About CVI Now
Empowering the CVI community
Our goal is to help you understand CVI, share the lived experiences of people with CVI, follow and share the current research, give everyday strategies, and build community.
Overview
We see you. We hear you. And we’re here to help.
Every day we hear from parents who are craving reliable information and advice on Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) — the leading cause of visual impairment in children in the United States. We know you are your child’s greatest advocate — at home, at school, in the doctor’s office, in the community, in life. You know your child best, and you need support from people you trust. You deserve answers and solutions to help you make decisions that not only impact your child’s life, but your life and your entire family.
That’s why Perkins created CVI Now: to empower parents with all of the CVI knowledge and tools you and your child need to succeed.
Meet the CVI Now team
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Rachel Bennett
Director of CVI Now, Parent Advocacy and Support at the CVI Center at PerkinsMeet Rachel -
Jessica Marquardt, M.A.
CVI Parent Advocate; Contributing Author of CVI Now; Creator of Kaleidoscope: The CVI Podcast; Internal Communications Lead, JMP/SASMeet Jessica
Contributing authors
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Barbara Lopez, Ph.D., LMHC
Developmental Psychologist; Contributing Faculty, Walden University; CVI Parent AdvocateMeet Barbara -
Emily Cantillon
TVI, Community Programs, Perkins School for the Blind -
Kira Brady, M.A.
CVI parent and professor of composition and research
Welcome to CVI Now
Answers you can trust, community you can count on. Because kids with CVI can’t wait.
Understanding CVI
Learn all about CVI and the brain! Explore foundational resources about CVI, the CVI visual behaviors, and how CVI is diagnosed. Dive into our series on the visual system and the CVI brain. Our CVI team will continue to grow alongside you as more and more research surrounding CVI becomes available.
Promising practices
Every individual with CVI has a right to access. Learn about how to provide a multi-sensory approach and all the opportunities necessary for children with CVI to learn and grow. There is no one-size-fits-all approach for CVI, but there is a wide range of promising practices that meet the unique needs of children with CVI.
Parenting
Raising a child with CVI is a unique parenting challenge. You need strategies, ideas and advice for working with your child at home as well as collaborating with your child’s team. And because every child with CVI is unique, you’ll find various approaches to CVI in each piece.
CVI stories
The CVI community has a lot to say. The collective voice of individuals with CVI and CVI families continues to grow. Our stories are powerful. Our stories create awareness. Our stories change how the world sees CVI.
CVI Now parent Facebook group
Reassurance, support, connection.
A safe, positive space for parents to meet other parents and discuss all of the things about raising a child with CVI that no one else can truly understand.
We all have so much to learn.
Let’s learn and support each other on this journey. Have questions? Reach out to the CVI Team today!