During the last decade, vision loss caused by injury to the brain rather than by conditions or diseases of the eye has been the focus of increasing attention. As extremely premature infants survive in increasing numbers due to medical advances, often after sustaining hemorrhage or other trauma to the brain, and wounded soldiers who have survived grievous injury fighting foreign wars have returned to this country, the incidence of visual impairment tied to neurological causes has risen in the United States.
CVI, TBI, and Neurological Vision Loss
Cortical visual impairment (CVI), and cerebral visual impairment (CVI), are terms often used to describe visual impairment that occurs because of injury to the brain, as are neurological vision loss, and vision loss due to traumatic brain injury (TBI).
Although vision or sight, as a sense, is primarily associated with the eyes, in reality, vision is the product of a complex system of which the eyes are only one part. The processing of visual information—the receipt of visual stimuli through the eyes, its interpretation by various brain centers, and its translation into perceptions of visual images, and the associations of those perceptions with concepts and language—has been estimated to involve as much as 40 percent of the brain. When this process is disrupted, the visual systems of the brain do not consistently interpret or understand what the eyes see, and visual impairment is the result.
Vision loss due to neurological injury affects both children and adults, and the complexities involved have been the subject of much discussion and debate throughout the community of professionals who provide vision-related services. Although promising practices have been identified, consensus has not been reached on the definition, assessment, and services needed to address vision loss of this kind, and much more research may be needed to determine effective educational, rehabilitative, and medical practices in this area.
Read More About CVI
Who Receives Intervention for CVI?
This excerpt, compiled by Amanda Hall Lueck, provides information for educators on interventions for CVI.
Statement on Cortical Visual Impairment
This statement was written by an international advisory group to the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), and is intended to provide guidance and clarity on a range of issues related to cortical visual impairment. Learn more about APH's efforts related to cortical/cerebral visual impairment at www.aph.org/cvi.
Josephine L. Taylor Leadership Institute 2008 Workshop Presentations on Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment and Traumatic Brain Injury
In 2008, a preconference seminar on CVI was held prior to the Josephine L. Taylor Leadership Institute (now known as the AFB Leadership Conference). The files include a PowerPoint presentation given by Dr. Harriet Zeiner (also available in Word format), a handout provided by Dr. August Colenbrander (available in PDF and Word), and two handouts from Dr. Mary Morse.
Publications on CVI
Cortical Visual Impairment: An Approach to Assessment and Intervention, 2nd Edition
On the basis of more than 30 years' experience in working with hundreds of children of all ages with CVI, Christine Roman-Lantzy has developed a set of unique assessment tools and systematic, targeted principles whose use has helped children learn to use their vision more effectively. This one-of-a-kind resource provides readers with both a conceptual framework with which to understand working with CVI and concrete strategies to apply directly in their work.
Vision and the Brain: Understanding Cerebral Visual Impairment in Children
Edited by Amanda Hall Lueck and Gordon N. Dutton, Vision and the Brain is a unique and comprehensive sourcebook of current knowledge about CVI and best practices for working with children. Expert contributors from many countries illuminate the complexities of vision loss related to brain injury and neurological causes and provide readers with approaches to assessment and intervention.
