A Team Approach to Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) in Schools

Cortical visual impairment (CVI) is presently the fastest growing cause of visual impairment in children. The influx of children with CVI entering school districts requires Individualized Education Program (IEP) teams to gain expertise about CVI and learn best practices to work with these children. CVI experts agree that a collaborative transdisciplinary team can best serve the complex needs of the children. Written by an occupational therapist, this project designs a CVI manual, A Team Approach to CVI in Schools, which reviews current literature and provides support for client centered, occupational based education for children with CVI. The literature review points to a shortage of research-based guidance for working with children with CVI. Although recent CVI literature offers new strategies for improving the vision of children with CV, this CVI manual fills the need for a school guide that focuses on the children\u27s broad school participation by addressing the transactional components of child, context, occupation, and teacher/therapist in designing effective school programs. The manual strives to build capacity of school IEP teams to work collaboratively and effectively with children with CVI by increasing the teams\u27 knowledge base about CVI and helping the children participate fully in school. Best practices in education for children with CVI are presented in the areas of school evaluation, programming, and student engagement in meaningful activities within daily routines