Phase III CVI – Page 6 – Start Seeing CVI

Birthday party, CVI, parents, Phase III CVI, school

Birthday party

Going to birthday parties is a childhood rite of passage. When you have a kid with cortical visual impairment (CVI), invitations bring a mix of anticipation and dread. Anticipation because you want your child to be included in the first place – just like all the other kids. And dread because celebrations, events, gatherings, parties are a delicate balance for kids with CVI. Birthday parties can involve some of the most challenging characteristics of cortical visual impairment – a party in a new environment (novelty), lots of kids (complexity, difficulty with faces, complexity of array), and energetic little bodies (latency, movement). Add the sounds of a bunch of excited kids and you have one Complex sensory environment. (Roman-Lantzy) Birthdays are a perfect storm for a CVI meltdown. Continue reading “Birthday party” →

Math modification for CVI, Phase III CVI, school

Math modification for CVI

My son is in Phase III CVI (Roman-Lantzy) and attends first grade, in the general education classroom. Schools love to use worksheets for kids to practice math, time telling, word matching, etc. For students with CVI, and their parents, the worksheets are a constant challenge to modify. When modifying for students with CVI, consider the following questions. What is the overall concept being taught? What are the essential elements? Is it critical that a student with CVI spend his visual energy identifying an abstract black and white line drawing? Or is there a different way to teach the concept? Continue reading “Math modification for CVI” →

christine roman, CVI, cvi diagnosis, CVI Parents have three problems, parents, Phase III CVI

CVI Parents have three problems

My son was diagnosed with cortical visual impairment (CVI) as a newborn in 2011, before he came home from the children’s hospital neonatal intensive care unit. Like many kids who have CVI, he had a stroke. Or more specifically, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, HIE. His birth experience meant absorbing the diagnoses of infant stroke and CVI, as well as the great unknown that goes along with that, because CVI is not a stand alone diagnosis. The doctors, neurologists, called it cortical blindness. This was a day or two after hearing the heart breaking words infant stroke for the first time, a phrase that is not comprehensible in the moment. Cortical blindness, the neurologist said. Because his impairment involves the brain, and not the eye itself, there is nothing you can do. Instead the doctor should have said, Because his visual impairment involves the brain – there is so much you can do. This should be the message to all parents whose child receives a diagnosis of CVI. Continue reading “CVI Parents have three problems” →

cortical visual impairment, CVI, education, Phase II CVI, Phase III CVI, Return to Wonderland

Return to Wonderland

Originally published November 12, 2013

In the weeks leading up to our October appointment with Christine Roman-Lantzy, I debated going. Jasper’s developmental Renaissance, which began in early summer, was still going. Global improvements in communication, speech, feeding, auditory processing, and vision. Another new mom once said to me, “My baby changes so much every day, he’s constantly learning something new!” At the time, Jasper was about a year old, and doing Ok, but the words struck me. Changes so much… every day?? I had no idea what that meant. My experience was different from that of other new moms. Continue reading “Return to Wonderland” →

Access makes a world of difference, CVI, Go, Dog. Go!, Phase III CVI

Access makes a world of difference

Thinking about visual access in terms of the arts can feel overwhelming. How can a child who has cortical visual impairment (CVI) possibly have access to and enjoyment of, an arts experience? On a recent outing to our local children’s theatre, it hit home how visual access makes a world difference for a child who has CVI. Continue reading “Access makes a world of difference” →