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Blind CVI American Printing House for the Blind Menu APH Home CVI: The conversation continues… What is CVI? Statement on Cortical Visual Impairment APH Products for CVI Federal Quota What’s New? Parents What is CVI? Getting started Resources for Parents Assessment/strategies Dr. Gordon Dutton Dr. Amanda Lueck Dr. Mary T. Morse Dr. Christine Roman-Lantzy Guidelines for observation Guidelines for interview questions CVI Range 1-2 Suggestions for assessment APH product connections Strategies to consider for children in this range CVI Range 3-4 Suggestions for assessment APH product connections Strategies to consider for children in this range CVI Range 5-6 Suggestions for assessment APH product connections Strategies to consider for children in this range CVI Range 7-8 Suggestions for assessment APH product connections Strategies to consider for children in this range CVI Range 9-10 Suggestions for assessment APH product connections Strategies to consider for children in this range Dr. Jan van Dijk APH tools for assessment Communication Choicemaking Symbol communication systems Link to literacy Literacy Emerging literacy resources/strategies Writing APH Products for first steps in linking symbols to meaning Teaching salient characteristics naturally Salient characteristics of letters Books for Learners with CVI First books Sample PowerPoint Books Resources for making/modifying books Simplifying complex materials Learning Media Assessments Teaming Who’s Who on the child’s TEAM? Daily Routines Matrix Interviews with successful teams Play Expanded Core Curriculum Orientation & Mobility Acquired Brain Injury Vision Loss Reading after Acquired Brain Injury Face Blindness Hearing Concerns Resources Books, research articles Position papers Websites Presentations, tutorials, webcasts Apps, Facebook, Pinterest Call for research Food for thought… Contact us Search for: CVI: The conversation continues… Anyone who has spent time researching CVI knows that there are a variety of names and definitions for this neurological visual impairment. The fact that it is caused by an incident to the brain complicates the search for one definition because there is much that we still do not know about the brain. There is a need to organize what we currently understand about CVI leaving room for new information as it is researched and made available. There are strategies, products, assessments and resources that are appropriate for some CVI students, but not for others. Establishing a classification system would allow teachers and parents to understand more easily what materials they should be looking at to help in the education of their student. Dr. Lea Hyvarinen and August Colenbrander write about the need for an international classification in their chapters of the book edited by Gordon Dutton and Martin Bax titled Visual Impairment in children due to damage to the brain.” Those working with children diagnosed (and many who remain undiagnosed) with CVI understand that the more we learn about this neurological visual impairment the more complicated the conversation becomes. In 2007 when AFB Press released Cortical Visual Impairment: An Approach to Assessment and Intervention” written by Christine Roman-Lantzy our field has been able to use the CVI Range to assess student functioning levels, monitor progress on the CVI Resolution Chart and provide recommendations and interventions for the team working with the child. The book has become an invaluable resource for educators and families working with this population. But, there are learners that may not be identified by this assessment alone. Dr. Gordon Dutton writes The severity of CVI can range widely between profound and disorders of visual perception only. The subject is complex, but it is important for the educational assessment team to address the issue fully when assessing an affected child and planning management” (Dutton, 2013). Those students presenting disorders of visual perception, often go undiagnosed because their needs may be hidden. These children may be academic, traveling independently, but facing many challenges for which accommodations are necessary. Dutton and Lueck (2015) offer a description of three groups of children in their AFB book Vision and the Brain: Understanding Cerebral Visual Impairment in Children.” Children with profound visual impairment due to CVI, many of whom have additional disabilities Children who have CVI who have functionally useful vision and cognitive challenges, Children with CVI who have functionally useful vision and who work at or near the expected academic level for their age group. Roman-Lantzy, C. (2007). Cortical visual impairment: An approach to assessment and intervention. New York, NY: AFB Press. Dutton, G. N. (2013). Types of impaired vision in children related to damage to the brain, and approaches towards their management. Journal of the South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment, 6(1), 14-30. Dutton, G., & Bax, M. (Eds.). (2010). Visual Impairment in children due to damage to the brain: Clinics in developmental medicine. London, England: Mac Keith Press. We should be cautious not to assume that all children with CVI exhibit the same behaviors. The diagnosis means different things for different children; the effects depend on factors such as how extensive and severe were the insults to the brain, the developmental period during which the insult occurred, the child’s previous experience, the presence or absence of additional disabilities, medications being taken, and the child’s motivation. Some individuals with CVI have no observable visual responses: others have occasional responses to stimuli, whereas still others have a significant amount of usable vision.” Morse, M. T. (1999) Cortical visual impairment: Some words of caution. RE:VIEW, 31(1), 21-26. Vision impairment due to damage to the brain is common in children. Those affected can be identified and managed well by being alert to the possibility that it may be present, and carefully taking a history and assessing all in whom it is suspected.” Dutton, G. N. (2013). Types of impaired vision in children related to damage to the brain, and approaches towards their management. Journal of the South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment, 6(1), 14-30.The body of current medical literature concerning conditions associated with a diagnosis of CVI is most likely incomplete. Medical investigators are just beginning to gather consistent data regarding the causes and conditions associated with CVI. It is important to note that not all researchers agree on the full range of causes, the prognosis or even the proper diagnostic label used to describe vision loss due to brain damage. What is needed is more cooperation and dialogue between members of medical and educational disciplines, and specifically among ophthalmologists, neonatologists, neurologists, and other pediatric specialists, in the hope that timely identification will facilitate appropriate referral to specialists who can undertake early intervention.” Roman-Lantzy, C. (2007). Cortical visual impairment: An approach to assessment and intervention. New York, NY: AFB Press. It is important to note that many earlier concepts about brain functions were incorrect, which is not surprising because of the extreme complexity of the central nervous system. However, several conclusions can be drawn from recent advances that would benefit professionals who are providing a variety of services to children and adults with visual disorders. Connectivity studies have clearly proved that vision is more complex than was previously thought, and it is not isolated from the other senses but works in close liaison with them. The brain is plastic at any age, but remarkably so during the early years of life. Therefore, exposure to meaningful experiences and age-dependent activities will not only strengthen the visual networks, but will modify the other senses in compensation for the...