Article
A day in the life with CVI: Molly Field
Welcome to a day in the life with 23 year-old UK resident Molly, who has CVI, from her work goals to drumming to decompress.
By: Molly Field and Jackie Swisshelm
Full control, full access
Perhaps you’ve heard this statement before: “If you’ve met one person with CVI, you’ve met one person with CVI.” Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment manifests uniquely in every individual, therefore, each person’s day-to-day experience and strategies for access must be unique. More and more, we’re learning that when adults with CVI have full control, they’re creating full access for themselves.
I know my strengths. I know my strategies. I know my vision. I know what’s best, and I just make sure I always put myself in that position that I can use that.
–Nicola McDowell
Molly Field is a 23 year-old UK resident with CVI. You might recognize her as “The VI Drummer” in our article on how music impacts students with CVI. Molly shares a pretty typical schedule: Wake up, go to work, come home, decompress, and do it all over again. In her video above, she has her day down pat. It’s a well-worn routine, filmed from her point-of-view where she has full control, giving her the means to create full access to her world—However that may look for her.
In the expanded timeline below, Molly further explains how her CVI may or may not impact a typical day-in-the-life.
Meet Molly
My name is Molly and I have CVI. I am 23 years old at the time of writing this article. I hope this piece helps you understand what a working day looks like for me. I have also made a video version of this, so feel free to check that out on my YouTube channel, The VI Drummer.
7 a.m. Morning routine
My Alexa Smart Speaker wakes me up in the morning with an alarm, then tells me what’s on my calendar that day and the weather forecast. I then get out of bed and make it (so I don’t get back in it!), before heading downstairs for breakfast. I don’t always eat a full breakfast; sometimes I just eat a banana, or toast, or cereal. It depends on how hungry I am. I also make a cup of tea or coffee, and I try and drink as much water as I can to rehydrate after 7-10 hours of sleep. After I have had my breakfast, I go upstairs to brush my teeth, brush and style my hair, wash my face, moisturise, and put deodorant on. I then go back to my room and get dressed into my outfit for the day. I like to wear perfume to work, so I spray a bit of that on as well. I then go downstairs to put my shoes and ID badge on and pick my bag up, before heading to work. My routine takes 45 minutes to an hour each day (depending on how easy it was for me to get up!)
In terms of my CVI, I don’t experience any specific difficulties with my morning routine. There isn’t a whole lot of information to process in the mornings because it stays the same a lot of the time, and most of what I do is just down to habit. However, I also have tunnel vision, which affects me more often because it impacts what I can and cannot see, literally. On the other hand, if something unexpected happened in the morning, my CVI might be affected because it would likely make me feel very reactive and a bit more stressed than usual. This never really happens though.
8 a.m. Commute to work
I usually walk to work (if it’s dry outside) as I’m not too far away from our main base. If it’s raining or just not very nice weather, I’ll catch a bus and get off at the nearest stop. My working week is very hectic because I’m often in more than one place each day, due to my schedule and nature of work. Some days I can relax a bit because I only have to go to one place for the whole day, but on others, there’s lots of travel involved. This is why I leave my house at slightly different times each morning, but it’s always before 9 a.m. Over this past term, I have liked to get to work earlier than I need to so that I can chat to my colleagues and catch up with people I don’t see as much as I did before, due to schedules changing each half-term.
When I commute to work, I can always remember where to go because it’s a very simple route, even if I choose to get the bus. I generally use the local bus timetable app and Google Maps on my phone to look up routes beforehand, if I’m unsure how to get somewhere. This is particularly helpful when I am on work experience with our young people and both of us don’t know where we’re going! The best advice I can give people, when it comes to commuting, is to give yourself enough time to practise. This really helped me feel confident to travel by myself. Nowadays, I only travel with my parents if I really need to.
9 a.m. – 4 p.m. Work
I work for a charity local to me that helps young adults with learning disabilities get into paid employment, through supported internships. At the moment, my work schedule is jam-packed with taking our candidates to work placements, supporting teachers in the classroom, and completing receptionist duties. To help prioritise tasks, I like to write out to-do lists each day, as this helps me keep track of what needs doing. I like to prioritise tasks that are urgent, or ones that I don’t feel as comfortable doing first, so I can get them out of the way as soon as possible. This doesn’t happen very often though, as I feel confident in my role. All staff get a 30-minute lunch break, and we can sometimes choose when this is, depending on our schedules. I like to have a break anytime from 12:30-1:30 p.m., but sometimes it’s more difficult to take a lunch break because of travel.
Regarding my CVI, planning out tasks in small to-do lists helps me process information easier, as I can just focus on each thing at a time and not get overwhelmed so quickly. For some of my duties at work, I have noticed that there are multiple types of information that I have to process and understand at the same time. For example, when I work on reception, I have to process verbal, visual, and written information. This happens when I speak to someone on the phone or talk to a colleague in person, watch people enter and leave the building, and read and write emails on my laptop. This can be overwhelming at times, but I always manage to get done what needs to be completed that day. I also find that I prefer working in uncluttered spaces, so I often move things out of the way before I start anything, when working at a desk. This is due to the fact that I can’t find items as easily when they are amongst other things. But I also just find it easier to concentrate in cleaner environments.
While at work, I try to take short breaks, particularly if I have been looking at my laptop for long periods of time. I often go outside for some fresh air, go for a walk, or even buy a coffee! Sometimes, I just like to chat to my colleagues to break my day up a bit. If I am on work placement with one of our young people, I don’t really need breaks because they’re always doing practical tasks and I’m more of an observer in this situation. I often feel physically exhausted from my work, rather than any other kind of tiredness, which may be an outcome of my CVI.
In my opinion, I could have had a better experience when it comes to my workplace accommodating for and understanding my CVI. I think that more of my colleagues should have known about my disability a lot sooner than they did. I emailed all my colleagues about my visual impairment when I had been working there for two terms, which was December time of 2023. I included diagrams of my eyes to show people how much I can see. I also explained what CVI is, how it was caused, and how it affects me, both in general and in this specific workplace. After I did this, there was more positivity around how well I do my job and specific people were incredibly considerate and empathetic towards me.
4:30 p.m. Decompress after work
I usually arrive back home not long after 4 p.m., but if I have had to attend a meeting, I arrive by 5 p.m. After work, I like to organise myself for the next day: Make my lunch, choose an outfit, and pack my bag. This helps me feel ready for the following day and makes me feel more relaxed. After this, I sometimes work on my own personal tasks that I have set myself for that day, which are not related to my job. These include making YouTube videos, catching up on messages from my friends and family, and sorting through my emails. I have found that time moves so quickly after work, so I don’t have a lot of time before heading off to bed! I often use the weekend to catch up on anything I didn’t manage to do during the week.
6 p.m. Dinner
At the moment, I live with my mum, so she usually makes dinner. We both have commitments on some days of the week, so when she’s not in, I make myself something. We usually stick to having the same meals each week because it’s easier than thinking of something new to have. I normally help by laying the table out with everything that is needed like cutlery, condiments, and drinks. I also put everything away in the cupboards and in the dishwasher, after we have finished. We usually spend this time talking about our day and listening to the radio, in the background.
When I cook, I don’t use any specific tools to help me because I can see everything clearly. I tend to take my time and make sure to read any instructions carefully. Sometimes, I ask my mum what to do if the instructions are not clear, or if I can’t see something well enough.
7 p.m. Relax
Before I start my night routine, I like to listen to music and watch YouTube videos. I also get a bit of drumming practise in at this time, particularly if I’m working on a video or practising something my drum teacher taught me in a lesson. I find it therapeutic to do this after work because it helps me unwind and let go of stresses throughout the day. This part of my day can vary in time I spend on activities, but I like to aim on getting into bed by 10 p.m. at the latest. My night routine doesn’t take as long as my morning routine, so I am quite flexible with this.
9:30 p.m. Night routine
When I am tired and ready to go to bed, I go into the bathroom to do my skincare routine. I then go back to my room and change into my pyjamas and get into bed. I like to write down a few things that I am grateful for and some things I have achieved that day, in a small notebook that I keep in a drawer by my bed. I do this every night. I then sometimes read a book, before going to sleep.
Again, my CVI doesn’t affect my night routine because everything is due to habit. Sometimes, I might feel more stressed than usual because there has been more happening that day than normal, therefore, there is more information to process. But, taking the time to prepare for the next day and relaxing before going to bed, really helps with this.
Work Goals and accomplishments
As part of the work I have done over the past few years, I managed to get four young adults into paid work at various employers, across Brighton and Hove. I have gained a lot of experience from working in a few different roles at the charity I currently work for. In terms of my career, I would love to progress into a senior position after working my way up the ladder for a few years. Perhaps, even running my own business one day!
Want to learn more about skills and strategies used by adults with CVI? Listen to a panel of adults with CVI share their lived experiences, including how to create access for themselves, in one of our recent CVI for the TVI sessions.
