At Esperanza, we are committed to providing comprehensive, research-based therapy services to support each child’s academic journey. Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI), a kind of visual impairment that requires specialized treatment, can be brought on by damage to the brain’s sensory centers. The analysis of visual information by the brain, not the eyes, is the cause of CVI, in contrast to other forms of blindness. An essential foundation for guiding diagnostic and therapeutic strategies is the CVI Schedule. To support children with CVI to acquire their maximum potential, early identification and intervention are crucial.
This post will present the CVI Schedule, its advantages, and how Esperanza’s friendly team helps kids with CVI improve their general health and visual interpretation.
What is Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI)?
Cortical visual impairment (CVI) means that the eyes are fine, but the areas in the brain that handle vision can’t make proper use of the visual information they give off. The cause of this condition is harm to the occipital lobe or other brain areas responsible for how we process images.
Children who have had brain damage as a result of things like:
- Premature birth
- Hypoxia or lack of oxygen at birth
- Brain malformations
- Trauma or injury
- Neurological conditions like cerebral palsy
People with CVI may have trouble identifying things, faces, or even their surroundings. Moreover, following long periods of visual activity, they might suffer from visual fatigue, that is, a reduction in their ability to process visual information. With appropriate treatments, CVI symptoms can improve gradually. They can range widely in severity among different youngsters.
How does the CVI schedule work?
Created by experts in visual impairment, the CVI Schedule is used to record and follow the development of a child’s vision with cortical visual impairment. Tasks in the schedule go from being simple to more advanced, just as children with CVI go through different phases in processing visual information. It helps educators, therapists, and clinicians to assess the child’s ability to see, identify the child’s strong and weak points, and design methods that can help the child in learning with vision.
The several phases that make up the CVI Schedule each represent varying degrees of visual processing and ability:
- Stage I (0–3 months): At this stage, children mostly rely on sensory input other than image (such as touch or sound) to analyze their environment. They may show limited or conflicting visual answers.
- Stage II (3–6 months): Children begin to reveal more consistent visual answers, though they still rely laboriously on other senses. They may show interest in bright colors or activity.
- Stage III (6–12 months): Visual reactions become more intentional, and children may begin to track things or faces. However, they may still struggle with visual sophistication.
- Stage IV (12 months and older): At this point, children may develop the capability to identify familiar objects or faces, but they still experience complications with visual details or complex visual inspirations.
- Stage V (Advanced): Children in this stage can process more complex visual communication and can engage in more typical visual tasks like reading or remembering objects in a crowded environment.
How the CVI Arrangement Is Beneficial
The CVI Schedule is essential since it allows understand how a child with CVI understands what they see. The knowledge of what age a child is in can guide therapists and other experts to choose treatments that are best for them. Moreover, the CVI Schedule helps monitoring the child’s progress, which allows professionals to update or improve the therapy approach based on new developments in vision.
The key areas that the CVI Schedule assesses include:
- Visual Attention: How well a child can focus on and attend to visual stimuli.
- Object Recognition: The ability to identify and differentiate between objects or people.
- Visual Exploration: How children use their vision to explore and interact with their environment.
- Visual Complexity: The child’s ability to process complex visual information, such as patterns, shapes, and colors.
Understanding where a child is on the CVI Schedule allows professionals to tailor interventions to help them progress through the stages and develop more functional vision.
Esperanza’s Approach to Assisting Kids with CVI
Esperanza delivers a holistic strategy to help kids with CVI. Using the CVI Schedule as a guide, our skilled therapists cooperate with families to establish customized therapy programs. They have advanced expertise in processing sensory information, vision problems, and developmental issues.
1. Specialised Visual Therapy
Our therapists use a range of visual stimulation techniques tailored to each child’s developmental stage. These interventions may include:
- High-contrast visual stimuli: Bright, contrasting colors or simple shapes can capture the attention of children in the early stages of CVI.
- Color and light exploration: For children in stages I and II, our therapists often use flashing lights or colored objects to engage visual attention.
- Tracking exercises: As children move through the stages of CVI, our therapists use exercises to improve their ability to track objects with their eyes. This may include guiding children’s eyes to follow moving objects or faces.
2. Environmental Modifications
We work with families to create an environment that supports the child’s visual needs. This can include:
- Reducing visual clutter: In early stages, a simplified environment with fewer distractions can help children focus on important visual stimuli.
- Strategic lighting: Using natural or bright, steady lighting in spaces where the child spends time can make it easier for them to see and engage.
- Contrasting backgrounds: Placing objects or toys on contrasting backgrounds (e.g., dark toys on light surfaces) can improve visual contrast and help children distinguish between objects more easily.
3. Sensory Integration Therapy
Children with CVI often have sensorial processing problems, which can impact their ability to react to visual input. Our therapists use sensory integration therapy to help children integrate visual, auditory, and tactile information more effectively. This holistic strategy supports overall brain development and can improve a child’s ability to process and respond to the world around them.
4. Adaptive Technologies and Tools
For children who need additional support, we use adaptive technologies such as:
- Screen magnifiers: To help children with CVI focus on visual tasks like reading or looking at pictures.
- Augmentative communication tools: For children who may experience delays in language development due to CVI, these tools can help with communication.
What Makes Early Intervention Crucial
Children with CVI must be identified and treated as soon as possible. Children who get focused therapy and assistance at an early age are more likely to improve their visual skills. Providing the knowledge and assistance required for children to thrive, our staff at Esperanza is committed to assisting families from the time a CVI diagnosis is received.
Parental Education and Participation
We believe that parents play a big role in helping their children grow and recover after an injury. At Esperanza, we help families by teaching them more about the methods and tools we use in treatment so they can use these things at home too. Advice on how to see if your child is making progress on the CVI schedule and how to make daily chores easier to understand using pictures could also be part of the plan.
In Conclusion
Although children with cortical visual impairment (CVI) face particular difficulties, they can achieve notable improvements in their visual and cognitive abilities with the correct therapy measures. At Esperanza, we customize our therapeutic methods to each child’s requirements according to their location in the CVI Schedule, which offers an organized framework for comprehending the development of visual processing in children.
If you are worried about your child’s growth or eyesight, our team of skilled therapists can assist. Through the implementation of evidence-based practices and close collaboration with families, we guarantee that children with CVI get the assistance they require to flourish. For more information on how we can assist your child in realizing their full potential, get in touch with us right now.
