Rabindra Kumar Pandey
- COVD Fellow, FAAO, MCOptom-UK, NORA
Rabindra Kumar Pandey founded Caring Vision Therapy in Chennai in 2010 with a clear purpose: to build a clinic in India that met the same clinical standards as the best vision therapy centres in the world. He is among the fewer than 20 optometrists in all of India who hold COVD Fellowship - the international gold standard in vision therapy certification - and the only COVD Fellow in South India with FAAO, MCOptom-UK, and NORA credentials alongside it.
Who Is Rabindra Kumar Pandey?
Rabindra Kumar Pandey did not set out to found a clinic - he set out to solve a problem. When he completed his M.Optom and began seeing patients in clinical settings in the late 2000s, the pattern was consistent and frustrating: children referred for learning difficulties, adults with chronic headaches, stroke survivors with visual symptoms - most had been told their eyes were fine. Their eyes were fine. Their vision was not. And in India at the time, there was almost nowhere to take the problem seriously.
He founded Caring Vision Therapy in Chennai in 2010 as a specialist centre - not a general optometry practice with vision therapy as a side service, but a clinic built around the functional vision evaluation and structured treatment that these conditions require. Over the following 16 years, he pursued every relevant international qualification: COVD Fellowship in the United States, Fellowship of the American Academy of Optometry, Membership of the College of Optometrists UK, and NORA affiliation for neuro-optometric rehabilitation. He also completed fellowship with the College of Syntonic Optometry (CSO), adding phototherapy to the clinic's clinical toolkit.
He has treated more than 10,000 patients across the full range of binocular vision disorders, accommodative dysfunctions, learning-related vision problems, and neurological visual impairment. He sees patients from across India and from 20+ countries. He has published five peer-reviewed case studies and research articles in the journal Vision Development & Rehabilitation. And he still takes the first appointment for every new complex case himself.
"The most important thing we do is listen. A thorough clinical history, combined with the right functional tests, tells us almost everything we need to know - and prevents us from treating the wrong problem."
Clinical Specialisations
Rabindra Kumar Pandey's clinical work concentrates on the most complex end of the vision therapy spectrum: cases where standard care has failed, where multiple systems are simultaneously affected, or where the neurological component demands specialist assessment and protocol design.
Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation
Post-stroke visual impairment, traumatic brain injury, cortical visual impairment, hemianopia, visual neglect, and primitive reflex integration. Works in coordination with neurologists, rehabilitation physicians, and occupational therapists on complex multi-system cases.
Amblyopia - Adults and Children
Conventional patching, dichoptic therapy protocols, and syntonics phototherapy for functional and organic amblyopia across all age groups. Has published peer-reviewed case studies on multi-modal treatment approaches including adult strabismic amblyopia with nystagmus.
Convergence Insufficiency & Binocular Vision
Full range of binocular vision disorders from simple convergence insufficiency through complex binocular vision dysfunction with vertical heterophoria and fixation disparity. Applies CITT protocol standards with calibrated measurement at every stage.
Vision Therapy for Autism & Special Needs
Developed and validated a parent-reported quality of life questionnaire for children with ASD undergoing vision therapy (published in VDR, 2019). Has treated hundreds of children with autism, sensory processing disorder, and other neurodevelopmental conditions.
Syntonics Phototherapy
CSO Fellow with specialist expertise in syntonic phototherapy - the clinical application of specific light frequencies to the visual system. Used as an adjunct to vision therapy in select cases: rod-cone dystrophy, amblyopia, visual field restriction, and visual-vestibular disorders. Has published peer-reviewed case studies on its application.
Post-Concussion Vision Rehabilitation
Sports concussion, post-concussion syndrome, and TBI visual sequelae. Coordinates with sports medicine teams, neuropsychologists, and school accommodations teams to support return-to-sport and return-to-learn protocols. All TBI assessments produce a written clinical report suitable for medicolegal and insurance purposes.
Published Clinical Research
All publications are in the journal Vision Development & Rehabilitation (VDR) - the peer-reviewed publication of the College of Optometrists in Vision Development. Full text available via the links below.
Motor Axonal Neuropathy (OR) Guillain-Barre Syndrome - Neuro-Optometric Rehabilitation & Vision Therapy
Authors: Rabindra Kumar Pandey, Priya Pandey. Documents a case in which the COVD Quality of Life score improved from 44 to 18 and Visual Symptoms Survey Score from 72 to 20 following structured neuro-optometric rehabilitation and syntonics phototherapy for a rare motor-selective GBS variant.
View Case Study (PDF)Multi-modal Treatment Approach Incorporating Vision Therapy and Syntonics for Combined Organic and Functional Amblyopia
Authors: Priya Pandey, Rabindra Kumar Pandey, Rituparna Ghoshal. Documents measurable improvements in acuity, binocular function, and quality of life using a combined vision therapy and syntonic phototherapy protocol.
View Case Report (PDF)A Combined Approach of Syntonic Phototherapy along with Vision Therapy in Treatment of Rod-Cone Dystrophy: A Ray of Hope
Authors: Rabindra Kumar Pandey, Priya Pandey, Rituparna Ghoshal, Rajeev Prasad, Mantu Akon. Reports significant improvements in visual field and contrast sensitivity for a degenerative retinal condition typically considered untreatable.
View Case Study (PDF)A Multi-Modality Treatment Approach in Vision Therapy for a Patient with Form Deprivation Adult Strabismic Amblyopia and Nystagmus
Authors: Rabindra Kumar Pandey, Priya Pandey. Demonstrates meaningful functional vision improvements in a complex adult amblyopia presentation with strabismus and nystagmus - a population traditionally considered untreatable.
View Case Study (PDF)Development and Validation of a Questionnaire to Assess Parent Reported Quality of Life Pre and Post Vision Therapy in a Population with Autism Spectrum Disorder
Authors: Rabindra Kumar Pandey, Priya Pandey, Hira Nath Dahal. Presents the development and validation of a novel clinical instrument for measuring functional vision outcomes in ASD patients - a contribution to the autism and vision therapy literature.
View Research Article (PDF)See the full list of publications and case reports at our Academic Contributions page.