General

I never cease to be surprised by the ways in which functional vision operates in individuals who have CVI. Early on, everything I read and experienced told me that the best chance of seeing improvements in functional vision would be limited to the youngest of children. The golden rule in the 1990s was that the first 3 years of life were the time of greatest visual plasticity and the best, maybe only option for the brain to develop, organize, or rewire vision. But as my approach became more organized and as The CVI Range became my reliable method for assessment and support, I began to wonder about…

This week I saw my final Pediatric VIEW families as a member of the Allegheny Health Network. Tomorrow my materials will be delivered to The Children's Home and Lemieux Family Center (5324 Penn Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15224, 412-441-4884). I am honored to have this opportunity to not only continue Pediatric VIEW but to grow it in new directions. The Children's Home Administrators are welcoming me with open arms and a degree of enthusiasm generally only seen in a teenagers on a first date. I am excited and beyond all else, grateful. The last act of packing at my West Penn office was to disassemble the collage of…

In the words of singer Mary Chapin Carpenter, "change comes of its own free will". And change has come to Pediatric VIEW. On May 20 I was informed that my hospital system was "sunsetting" my program. It took me a moment to associate such a lovely image with such a disappointing turn of events. Pediatric VIEW began in 1999 as an outgrowth of the hospital NICU developmental follow up programs. Pediatric VIEW was established to meet an unmet gap in addressing the needs of children who have complex needs including conditions that can be associated with visual impairment. This tiny little program eventually blossomed by word of…

There is much discussion about these two terms. Some believe that the term cortical refers to a historic affiliation with a condition described by Dr. James Jan & his associates. That is true. Some believe that the term cortical visual impairment has been replaced by a term called cerebral visual impairment and that the diagnoses are essentially interchangeable. That is not true. According to Dutton and others, cerebral and cortical visual impairment are terms used to describe different constructs but share an important element. Both cerebral and cortical visual impairment are used to describe brain-based visual processing disorders. But, simply put, cerebral visual impairment is a term…

I hope everyone is staying safe and well. To those who have been personally touched by the COVID-19 pandemic, I send my deepest concerns and sincere wishes for recovery. Appointments at Pediatric VIEW are slowly resuming and there is a cautious sense of optimism about returning to some sense of normalcy. Thank you for your patience and for the opportunity to meet with many of you via Zoom.

I am writing this blog post during a time in which we are all self quarantined. It's a strange and unsettling time. If you are spending more time indoors than you expected, and you are a family member of a child with CVI, you may be toward the bottom of your "fun things to do" list. My own children had a phrase they used on long rainy days indoors. "Mom, what can we do or eat?". To that end, I am offering a few ideas of things you may be able to do with your children. Phase I Put a few drops of food coloring in a…

It's almost 2019.  What a year this has been.  There have been so many things to reflect upon both personal and professional.  I am going to indulge myself a bit. The year started with the usual suspects.  Promises to get fit (ish), to find more quiet time to knit, or walk in the woods, or watch the birds (yes, I am a nerd).  But the little spiral book that is my calendar preempted many of those plans.  I'm not sorry-I love my work...every bit of it.  But, I do wonder about my inability to quiet my thoughts and to follow those occasional instincts for calm.  Nevermind that,…