CVI Explained

CVI books, apps and tools

There are only a handful of CVI books and apps, and most are written for professionals. Start with free things: CVI Scotland's reading tool and video player, and the free apps people with low vision already use, like Seeing AI and Be My Eyes. Buy a book only when you want to go deep, and check with your child's vision teacher before you pay for an app.

Updated . General information, not medical or legal advice.

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Books

CVI experts use two main approaches. The first two books come from Christine Roman-Lantzy’s approach. The third comes from Gordon Dutton and colleagues. Both are respected. Ask your child’s vision teacher which one your school team uses.

  • Cortical Visual Impairment: An Approach to Assessment and Intervention, Christine Roman-Lantzy, 2nd edition (2018). For: vision teachers, therapists and parents who want the full method. It contains the CVI Range, an assessment many US vision teachers use. It is a textbook, not a quick read. $76.95 print, made to order.
  • Cortical Visual Impairment: Advanced Principles, edited by Christine Roman-Lantzy. For: people who have read the first book. Includes a chapter on children with complex communication needs. $76.95 print, $45.95 ebook.
  • Vision and the Brain: Understanding Cerebral Visual Impairment in Children, edited by Amanda Hall Lueck and Gordon Dutton (2015). For: professionals, and parents or adults with CVI who want the science. A large sourcebook. Nai, an adult with CVI, has said that reading it was when they finally recognized their own life. $91.95 print, made to order.
  • Little Bear Sees, Aubri Tallent, Andrei Tallent and Fredy Bush (2012). For: new parents. Written by parents for parents. It explains CVI and gives ideas to try at home. Its tone is very hopeful, and some adults with CVI push back on books that promise vision will get better. Read it alongside other sources. The publisher’s page lists $18 paperback, $9.99 ebook. The group behind it has posted no news since 2020.

Two more from APH Press, for parents of babies and toddlers:

  • Babies with CVI, Anne McComiskey (2021). Birth to 3. $51.95 print.
  • CVI Companion Guide, Lueck, Chen and Hartmann. Ideas for building skills into daily routines in early intervention. $57 print, $39.99 ebook.

Apps made for children with CVI

These are activity apps. None of them diagnoses CVI or treats it.

  • CViConnect. iPad (and newer Macs). Hundreds of simple, bright activities, built around Roman-Lantzy’s CVI Range phases. The app records where your child looks and touches. Free to download, but it needs a subscription. The home edition costs $10 a month, $120 a year, or $240 for two years. For: young children, with a vision teacher guiding which activities to use.
  • Tap-n-See Now. iPhone and iPad. $2.99. An early app made for young children with CVI, from the same group as Little Bear Sees. It has not been updated since 2015 and has low ratings, so try it before you rely on it.
  • APH CVI Complexity Sequences. iPad and newer Macs. Free, and collects no data. A child finds one picture as the background gets busier. For: use with a vision teacher, who sets the level.

Free CVI tools

  • Look, from CVI Scotland. A free online reader. Upload your own text and change the settings to make reading easier. For: older kids, teens and adults who find busy pages hard.
  • CVI Scotland video player. Plays YouTube videos without the clutter around them. You can change the size and speed. For: any age.
  • The Perkins CVI Protocol. A free assessment for ages 0 to 22. It is meant to be done by a teacher of the visually impaired (TVI). Parents can download it, but it is not a home test. For: TVIs, and parents who want to know what the TVI will look at. Free after a short form.

Everyday tools adults and teens with CVI use

None of these was made for CVI. They are general tools for blind and low-vision people, and many people with CVI use them.

  • Seeing AI (Microsoft). iPhone. Free. Point the camera and it reads text out loud, describes a scene, names colors and helps find things. Good for: menus, mail, “what’s in front of me?”
  • Be My Eyes. Free for blind and low-vision users. Connects you by video with a volunteer, or with an AI that describes a photo. Good for: “which of these is the right box?” and a busy shelf.
  • Built into your phone. Screen readers (VoiceOver on iPhone, TalkBack on Android), zoom, larger text, and settings that reduce motion or change colors. See the Apple vision accessibility page and the Android accessibility overview. Free.

Not sure what fits? Ask your child’s TVI, or see where to find real help.

Common questions

Will an app improve my child's vision?
No app has been shown to do that. CVI apps can give your child something simple and bright to look at and touch, and some help a vision teacher track what your child responds to. Treat them as one activity among many, not a treatment.
Which book should I read first?
Most parents don't need a book in the first weeks. Start with the free pages from the National Eye Institute and Perkins CVI Now. When you want depth, choose a book from the list below that matches your child's age and your school team's approach.

Sources

From cviexplained.com/books-apps-tools/. General information for families and school staff. Not medical or legal advice. CVI is different for every child.