WHAT IS CVI?€¦ · what causes cvi? cvi is caused by any event that produces damage to the visual parts of the brain, including: stroke * hydrocephalus (increased brain pressure),

WHAT IS CVI?

THERE MAY BE A DIAGNOSIS OF CVI WHEN:

A CHILD’S EYE MOVEMENTS, PUPIL REACTIONS AND EYE

EXAMINATIONS MAY APPEAR TO BE NORMAL--YET THE CHILD IS

UNABLE TO SEE NORMALLY.

CORTICAL (AKA CEREBRAL) VISUAL IMPAIRMENT (CVI) IS AN

ACQUIRED BILATERAL VISUAL ACUITY LOSS CAUSED BY BRAIN

DAMAGE TO THE OCCIPITAL LOBES AND/OR DAMAGE TO THE

POSTERIOR VISUAL PATHWAY ASSOCIATED WITH THE VISUAL

CORTEX (PICTURES FOLLOW). IT CAN BE CONGENITAL OR

ADVENTITIOUS.

SOME FORM OF BRAIN DAMAGE PRODUCES DISTURBED AND

INEFFICIENT VISUAL PROCESSING AND VISUAL SENSE.

CVI IS ALSO BRAIN-BASED:

WHAT CAUSES CVI?

CVI IS CAUSED BY ANY EVENT THAT PRODUCES DAMAGE TO

THE VISUAL PARTS OF THE BRAIN, INCLUDING:

STROKE * HYDROCEPHALUS (INCREASED BRAIN

PRESSURE), * SEIZURES, * DECREASES IN BLOOD FLOW OR

OXYGEN TO THE BRAIN

INFECTION (MENINGITIS OR ENCEPHALITIS), OR HEAD

TRAUMA. ZIKA (& MICROCEPHALY) COULD ALSO CAUSE CVI.

HEAD TRAUMA, ACCIDENTAL OR INTENTIONAL (AS IN THE

CASE OF SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME), IS THE LEADING CAUSE

OF CVI IN CHILDREN IN THE UNITED STATES.

WHAT ARE CVI CHARACTERISTICS? (10) Unusual Attention to Color Difficulties with Visual

Novelty

Attention to Movement Reflex Responses May Differ

Latency (Delayed Response

to Look)

Difficulties with Distance

Viewing

Complexity (Challenges in

Making Sense of Things)

Light Gazing

Visual Field Differences

(Optic Radiations

Different/Head Turns/Not

Paying Attention to Things

Absence of A Visually-

Directed Reach

WHAT ARE THE PHASES OF CVI? (3)

CAN CVI BE TREATED?

• YES! DEGREES OF SUCCESS VARY GIVEN PHASES &

SPECIFIC IEP DIAGNOSES. ONCE TREATED SUSTAINABLY,

IMPROVEMENT CAN HAPPEN IN PHASES AND IN RANGES....

• IT IS IMPORTANT TO START EARLY INTERVENTION TO HELP

STIMULATE VISUAL DEVELOPMENT, SINCE THERE ARE

CERTAIN TIMEFRAME(S) FOR VISUAL DEVELOPMENT, SO

EARLIER TREATMENT HELPS TO MAXIMIZE IMPROVEMENT.

• TO FURTHER MAXIMIZE CVI TREATMENT, PARENTS AND

CAREGIVERS SHOULD KEEP A WRITTEN LIST OF SPECIFIC

CHANGES AND OBSERVATIONS FOR DISCUSSION AT EACH

PHYSICIAN VISIT. PARENTS SHOULD SUPPORT TREATMENT

ROUTINELY.

• TREATMENT MAY INCLUDE GLASSES OR EYE MUSCLE

SURGERY IF HELPFUL TO MAXIMIZE VISUAL FUNCTION.

COMMON TREATMENTS• VISUAL STIMULATING EXERCISES (VSES INCLUDE

FEELING/ TOUCHING VARIOUS MATERIALS AND TRYING

TO RECOGNIZE THEM)

• VSES ARE BENEFICIAL TO CHILDREN WITH CVI IN THAT

THEY ARE BETTER ABLE TO USE THEIR VISION.

• EFFECTIVE VISUAL STIMULATION CAN HELP, FOR

EXAMPLE, WITH THE WAY IN WHICH A CHILD IS ABLE

TO USE AND SWITCH HIS VISUAL ATTENTION.

• THIS IS DONE BY GIVING THE CORRECT STIMULATION

AT THE CORRECT FREQUENCY, INTENSITY AND

DURATION IN THE CORRECT THERAPEUTIC

ENVIRONMENT – INDIVIDUALIZED!

TREATMENTS – SOME EXPERT METHODS

TREATMENT NEEDS TIME:

cortical visual impairment treated

requires patience because the

person may take a while to

recognize simple objects and

faces even after consistent

exposure.

DR. ROMAN

D. SHELINE

DR. LUECK [FVE]

& DR. DUTTON

COMMON TREATMENTS – MAKING CUSTOM LITERACY TOOLS

TREATMENTS – FOR MORE KEY STRATEGIES & TOOLS, VISIT MENU AT

http://seevisite.weebly.com/

FUNCTIONAL IMPLICATIONS FROM CVI:o PROVIDE TIME TO PROCESS THINGS VISUALLY.

o USE MOVEMENT AND BRIGHT, SHINY COLORS TO

ACTIVATE VISUAL ATTENTION AND CAPITALIZE ON

VARYING VISUAL FIELDS AND USE OF PERIPHERAL

VISION.

o PRESENT ITEMS FROM THE SIDE FIRST, THEN MOVE THEM

TOWARDS THE CENTER--WHICH CAN OFTEN HELP A CHILD

RESPOND VISUALLY.

o MIND THE LIGHTING! SEE SHELINE’s WORK.

o FREQUENT “VISION BREAKS” HELP, AS WELL AS

REFRAINING FROM PRIMARILY VISUAL TASKS WHEN A

CHILD IS HUNGRY, TIRED OR ILL. SEEING TAKES ENERGY.

FUNCTIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE CONDITION

• REPETITION AND USE OF FAMILIAR, CONCRETE AND

PREFERRED OBJECTS HELPS. DEVELOP A ROUTINE WAY

TO PRESENT ITEMS/COMPLETE TASKS TO BE USED BY

ALL CAREGIVERS.

• AVOID CLUTTER AND OVERSTIMULATION. PRESENT

ITEMS ONE AT A TIME ON A DARK BACKGROUND.

• SELECT BOOKS WITH ONE LARGE PICTURE PER PAGE OR

A SOLID COLOR BALL OR BLOCKS. KEEP IT SIMPLE AND

INCREASE VISUAL COMPLEXITY SLOWLY OVER TIME.

REFERENCES (MORE ON WEEBLY SITE) • CORTICAL VISUAL IMPAIRMENT (2014). RETRIEVED FROM

WWW.AAPOS.ORG/TERMS/CONDITIONS/40

• CORTICAL VISUAL IMPAIRMENT PEDIATRIC VISUAL DIAGNOSIS FACT SHEET (FALL

1998). RETRIEVED FROM WWW.TSBVI.EDU/SEEHEAR/FALLL98/CORTICAL.HTM

• WHAT IS CVI? (2012). RETRIEVED FROM WWW.APH.ORG/CVI/DEFINE.HTML

• BROWN, C. (N.D.). ASSESSING AND FACILITATING THE USE OF

FUNCTIONAL VISION IN YOUNG CHILDREN WHO ARE VISUALLY

IMPAIRED. RETRIEVED 6-16-2014 FROM

WWW.INFANTVA.ORG/DOCUMENTS/PR-ITC-VAFUNCTIONALVISION.PDF

• GOOD, W., JAN, J., BURDEN, S., SKOCZENSKI, A. ROWAN, A. (2001).

RECENT ADVANCES IN CORTICAL VISUAL IMPAIRMENT.

DEVELOPMENTAL MEDICINE & CHILD NEUROLOGY 43: 56 – 60.

LINK TO RESOURCES (WWW.SEEVISITE.WEEBLY.COM)

• CASE STUDY (TSBVI)

• INFORMATION REGARDING

CASSIE

• BROCHURE AND FACT SHEET

• SEE ALSO PARENT BROCHURES,

TEACHER TOOLS, VIDEOS &

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