Hello from Texas y’all! I am beginning my 7th year as a TVI at Texas School for the Blind. In the last year I have begun taking a deep dive into CVI as my TVI program did not prepare me for working with these students.
Currently I am teaching MI/VI in our EXiT 18+ program. I am excited to learn as much as I can about CVI from fellow participants and instructors.
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Howdy Wendy! Our schools often compete with each other during track and field. Love seeing y’all out here!
SMG
Hi Deb, glad to be part of the Minnesota learners here.
Hi, glad to be learning with everyone. I’m from Minnesota working in the department of education and TBVI/COMS for many years. I see my fellow Minnesotans here and hope we can discuss this information together and share with our colleagues during the year.
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Glad to see you here, Renee!
Good to see you, Deb!
Good to see you here, Rebecca. Hope us Minnesotans can combine our learning and discussion.
So thankful for the awesome opportunity, good to hear from you
Deborah Davidson
NWRIC
ECSE/TB/VI Consultant
Hello. My name is Kim and I work in the Bronx, NY. I am a TVI, special Ed teacher and Curriculum Coordinator. Our school serves all students with blindness or visual impairments and multiple disabilities. I am excited to learn new developments in CVI and strategies to use with our students. I want to be able to bring this information to the other teachers.
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Hi Tammy! I am so interested working with children. Most of my career has been with 18+ students. I have to say though, at this point I may be too old to get down on the floor with them. 
I will second that Rika! I have learned so much more about my students by working with our OT team. Their insight is invaluable when it comes to motor skills, tactile sensitivities, and vestibular disorders.
@tpeterson I’m still working in the field as a TVI, and adding the educational consultant role has really helped me build a strong network that I can rely on to provide valuable resources for our parents and students. Although my caseload isn’t large, balancing both the consultant work and my responsibilities as a TVI can be quite challenging.
Hi,
My name is Rachel Otremba. I am a teacher of the visually impaired in the state of Maryland. This past year, I have provided contracted services through The Maryland School for the Blind to Prince George’s county. This year, I am to go to Baltimore County as an itinerant. As an itinerant, I have served students ages 3-13 and even some in high school. My students have had varying visual conditions. I have served a number of students with cortical visual impairment. This summer I am excited to learn as much as I can about CVI.
Hi, I am also certified in both special education and visual impairments. I am curious about new assessment tools coming out and which is considered most valid.
Hi, I am also excited to learn about CVI. Many of my students with CVI have had multiple and complex learning needs. I have had one student with mild multiple disabilities who had CVI.
I’ve created an internal website for my team where we can upload and share resources from various conferences, newsletters, blog posts, and other sources we come across throughout the year. It’s a great way for us to stay up to date with what’s happening in the industry from different perspectives and ensure we’re always learning and growing together.
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Hi Rebecca, I was using The Range and have begun to learn about the Perkins Protocol. I started the assessment with one of the students. It’s not completed yet, still learning how to use it. I know what you mean, I am also trying to complete that course and now am doing this cohort. I think we are just trying to do the most to help our CVI students the best we can.
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That’s a great idea. We have a program Sharepoint where we can share resources. One of the drawbacks has to do with the vetting of the information shared.
Kim,
I feel that your response speaks to how I am currently feeling - overwhelmed. While it is great to have so many resources at our finger tips, sometimes it can become overwhelming. In looking ahead to the next week’s reading, we need to navigate through the different terms and definitons. Last year my colleague and I walked through the Range and the Perkins Protocol to demonstrate for our teachers that we were basically looking at the same information - its just called something different.
You are right when you say that we are just trying to do most that we can to help our students!
Hi Katie, I work at Lavelle School for the Blind in the Bronx. I don’t think we have seen an increase like you have but we are starting to get more preschoolers to our school so we might see more as we go. We have students 3-21 as well. I am always looking for strategies to help our teachers work better with our CVI students. I want to support our students the best way possible.