We sit down to eat our lunch as we always do. My 14-month old daughter patiently waits for me in her high chair directly facing the white wall. I have her red bowl and spoon handy. I say, “It’s time to eat.” Sitting next to her, I bring the spoon towards her face and I hold it mid-air. During this 3x per day ritual, it’s so important for her to make eye contact with the spoon first. Vision must precede tactile and auditory input for us to work towards improving her vision.
Once she makes eye contact with the spoon, I normally say, “Chug-a-chug-a-choo-choo!” to indicate that the spoon is coming towards her mouth. Today is different.
Today, I do not say a word to indicate that her spoon is there. Yet she lifts her arm up, takes the spoon with her hand and brings it into her mouth. You can say that I am astonished. I think I must be imagining things. So I repeat the action, and again, she reaches towards the spoon with her hand, almost immediately. We repeat the exercise again and again.
I still cannot believe what I am seeing. My husband cannot believe what he is seeing. She is seeing the spoon, and she is believing it. It has been more than 6 months since we have been using these CVI best practices. We are filled with joy and a sense of relief at this incredible milestone.
Upon seeing our recorded videos, our daughter’s amazing vision consultant, Tara Tompai, confirms that she is in fact using her vision to reach out and take the spoon with her hand. The dorsal stream in her brain (which helps to determine where objects are in space) seems to be kicking in.
It appears that in this very familiar environment and routine, my daughter is understanding that the movement she is seeing is her spoon. She may also be seeing the spoon itself but we will need to encourage her to take longer glances at it. To do so, our vision consultant has suggested that we place a duplicate spoon on a black foam board and start the meal by saying, “Look first,” giving her plenty of time to look at it.
Interested in learning about the dorsal and ventral streams? You can learn more about them here or by reading publications by David Milner and Melvyn A. Goodale. Dr. Christine Roman-Lantzy also discusses this topic in her book Cortical Visual Impairment: An Approach to Assessment and Intervention.
I’m excited to share that cvijourney.com has been featured as one of the Top 30 Disabled & Special Needs Parenting Blogs to Follow in 2020 by Feedspot. Click here to view the full list.
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.