About PCVIS
Join Us
We welcome anyone dedicated to transforming outcomes for children and youth with CVI by advocating for research, policy, education, practice, heightened awareness and understanding of this brain-based visual impairment. By joining PCVIS, you’ll be part of a vibrant community of doctors, educators, therapists, parents, and advocates taking an interdisciplinary, holistic approach to addressing the needs of children with CVI.
Membership details
Yearly membership is $50.
Benefits include:
- Connections with a multidisciplinary group of advocates, including doctors, educators, therapists, and families
- Membership directory and map
- Access to digital and print CVI resources to share with other families and professionals
- Opportunities for educational travel grants
- Support of CVI research
- Regular communications about CVI news and how to get involved in advocacy initiatives
- Branded apparel and merchandise in the PCVIS member store
Donations are tax deductible. Contact your tax adviser regarding potential tax benefits of membership.
Who are we?
Teachers of Students with Visual Impairment — are specifically trained and educated to teach students with visual impairment how to use their vision or adapt their environment to best learn. They teach specialized areas of direct instruction, make classroom accommodations, and connect students with assistive technology to enhance their educational experience.
Orientation and Mobility Specialists — are specifically trained and educated to teach students and adults with visual impairment and blindness how to safely and effectively navigate their environment, so that they can independently engage the world beyond their immediate surroundings.
Occupational, Physical, and Speech Therapists — are specially trained and educated professionals who provide therapies to improve outcomes in fine motor, gross motor, activities of daily living, and receptive/expressive language. They are concerned with how a child with CVI integrates his/her visual experience with the world around him/her.
Optometrists — are vision professionals concerned with how an individual gathers visual information from their environment. They examine fine visual motor abilities, which include fixation, visual tracking, visual scanning, focusing, and binocular (eye teaming) function. They consider how vision integrates with other sensory systems and how the brain perceives, interprets, and processes sensory input. Optometrists assess these functions and maximize visual function with corrective lenses, prisms, and visual therapies. They can make the diagnosis of CVI.
Ophthalmologists — are medical doctors who specialize in the medical and surgical treatment of disorders of the eye and visual system. They can make the diagnosis of CVI. Ophthalmologists conduct eye surgery for ocular conditions such as misalignment, cataracts, and glaucoma.
Parents and Caregivers — are the relentless advocates for their children (and all children) with CVI. They raise public awareness of CVI, expand their knowledge of CVI, and raise funds to support PCVIS.