{"id":20793,"date":"2023-06-15T09:15:53","date_gmt":"2023-06-15T08:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings-new\/send\/areas-of-need\/sensory-and-or-physical\/visual-impairment\/cerebral-cortical-visual-impairment\/"},"modified":"2024-12-11T12:39:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T12:39:47","slug":"cerebral-cortical-visual-impairment","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/send\/areas-of-need\/sensory-and-or-physical\/visual-impairment\/cerebral-cortical-visual-impairment\/","title":{"rendered":"Cerebral (cortical) visual impairment (CVI)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is CVI?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>CVI occurs where the visual pathways in the brain are not working properly. Often it is not known what causes CVI. Usually the result is a loss of visual acuity (sharpness of focus) or unusual visual responses to surroundings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What visual difficulties is a child or young person with CVI likely to have?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Children and young people with CVI can have difficulties with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Recognising faces and objects<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Recognising and reaching for objects<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Visual clutter<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Focusing on near and distance objects<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fast eye movements<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Visual field loss<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Using more than one sense at a time<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Seeing movement<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Colour and contrast<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Crowding and complexity, for example difficulty seeing detail or one item in a busy scene<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Visual fatigue and fluctuating vision.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Orientation and route finding, for example losing their way even in familiar places<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Moving around for example using stairs, steps and slopes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Education strategies<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Use simple cues, such as pictures or touch<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduce visual clutter e.g. simplify worksheets, remove displays from around the whiteboard. This helps to focus on what is visually relevant.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoiding visual clutter in the general environment by keeping storage and signage simple, for example using the end peg or the end drawer for the pupil\u2019s storage<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Allow extra time to do visual tasks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use repetition and familiar routines<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Avoid extra stimulation. Adapt the setting to reduce noise, lighting and distractions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Pair visual information with another sensory cue e.g. picture of a duck with a quacking sound, if the CYP can use more than one sense at a time<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Be aware of visual preferences, red is often preferred.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Offer short visual breaks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Move an object &#8211; this might help to see it better<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use real objects rather than abstract symbols<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>CYP who have difficulties in recognising faces use an identifier, for example always wearing the same coloured item, having a meeting point in the playground etc<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Try a desk slope bring the text closer and keeps it in central visual field<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Practise key routes e.g. to the hall, lunch etc. Highlight landmarks that support orientation<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Highlight obstacles, steps and stairs. Consider having an environmental audit.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Supporting vision in the classroom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Colour: Use bold colours not pastels<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Good contrast: Use plain backgrounds<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lighting:\u00a0 Control lighting with curtains and blinds to improve contrast and reduce glare. If appropriate use a torch to help focus on an object<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Position:\u00a0 Make sure a pupil is seated appropriately so they can concentrate on seeing, for example at the front of the class<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Time: Give time to look at, process and respond to what you are showing<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Text considerations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Increasing the size of print and considering the spacing of words will make text easier to see. If enlarging, ensure that all resources are enlarged onto a maximum of A4. A3 is too large to scan across, accommodate on a desk and could result in posture issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Good lighting and crisp print on a clean background will help. Care must be taken when photocopying resources to ensure that they are still accessible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When reading it may be helpful to use a &#8216;letterbox&#8217;\u00a0 or cover unnecessary information placed on a page. This will help to focus on what is visually relevant. Resources such as electronic books allow fonts and spacing to be changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">For more information on CVI<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/makeiteasiertosee.co.uk\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Make It Easier To See \u2013 Simple Ideas to help people with cerebral visual impairment and brain based visual problems<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>https:\/\/www.cvisociety.org.uk\/<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/cviscotland.org\/\" rel=\"noopener\">CVI Scotland<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Accessible books and curriculum resources: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rnibbookshare.org\/cms\/\" rel=\"noopener\">UK education collection | RNIB Bookshare, accessible books for print disabled learners.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pathstoliteracy.org\/resource\/animal-book-children-cvi\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Animal Book for Children with CVI \u2013 Paths to Literacy<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/littlebearsees.org\/\" rel=\"noopener\">Little Bear Sees &#8211; Helping children with cortical visual impairment (CVI) learn to see<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>https:\/\/www.heybearsensory.com.watch<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is CVI? CVI occurs where the visual pathways in the brain are not working properly. Often it is not known what causes CVI. Usually [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2616,"featured_media":0,"parent":8149,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-20793","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-03 17:35:50","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2616"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20793"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20793\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29452,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20793\/revisions\/29452"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/support-schools-settings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}