Join us for a presentation with Sylvia Mangan and Perkins School for the Blind on Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI). CVI is the leading cause of visual impairment in children in developed countries and was recently identified as a National Eye Institute priority. There are many common associated conditions with CVI, such as Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, and a range of genetic syndromes. Perkins has created a new framework for understanding CVI, called the CVI visual behaviors. This framework was developed by combining information from current research, listening to the experiences of individuals with CVI, and analyzing trends in assessments of students living with CVI, This approach outlines 16 visual behaviors and associated compensatory strategies. It describes how the lives of individuals with CVI are impacted by the diagnosis and identifies how CVI differs from ocular visual impairments. This session will review these visual behaviors with examples. Presenter Bio: Sylvia Mangan is a CVI Coordinator in the CVI Center at Perkins School for the Blind. She began her career as a Speech-Language Pathologist, and completed her education at Northwestern University. She worked in public schools before joining the team at Perkins. She developed a passion for working with students with multiple disabilities, including Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI), with a special interest in supporting individuals with complex communication needs. She completed the CVI Certificate from University of Massachusetts, Boston, and is completing her degree as Teacher of the Visually Impaired from the same institution. She teaches a course on Augmentative-Alternative Communication (AAC) and CVI for graduate credit through Perkins eLearning, and enjoys speaking at conferences on supporting the unique learning profile of this demographic and amplifying their voices.
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