salient features – Start Seeing CVI

At the store with my child who has CVI, comparative language, complexity, cortical visual impairment, CVI, education, Phase III CVI, salient features

At the store with my child who has CVI

“You guys sure go to the store a lot!” Last week was all about parent teacher conferences, and both the classroom teacher and resource room teacher made the same comment. It is true that my son enjoys going to stores, especially food shopping. It is also true that we do many other things, like hikes, walks, the beach, riding bikes – in addition to a never ending schedule of medical and therapy appointments. But our outside excursions are not the activities that make their way back to the classroom. My suspicion is that his focus on stores and places has more to do with getting to know a novel community, and the lay of the land, along with the social experience of it all. That both teachers commented made me think of all the things you can do at the store, when your child has cortical visual impairment (CVI).
Continue reading “At the store with my child who has CVI” →

comparative language, cortical visual impairment, Does the mailman know Santa?, salient features

“Does the mailman know Santa?”

When your child with CVI comes into the classroom, it is often the first time that educators are hearing the words “cortical/cerebral visual impairment.” Training new educational teams or therapists or providers on CVI means learning about the visual brain, CVI Range, guiding principles, CVI behaviors and characteristics, the goals of each CVI Phase, and what CVI looks like for your child. In all of this, the approaches of salient features and comparative language (Roman) can get lost in the mix. Continue reading ““Does the mailman know Santa?”” →

"CVI Adaptations: Bubble Words in the YouDoodle App", cortical visual impairment, CVI literacy, education, Phase II CVI, Phase III CVI, salient features

“CVI Adaptations: Bubble Words in the YouDoodle App”

One of the most common questions from parents of children with cortical visual impairment (CVI) is, how do I approach literacy? Below is a link to a post from a CVI mom on how the “whole word” approach to literacy, developed by Christine Roman-Lantzy, and how to create “bubble words” in the YouDoodle app. Continue reading ““CVI Adaptations: Bubble Words in the YouDoodle App”” →

CVI range, education, Everybody's talking about salient features, parents, salient features

Everybody’s talking about salient features

For children with cortical visual impairment (CVI), learning to visually identify salient features is a critical skill to making progress. These days we know that best practice is to incorporate salient features language earlier rather than later, while being mindful that our language does not compete with a child’s ability to use vision (Roman-Lantzy). Salient features are those two or three word descriptors that define an object, that are the essence of that object. Cupness. Treeness. That favorite hanging toyness. Mommyness. Continue reading “Everybody’s talking about salient features” →

cortical visual impairment, salient features, Text Project, a tool for getting started with salient features

Text Project, a tool for getting started with salient features

The Text Project, Animals of All Shapes and Sizes

Salient features and comparative language are critical strategies for children who have cortical visual impairment (CVI) (Thank you, Dr Roman-Lantzy). For my young son who has CVI, I always tell educators and new team members, These strategies – salient features and comparative language – are how my son learns to make sense of what he is looking at. These strategies are how he learns to make visual sense of the world. Figuring out salient features is harder than you think. The website, Text Project, Word Pictures can be a good place to start. Thanks to Judy Endicott for sharing this resource. Continue reading “Text Project, a tool for getting started with salient features” →