Recently, I was fortunate to connect with Lisha Jo Yochimowitz, a highly experienced Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) located in Pennsylvania, USA. You may have come across the beautiful website seeingsadieandcvi.com and if you haven’t, you must! It’s here you will find a breathtaking array of educational materials and information to help kids who have Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI). This website is the product of a lot of hard work by a small group of very dedicated individuals, including Sadie’s mom, Tracey, and Sadie’s CVI Specialist, Lisha.
This Fireside Chat is my most recent initiative at CVI Journey. Its purpose is to create opportunities to engage professionals with deep CVI knowledge on a one on one basis, so our community can benefit from their insights and experience. Please, help us share this blog with other parents, and if you want to participate in a fireside chat, please contact me. We are looking for volunteers to step forward.
Lisha is a Perkins-Roman CVI accredited advocate. She studied Elementary Education with a Vision Certificate at Kutztown University and gained her Masters in Education from Gratz College. A mother of three, Lisha has taught for over 25 years and has been a TVI for over 20 years. She taught 2nd grade, was a TVI at Overbrook School for the Blind, and at the Montgomery County IU for 18 years as a TVI in the Early Intervention Program. Lisha has been working as a CVI Specialist with Sadie Jo (from seeingsadieandcvi.com) for the past few years.
As the mom of a child with CVI, I was excited to receive Lisha’s advice and insights about CVI. My questions and her answers are below.
– Cindy
Lisha, what qualities do you feel are important for a Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI) to have when working with children with Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI)?
Most TVIs that I have worked with that I admire have the ability to do adaptations and investigative work when working with our CVI students. TVIs need to be able to quickly adapt curriculum and teaching styles in order for students to be able to gain access to learning. Investigative work means the ability to listen, observe, and interpret all the evidence-based data they have collected on their student so that the team can teach to that learning style with the strengths and needs in place. We are constantly learning from our students and families, and we have to be life-long learners that take in new information to keep helping others.
Can you tell us about a time in your career when you felt elated and excited? What happened?
I feel excited when I have those moments of breakthroughs with individual students. CVI students need consistency, routine, and predictable outcomes. When introducing new information (novelty) there is often a long learning road. Seeing them master everyday learning makes it all worth it. Yes, it takes time and determination but it’s worth it for the connecting moment. For example, the time Sadie and I were walking outside and her school’s name was on a bench, she said, “Look! I see the letter ‘e’!” It was a moment of pure joy! To see her find a letter out in her environment without prompting for the first time was huge. Little moments like that keep you fuelled to keep going.
What sorts of challenges related to CVI have you faced along the way? How can parents and other TVIs navigate them?
The greatest challenges related to CVI that seem to challenge parents and TVIs is the gift of time and creating an optimal learning environment. CVI students need a consistent teacher who is trained to meet their needs and there just aren’t enough of us out there. And when the families get a trained professional, they need to advocate for time with that person. CVI students need that! If you are lucky enough to get that person, there is also the struggle of creating that ideal learning environment. Traditional classrooms can be overwhelming but the need for peer interaction is huge. Finding the balance of learning in a CVI-friendly environment with a trained professional can happen, but the school needs to meet those needs and be willing to make those adjustments.
What do you know now that you wish you knew back then?
OH boy…a million little things. Teaching is a craft that you must constantly work at. There are so many tips, tools, and ideas that you just can’t know as a new teacher. It takes time. That is why it is so important to work together with your team, peers, parents, and students. Specifically with CVI, I didn’t even know what that term was out of college. It’s frustrating not to have had the information we have now back then, but we can only do our best with what we have at the time.
In your answer to the previous question, you mentioned that back in the day, the term “CVI” was not taught in your college. How has the term evolved over the years? Do colleges offer classes about CVI today? I have heard that until now, there is insufficient training available to students who are studying to work in the medical and educational fields.
I taught at Easter Seals 1-2 times a week through the Montgomery County IU and came across the term CVI (this was 15-18 years ago!) and started to research. I contacted my KU (Kutztown University) professor who ran the TVI program. There just wasn’t a lot of information out there [about CVI] and some of it was downright wrong. I am happy to point out that now KU has an amazing vision program and they focus on CVI training. Dr. Nicole Johnson runs it today.
There is so much more out there with Dr. Christine Roman-Lantzy, Perkins School for the Blind, and CVI families leading the way. Our hope is to advocate for all training programs to include CVI education. Training and experience is key!
One problem we need to overcome is the TVI shortage, but that is a different story that needs to be addressed. So, my journey kept going and eventually a parent of a CVI child, Shannon Ryan, told me about Dr. Christine Roman-Lantzy. That’s when a light bulb moment took place. She changed everything for me. From that moment on, I knew my teaching path was to focus on this because my students and families needed help.
What is the one tool in your classroom you simply couldn’t live without?
If we are talking as a TVI/CVI, I have this little tool box I created. It’s simple but used throughout the school day. It has black paper, yellow paper, a number line, a few sharpies (red, black), highlighters, and sticky notes. Please don’t make me pick just one! But honestly with the CVI student in a classroom, you really need to simplify and declutter…a sharpie on a blank yellow paper can go a long way!
What advice would you like to share with parents who have a child that was just diagnosed with CVI?
That a CVI diagnosis is the first step to making a plan that can help your child achieve their goals. Your child’s vision can improve and there is a CVI community that will support you. Start intervention as soon as possible making sure your team (parents, teachers, OT, PT, Speech, O&M if they are needed) gets trained on working with children who have CVI.
Do you have questions for Lisha? Comment below. Visit seeingsadieandcvi.com to learn about Sadie and her powerful story.
Cindy has a deep interest in Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) and is currently studying Early Childhood Education. She focuses most of her time on her energetic daughter: playing, cuddling and helping to make her world visually accessible. Cindy holds a degree in Marketing and has worked in the not-for-profit sector for many years.