VIDBE-Q Volume 65 Issue 1
throughout their day and therefore, increase chances for visual plasticity to
occur.
I have often heard educators say, "I have completed the CVI Range
and know the visual functioning level my student is at, but now what?"
Having that clear understanding of visual functioning level is crucial and an
important step in order to get to the, "Now what?" Let's imagine a student
who is just beginning to use vision and functioning in Phase I (Roman-
Lantzy, 2018). Let's say his preferred color is red, that he alerts best to
targets at near that have movement and light qualities, responds to only
one, single colored target at a time, and requires a strictly controlled
sensory environment in order to use vision. His parent may have reported
that he has difficulty with visual novelty and prefers to look at his favorite,
familiar red Slinky. Knowing all of this information, you can then gather and
create child specific targets and modify environments that best meet this
student's visual needs. For example, you might use an illuminated, red
Slinky presented at near in front of a solid colored background in a quiet,
dimly lit room (see Image 1). You might encourage the classroom teacher
to use this target to help, "jump start" use of vision in the classroom setting.
The physical therapist might be shown how to use this preferred target to
encourage keeping the head upright, independent sitting and trunk control.
