Cortical Visual Impairment
Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI), a temporary or permanent visual impairment, results in a disturbance of the posterior visual pathways and/or the occipital lobes of the brain. The visual impairment can range from a severe visual impairment to complete and total blindness, and the severity normally depends upon the time of onset, the location, and the intensity. The condition indicates that the visual systems of the brain do not consistently understand or interpret what the eyes see. Cortical Visual Impairment can be caused in a variety of ways, including asphyxia, perinatal hypoxia ischemia, developmental brain defects, head injury, hydrocephalus, and infections of the central nervous system, such as meningitis and encephalitis.
CVI is the leading cause of bilateral visual impairment in children in western countries. Discovering CVI reflects better methods for identifying visual impairment due to CNS injury and also advances in perinatal care, which has increased the survival rate of children with neurological mobidity. Children with CVI initially appear blind; however, their vision tends to improve. Therefore, CVI is a more appropriate than Cortical Blindness. CVI often coexists with ocular visual loss. Therefore, children suffering from CVI should often be seen by both a pediatric neurologist and a pediatric ophthalmologist.
Diagnosing a child with Cortical Visual Impairment can be an intricate task, because it is complicated to understand, even though it is the leading cause of vision problems in children. Many children with CVI don 't appear visually impaired, so the condition may go unnoticed for quite some time, especially if there are other medical issues that are of major focus. Part of the problem is that it reflects problems in the processing part of the visual system which is often difficult to define. The diagnosis is made when a child has poor or no visual response and yet has a normal papillary reactions and a normal eye examination. The
CVI is the leading cause of bilateral visual impairment in children in western countries. Discovering CVI reflects better methods for identifying visual impairment due to CNS injury and also advances in perinatal care, which has increased the survival rate of children with neurological mobidity. Children with CVI initially appear blind; however, their vision tends to improve. Therefore, CVI is a more appropriate than Cortical Blindness. CVI often coexists with ocular visual loss. Therefore, children suffering from CVI should often be seen by both a pediatric neurologist and a pediatric ophthalmologist.
Diagnosing a child with Cortical Visual Impairment can be an intricate task, because it is complicated to understand, even though it is the leading cause of vision problems in children. Many children with CVI don 't appear visually impaired, so the condition may go unnoticed for quite some time, especially if there are other medical issues that are of major focus. Part of the problem is that it reflects problems in the processing part of the visual system which is often difficult to define. The diagnosis is made when a child has poor or no visual response and yet has a normal papillary reactions and a normal eye examination. The
Bibliography: 1. Gorenveld M, Jan JE, Leader P. (1990) Observations on the habilitation of children with cortical visual impairment. Jounral of Visual Impairment and Blindness 84: 11-5 2. Good WV, Jan JE, deSa I, Barkovich A], Goenveld M, Hoyt CS 5. Greely, J. (1997) Strategies for Working with Cortical Visual Impairment 6. Harrell, Lois