overview
Introducing a comprehensive and inclusive educational assessment tool for students with Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI), created by The CVI Center at Perkins.
The Perkins CVI ProtocolSM is an expert evaluation tool designed to help teachers of the visually impaired create a robust, individualized CVI evaluation report with recommendations for students with CVI. The Protocol is:
The Perkins CVI Protocol offers a flexible approach to assessing all students with CVI, and is rooted in Perkins’ framework for understanding CVI: 16 Visual Behaviors and Compensatory Skills. This foundational philosophy encourages assessment of how a student is impacted by CVI and the strategies they use to access their world.
The Perkins CVI Protocol is intended to be conducted by a teacher of students with visual impairments (TVI), ideally with an understanding of CVI. We know that an assessor with a background in CVI may not always be available, so The Perkins CVI Protocol includes a comprehensive introduction to the 16 Visual Behaviors and Compensatory Skills.
If additional CVI education is required to conduct an assessment, Perkins offers training in CVI and administering The Protocol.
The Workbook is an editable, customizable format of The Perkins CVI Protocol. It offers guidance for conducting an educational CVI assessment and is intended to be completed step-by-step, but also encourages interaction with space and flexibility for taking notes and completing report templates directly in the documents. Assessors are encouraged to tailor components, questions, suggestions, etc. to the needs of each student.
The Workbook provides you with guides, templates, and resources, such as:
The Perkins CVI Protocol guides a TVI through the essential steps of conducting a thorough CVI assessment, including:
The current version of The Perkins CVI Protocol was developed through an iterative, collaborative process:
The Perkins CVI Protocol is a student-centered, inclusive tool intended for assessing all students regardless of age or CVI diagnosis status:
CVI Protocol Trial Participant TVI“The CVI Protocol involves a child’s caregivers and team members. It uses parental input and observation to make recommendations. It lends itself to educating families as well.”
CVI Protocol Trial Participant Medical Professional“This is the first well rounded and well researched method of not only assessing but working out how CVI can be incorporated into the child’s existing goals.”
CVI Protocol Trial Participant TVI“The CVI protocol provided a means to thoroughly assess a student’s visual access/challenges and provide appropriate steps for support/access. It also enabled the assessment of those students with suspected CVI to support parents in discussing the diagnosis further with medical professionals.”
Perkins Academy is proud to offer a free course on The Perkins CVI Protocol with added resources and a case study. You can sign up for the course in the submission form above.
The CVI Center team at Perkins oversees two vibrant CVI communities on Facebook:
Have a question about The Perkins CVI Protocol? Email us!
We thank and credit Marguerite Tibaudo, M.Ed, TVI, and Ellen Mazel, M.Ed, TVI, with the creation of the CVI visual behaviors, the Perkins’ methodology for understanding CVI, as well as the original idea and foundation of The CVI Protocol. The CVI Center has been able to build upon this philosophy, culminating in The Perkins CVI Protocol Workbook.
We also thank the hundreds of trial participants whose invaluable feedback helped us to create The Workbook.
Learn more about the leading cause of childhood blindness.
