VIDBE-Q Volume 67 Issue 1
challenge and opportunities of designing intervention strategies for young children
with CVIs.
How CVIs Manifest in Young Children
Cerebral/cortical visual impairments (CVIs) are caused by neurological
damage and are the most prevalent visual condition of young children with severe
visual impairment in the United States (Hatton et al., 2013) and high-income
countries (Gogate & Gilbert, 2007). The ways in which CVI manifests, or affects
basic visual performance, are unique to each child (Hyvärinen, 2003; Dutton,
2003; Lueck & Dutton, 2015) and can influence various developmental areas such
as the child's use of vision, development of skills, and interactions with people and
the environment.
Understanding CVIs may be perplexing for practitioners, families, and other
stakeholders, especially in young children with multiple disabilities. How CVIs
manifest in each child may be unique and require careful consideration about how
young children develop across all domains (e.g., social, cognitive, communication,
motor) and how different environments may support or hinder functional vision.
Research and first-and accounts from those who experience CVIs have suggested
that visual acuity deficits and impaired visual field function due to anomalies of the
visual brain may be present as well as visual processing and attention difficulties
(Martin et al., 2016). It may not be possible to identify the often subtle
