CVI Explained
Made by a parent of a kid with CVI

Real help for the people around a child with CVI.

Guides you can use tonight, pages you can print, and words you can send to school.

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Just diagnosedSchool meetingI'm a teacherExplain it to familyIs it CVI?
Captions included. The views are approximations: CVI is different for every kid.

Everything in one place

26 guides, checklists and letters. Free. No sign-up to read or print.

Print

Your student has CVI

One page for the teacher, with a 3-minute film.

Open Templates

Letters and emails you can copy

Ask for an evaluation, a meeting, or a decision in writing.

Open Checklist

Before the school meeting

What to bring, what to say, and what not to sign.

Open Print

For grandparents and family

One page that explains CVI and what to do.

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For parents

What to do this week, at home and when you go out.

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School and IEPs

Words to say, supports to ask for, letters to copy.

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For teachers and staff

Three minutes, one page, then Monday.

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Hand it to someone

One page for the people around your child.

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Find real help

Doctors, services and other parents, by what you need.

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Understand CVI

The plain-English version, with sources.

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She knows the cup is there. She can't find it.

CVI starts in the brain, not the eyes. A busy scene won't split into separate things.

A breakfast table crowded with objects on a checked cloth, including a red cup.
What you see.
The same table broken into sharp colored fragments. No object holds together.
Something like what she sees.
One red cup alone on a plain mat.
Clear the table. There it is.

No picture can show exactly what CVI looks like. It isn't blur, and it's different for every kid. Read the plain-English explanation.

Six small things that help

  1. Clear the clutterOne thing on the table. A plain wall behind you.
  2. One thing at a timeLook, or listen, or reach. Pick one.
  3. Say who you are"Hi Maya, it's Grandpa." Faces are hard.
  4. WaitCount to ten. Don't fill the silence.
  5. Turn down the noiseA loud room crowds out vision.
  6. Mark the edgesBright tape on stairs and curbs.

And when she says she can't see it, believe her.

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Quick answers

What is CVI?
A vision problem that starts in the brain, not the eyes. The eyes can be perfectly healthy. The brain has trouble turning what they send into a picture that makes sense. CVI stands for cortical (or cerebral) visual impairment.
What does a kid with CVI actually see?
Nobody can show you exactly, and it's different for every kid. Common things: a busy scene won't split into separate objects, only one thing shows up at a time, faces are hard to read, and the bottom of the view is missing. It isn't blur.
Why can she see it one day and not the next?
Seeing takes a kid with CVI real effort. When she's tired, or the room is loud, cluttered or new, it gets harder. It's not attitude, and it's not a lack of trying.
Will glasses fix it?
No. Glasses fix eyes, and CVI is in the brain. Some kids with CVI also need glasses for a separate eye problem.
Is CVI rare?
No. The US National Eye Institute calls it a leading cause of vision loss among kids in the United States. Many kids are never diagnosed, because their eye exams can look normal.

Sources: National Eye Institute and Perkins School for the Blind. How this site is checked.