COVD is an international professional membership association and certification body for vision care professionals who provide vision development and Vision Therapy services. Membership in COVD is open to optometrists, optometry students, vision therapists working in the offices of COVD members, optometric educators and researchers, and others who have a professional interest in developmental and behavioral vision care.
COVD provides its members and the public with access to the latest research, educational programs, and information in the areas of behavioral vision care, Vision Therapy, and related fields.
Optometrists can become Board Certified in Vision Development and Therapy by completing the Fellowship process offered through the COVD International Examination and Certification Board. Vision Therapists working for Fellows of COVD can become certified as well.
Held in October each year, the COVD Annual Meeting provides extensive education programs, Applied Concepts courses, exhibit hall, educational lectures, and the business meeting of the organization, as well as recreational activities for members and their families. COVD members receive discounts to all Annual Meeting activities.
- Optometry & Vision Development Journal - published quarterly
- VISIONS Newsletter- published quarterly
- E-mail News Briefs - published regularly throughout the year
COVD offers Special Membership Benefits Programs, which include bank processing services from TransFirst Health Services and a buying program from Vision West, Inc. (VWI).
Patients can access information about optometrists who are members of COVD through the Locate a Doctor database on the COVD website or by calling the toll-free patient referral telephone number at 1-888-268-3770.
COVD is dedicated to providing its members with the tools necessary for a successful vision therapy practice. The following tools are available to COVD members: How to Build A Successful Vision Therapy Practice information kit, Fact Sheets on Vision Therapy, Insurance Coverage for Vision Therapy information kit, Patient Literature for Vision Therapy, and the Externship Manual Guide.
COVD maintains a list of Practice Opportunities for professionals in the field. Opportunity provides and seekers can send and request information to COVD.
Each year COVD presents grants and awards to members who have demonstrated exemplary performance and support for the field of developmental optometry and COVD. Research and student/resident grants are available, as well as Annual Meeting Travel Grants.
To assist COVD members in communicating about developmental and behavioral vision care, a series of White Papers have been developed. Each addresses a specific topic that can be used as needed in your practice.
Therapists represent an important role in COVD and vision therapy. COVD offers vision therapists the opportunity to become certified in vision development and vision therapy. The COVD newsletter, VISIONS, is published every other month. In each issue, the Therapist's Corner has important and relevant information for therapists and optometrists alike.
COVD is pleased to have a record number of student and resident members, and we have created a portal for information pertinent to these members. Information includes Annual Meeting Information, Student Grants & Awards, Externship Manual, Externship Sites List, Externship Director List, Residency Opportunity Listings, Practice Opportunities Database, Research & White Papers, and much more.
The COVD website provides information for the public on a wide variety of behavioral and developmental vision care topics. Specific information of interest, including full access to all COVD publications, research and white papers, grants and awards, practice management tools, and much more is available exclusively to COVD members.