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7 points CVI educators took from the 2024 Perkins CVI Conference
Discover resources, research, CVI assessment updates, teaching strategies to try, and more insights from the 2024 Perkins CVI Conference.
In June 2024, we convened hundreds of families, educators, and CVI thought leaders for our biannual three-day CVI Conference at the Revere Hotel in Boston. This year’s theme, “Building Meaningful Recognition,” highlighted educational resources for CVI through a lens of access and inclusion. The enthusiasm was palpable—and the devotion of so many educators was empowering.
In the words of one attendee: “This was an amazing conference, and I came home inspired to put changes in place.”
Here are key takeaways for educators.
1. Kids with CVI deserve access to literacy.
And we can give it to them! TVI Tammy Reisman discussed how to support literacy in students with CVI, underscoring how every student with visual impairment must have a learning media assessment (LMA). Some highlights:
- All students, regardless of disabilities, must have consistent access to literacy instruction
- Every child should be taught literacy skills using evidence-based instruction with all components; not jut sight words.
- All students regardless of disabilities must have consistent access to the general curriculum.
- All students are ready for literacy instruction.
- All students are dual (or multimedia) learners.
- All educators need an open mind when it comes to learning media and literacy mediums for all kids, including kids with CVI.
- Using compensatory skills never takes away from developing visual skills.
- Kids with CVI need choices, just like other learners.
- Most important: Every child with CVI can be a problem-solver, reader, and writer.
Her presentation was so inspiring and inclusive, reminding us that literacy is a human right. We absolutely must presume competence in kids with CVI—and all learners. Learn more about CVI and dual media literacy.
2. CVI assessments must be multi-dimensional.
Ellen Mazel, previous director of CVI research and development at the CVI Center at Perkins, underscored the importance of assessing recognition skills.
In any assessment, you have to look at visual attention and recognition, and compensatory skills. If your assessment isn’t looking at both, you’re not doing a CVI assessment.
-Ellen Mazel, M.Ed., CTVI and Deafblind Specialist
3. There’s so much excitement to come from The Perkins CVI Protocol℠.
This is a gamechanger: a comprehensive, inclusive assessment tool for TVIs, grounded in scientific research and focused on the whole child. Here’s the latest:
- We’ve had seven trials, 236 participants, and lots of useful insights.
- We’re improving usability based on feedback about length and redundancy.
- We’re rolling out a workbook version of the Protocol, pivoting from a digital version.
- We still plan to launch a digital version with better flow and navigation.
- There’s more rollout to come in 2024!
Learn more about The Protocol here.
4. CVI Ally is a key resource for educational teams, students, and families.
This book and educational tool (in development and published by Perkins) creates a roadmap for kids with CVI to fully access their learning. CVI Ally lays out CVI’s potential effect on major domains of the typical school day, showing how to improve access. Inclusion is everything.
CVI Ally is based on four principles:
- Advocacy, to be an ally for educators, families, and students
- Understanding, to help CVIers, families, and teams understand the many ways CVI can affect a student’s school experience
- Empathy, to help teams and families relate to a student’s experience
- Collaboration, by guiding teams to work together to create an accessible school experience through the right design tools for access, from a kinesthetic, auditory, tactile, and visual perspective
Most of all, CVI Ally underscores the importance of autonomy, agency, and choice. Modalities matter; CVI learning is never one-size-fits-all. A purely vision-first perspective puts enormous pressure on a CVIer and can cause unneeded stress.
Instead, people with CVI deserve to choose how they prefer to access their world—and we’re here to help you support them.
5. Understanding CVI perception is essential to effective intervention.
At Perkins, we approach CVI from the inside out: We want to know and understand how people with CVI perceive the world so we can work within that reality—instead of imposing external realities onto students. Our approach is person-centered.
We heard from University of Edinburgh CVI Professor John Ravenscroft and Perkins TVI Marguerite Tibaudo, who discussed why it’s so important. When educators consider perception, they can:
- Have a flexible mindset when assessing students
- Provide experiences that maximize a child’s opportunities to develop useful, meaningful concepts of the world
- Create a relationship based on understanding of their world, not yours
Remember: If we don’t understand how a kid experientially represents the world, we don’t understand how they perceive it. Effective intervention depends on this understanding.
6. The Austin Assessment Tool is a promising, accessible screening method for CVI.
Dr. Nicola McDowell from Massey University in New Zealand shared information about the assessment, which:
- can be used by anyone (no vision training necessary)
- is game-like and engaging, without an overarching assessment feel
- maintains a strength-based approach
- validated for kids 5 to 18
It’s useful both pre- or post-intervention, both to understand specific CVI manifestations and to inform practice and approaches.
CVI remains drastically underdiagnosed, and this is a significant step toward better identification. Learn more here.
7. There are many ways to support kids who may have Central Auditory Processing Disorder (CAPD).
CVI manifests uniquely for every child, and our conference underscored that individuality. Some kids with CVI also have overlapping auditory processing difficulties. They might:
- have trouble paying attention to and remembering oral information
- struggle with multi-step oral directions
- display poor listening skills
- need more time to process information
- exhibit low academic performance and/or behavior problems
- have trouble with syllable sequences and developing vocabulary
- struggle with reading comprehension and spelling
Maurice Belote, co-chair of the National Coalition on Deafblindness, discussed tactics for educators to consider for CAPD students, including:
- limiting auditory clutter
- allowing sufficient time for auditory processing
- being mindful of rate of speech (the ideal rate is 124 words per minute: Think of Mr. Rogers!)
- using a multi-sensory approach while considering the limits of simultaneous multi-sensory input
Learn more about CVI and CAPD here.
Ready to dive even deeper? Order our conference recording package, and sign up for our customized CVI training.
Get more resources at CVI Now, and stay tuned for a new educator space coming soon.
