Communication for Successful Intervention - by Dr Bronwen Scott

Welcome to all who have connected with CVI Community Australia!

Heidi and I met at the end of 2018 when she contacted me for some advice about her son, Luka, and his diagnosis of CVI. Over the following months, we talked about the lack of a cohesive CVI network in Australia, and from there this website has evolved.

I’m trained as an Orientation & Mobility (O&M) specialist, so my key role is the development of independent travel skills in children and adults with vision impairment. Over my professional life the incidence of CVI has grown, as has our knowledge of effective intervention. Since completing training in the CVI Range assessment developed by Christine Roman-Lantzy (2007, 2018), I have been receiving more requests for information, assessment and intervention strategies from families and professionals across Australia about how they can support children with this diagnosis.

In future blogs, we’ll delve into specific aspects of CVI behaviours and interventions.

Today I want to highlight one of the most important aspects of successful interventions - communication amongst families and professionals. We know that intervention is only going to be successful if strategies are part of a child’s daily routines, so it is super important that parents, caregivers, educators and others working with the child are confident in working together.

In January, Heidi and I will be presenting at the South Pacific Educators in Vision Impairment (SPEVI) conference in Adelaide. This conference is held every two years and brings together educators, parents, researchers and professionals working in the field of vision impairment in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. Our presentation will talk about how we have used the CVI Range to develop interventions for Heidi and her family, and will introduce the CVI Community Australia to the conference delegates.

If you want to find out more about SPEVI, you can check out their website: https://www.spevi.net

One of the most important aspects of successful interventions is communication amongst families and professionals.