Category: school

cortical visual impairment, CVI, CVI and faces, facial recognition, How do you greet a child with CVI?, school, social skills

How do you greet a child with CVI?

How do you greet a child with CVI?
How do you greet a child with CVI?

We know that one of the ten characteristics of cortical visual impairment (CVI) is difficulty with faces, a component of Complexity (Roman-Lantzy). Knowing this, we should take some time to consider how we greet and interact with a child with CVI, remembering he is not likely to recognize you. This is essential for school teams, especially at the beginning of the school year. With a swirl of new peers, teachers, and classes, how we greet kids with CVI is so important. Continue reading “How do you greet a child with CVI?” →

complexity, CVI vs. the school bus, school, sensory complexity

CVI vs. the school bus

CVI vs. the school bus
CVI vs. the school bus

The end of school year field trip is coming up. That means the topic of the school bus comes up too. For children with special needs, the school bus can be complicated. At least in our school district, there are a host of problems. Late or missing school buses. Ill equipped buses. Not to mention the potential for problems when it comes to sending your child who is at risk for seizures, off on the bus. My son who has cortical visual impairment (CVI) no longer rides the bus to school. So when field trips come up, we talk about the bus. Nowadays, the only thing he likes about the school bus is preferred color yellow (CVI ten characteristics, Roman). Continue reading “CVI vs. the school bus” →

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

Birthday party

Birthday party
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” →

cortical visual impairment, CVI, CVI and faces, facial recognition, How your child can help my child who has CVI, Phase III CVI, school, social skills

How your child can help my child who has CVI

How your child can help my child who has CVI
How your child can help my child who has CVI

Waiting outside the classroom door for our kids to be dismissed, another mom smiled to me and said, “Let me know if there is anything Ben can do to help Jasper.” This mom was not yet familiar, and all at once a stunned gratitude welled up inside me. This other mom obviously had some awareness of Jasper’s cortical visual impairment (CVI). Continue reading “How your child can help my child who has CVI” →