parking, public transit and accessibility information, visit the Surrey Place website and scroll down to "Etobicoke."