Salient features are noticeable aspects that help the brain categorize incoming information. Think of an elephant. What consistently stands out across multiple images of an elephant so that we are able to recognize it? We usually think of an elephant as having gray skin, four thick legs, a long trunk, and big round ears. These are […]
Is Black and White Best for Kids with Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI)?
In a recent contest we held on Facebook, we asked our fans to answer the following question: What do children with cortical visual impairment see best? Here are the results: 20% of our participants answered that black and white images are best. In fact, we very often come across the notion that using black and […]
Colorful Holiday Gift Ideas for Kids with CVI
As we’ve mentioned before, color is hugely important for kids with CVI. Unfortunately, it is a common misconception that because black and white is good for the early visual development of typically-developing kids, it must also be good for kids with CVI. While some kids with CVI are able to respond to black and white, […]
CVI Valentine’s Day Finds
Certain holidays are perfect for finding great CVI items. Valentine’s Day is excellent for kids who prefer red or pink, two of Little Bear’s favorite colors. Many pharmacies, grocery stores, dollar stores and party stores will have holiday-specific items on sale after the holiday. This is the perfect time to find some new treasures to […]
Using a switch for CVI activities
We recently got a new switch from our Occupational Therapist that Little Bear is much more successful at using. The switch is a Scallop Switch from the American Printing House for the Blind. This switch is big and sensitive, so he doesn’t have to be exact in his movements. We added some red bubble wrap […]
A CVI Christmas Part 2!
Once we had our CVI friendly Christmas tree set up, we also wanted to make our gifts as CVI-friendly as possible. To do this, we purchased rolls of metallic, single-colored wrapping paper in red, green and blue from Hy Gloss Products. (This is also a great website for finding a variety of other shiny materials!) […]
A CVI Christmas!
For Christmas this year, we are focusing on making our tree CVI friendly. Since red is one of Lukas’ favorite colors, we purchased sparkly red ornaments (we found these at Sears) and big red light strands (from Walgreen’s) to put on the tree. The glitter on the ornaments adds the element of movement and he […]
Shiny beads
One of Little Bear’s favorite toys is strands of bright red or pink beads placed against a black background. The lights in the room shine on the beads and make them easy to see. He often reaches for them and can easily make them move. These are available at most party and dollar stores.
Light sticks
Glow sticks are great for kids with CVI. They provide an easy source of color and light. We prefer the Life Gear glow sticks that can be found in many home improvement, hardware stores and discount stores. These are small stick lights which come in red, yellow, green, blue, pink and other colors. They can […]
Adding color to bottles and cups
We have tried several methods of adding color to Little Bear’s bottle and cup. Our current favorite is a combination of a shiny red slap bracelet and a curly red ribbon. He really seems to be able to see this before and while drinking his bottle. In the past we wrapped a red hair scrunchie […]