Dr. Valerie Lam O.D., F.A.A.O, F.O.V.D.R.A, is a highly regarded pediatric optometrist, residency-trained in pediatrics and vision therapy from the Southern California College of Optometry. She is Board Certified in vision development, therapy, and rehabilitation, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry.
Dr. Lam is passionate about treating vision problems that interfere with children’s ability to read, learn, and pay attention. Some common conditions that she treats are convergence insufficiency, reading difficulties including tracking problems, double vision, lazy eye (amblyopia), and crossed/wandering eyes (strabismus). She also treats vision problems that result from a traumatic head injury, surgery, or concussion. Dr. Lam provides non-surgical treatment to these conditions through Vision Therapy, a custom program of exercises to strengthen the eyes and brain to eliminate vision problems. She completed her Pediatrics and Vision Therapy residency at the Southern California College of Optometry, at Marshall B. Ketchum University. She then pursued her fellowship from the American Academy of Optometry and the College of Optometrists in Vision Development.
When I graduated from UC San Diego, I knew that I wanted to work in the healthcare field because I wanted a profession that was about serving other people. Optometry was the right fit because I get to help people love life through the way they see. I achieved my doctorate degree from the Southern California College of Optometry at Marshall B. Ketchum University where I got experience working in all types of settings including an Indian reservation (lived in the middle of the desert for 3 months!), low income schools, low vision clinics, and a surgery center. I completed a residency in Pediatrics and Vision Therapy at SCCO because I wanted to become an expert at treating children and helping them to overcome vision related learning problems that were causing them to struggle in school.
I love that being an optometrist allows me to connect with patients on a very personal level, not only talking about their vision issues but even just sharing a part of their life. My passion is working with kids because they always bring out the joy in you, even on a rainy day — I love doing vision therapy because it allows me to use my creativity to design new activities that are engaging and exciting for our patients. Most of all, I love seeing patents succeed and get better, and it fulfills me knowing that I was able to be a part of their success!
At Insight Vision Center, we love to give back. We’ve attended international mission trips to help provide vision care in under served countries. We also enjoyed volunteering at the Special Olympics, doing eye exams for special needs athletes. One of our passions is mentoring pre-optometry students and we always welcome them into our office to share our knowledge of the profession. We’ve been frequent guest speakers at the local optometry schools, sharing with aspiring optometrists about our journey and encouraging them to go out and make a difference.
I am married to my childhood best friend whom I’ve known since I was 2 years old and we have 3 adorable kids! When I’m not at Insight, I’m working my other job of being mom and spend my time cooking dinner, taking kids to sports and dance lessons, and playdates at the park.
