For children with the leading cause of childhood blindness, CVI (Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment), receiving a diagnosis often comes after many years of searching and misdiagnoses. Research on this brain-based visual impairment shows that it is common yet children worldwide are falling through the cracks. Unfortunately, a lack of resources for special education teachers on CVI is also a major problem.
One study estimates that in the United States, CVI may affect up to 1 in 30 children in mainstream elementary classrooms. Since most teachers don’t have the specialized training to teach a student with CVI, these students become excluded from their education.
Up to 7.5% of individuals in the world speak Spanish — we must make this content accessible to this population.”
Mary Zatta, Director of Professional Development at Perkins School for the Blind
Since Perkins’ international programs have a significant presence in Latin America, Mary Zatta and other Perkins experts came together to develop an online course on CVI that could be translated into Spanish and eventually into other languages.
Unlocking resources for special education teachers in Chile
In Latin America, Perkin’s quest to spread information and teaching expertise on CVI began in Chile. Perkins and the Reinhard Frank Foundation partnered together to improve access and the quality of education for students with disabilities. Their action plan prioritizes strengthening schools, training teachers, and creating networks for education professionals.
Perkins expert and leader, Daniela Gissara, began online training on CVI with two public schools: The Amapolas School and Hellen Keller School. Both schools are part of the Perkins and Frank initiative in Chile and have at least one graduate of Perkins’ Educational Leadership Program (ELP).
Daniela who — apart from being Assistant Director of International Partnerships — is a low vision specialist, expert educator, and also a graduate of the ELP.
Before the trainings provided by Perkins, I had no information about CVI or its implications, as it wasn’t part of my specialty or initial training. It has been very relevant to learn many of the characteristics of our current students.”
Barbara, Amapolas School Principal
Sharing CVI knowledge online and in Boston
After Amapolas and Hellen Keller school completed this self-paced course, Perkins offered webinar sessions for schools in Argentina and Mexico. This move saw a huge demand for more courses. It also confirmed the need for resources in the broader region, resulting in wait lists for interested special education teachers.
By 2023, Perkins translated more resources into Spanish, offered a CVI certificate course online, and also provided free webinar recordings. So far, 95 educators and other professionals from Chile, Argentina, and Mexico have earned certificates.
Before these CVI courses, Special Education teacher Maria Jose Nilo used to apply strategies like “visual anticipation,” where functional signs or concrete materials often accompanied instruction. By having access to this information, Maria could make the necessary adjustments for future students and work to their needs.
We now understand the importance of presenting precise stimuli in environments with minimal distractions to focus attention on a single element.”
Maria Jose Nilo, Special Education Teacher at Amapolas School
Fast forward to June of 2024. Perkins’ CVI Center hosted its annual CVI Conference in Boston, where parents, teachers, Opthamalogists, and other medical providers attended from all over the world.
Carolina Bahamonde, Speech Therapist at Amapolas, and Lorena Siquês, School Principal at the Hellen Keller School, made the trip. They attended presentations, met with leaders and experts in different fields, and reconnected with teachers they knew back when they studied at Perkins.
The conference explored current research on CVI as well as best practices that create the necessary conditions for students to access visual information. While they are only two people, they carried this knowledge home to share with their colleagues who will then help others learn about CVI.
Lorena Siquês
Principal, Hellen Keller School“At Hellen Keller School, we have identified over 15 students with cortical visual impairment. So, it has been super important for us to have these tools, make adjustments, and understand the characteristics of each student.”
Carolina Bahamonde
Speech Therapist, Amapolas School“It was a very enriching and emotional experience. Returning to Perkins and attending the conference helped me understand the importance of the work we do with our students.”
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