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Visual Access is a Right: How CViConnect Supports Children with CVI in Today’s Educational Landscape

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When your child is diagnosed with Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI), you’re often left wondering what comes next.
Will their vision improve? What can we do at home? How will they succeed in school?

There are no guaranteed medical treatments for CVI, but there are research-backed strategies to support your child’s ability to see, learn, and participate. CViConnect was designed to help families and educators do just that—not by curing vision, but by unlocking access to it.

And in 2024, that mission gained powerful legal reinforcement.

What the Supreme Court Says About Access

In A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of a student whose school delayed providing AAC supports. The court confirmed what families and educators have long understood:

Access to communication and learning tools is not optional. It’s a legal obligation.

For students with CVI, this ruling is especially relevant. Many require visual accommodations to engage with materials, recognize symbols, and make meaningful use of AAC. Without those supports, they’re not just undeserved—they’re denied their right to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).

What the Research Says About Supporting CVI

CVI is a brain-based visual impairment—not a problem with the eyes. It affects how a child processes visual information, particularly in complex or unfamiliar environments.

Chang and Borchert (2020) explain, “careful assessment of a child’s visual deficits may inform environmental modifications to promote visual functioning.” Research supports the use of simplified environments, high-contrast visuals, and motion to support recognition—principles that directly inform how CViConnect activities are designed.

This is echoed across articles in the Perkins CVI Research Library, which emphasizes that:

  • Children with CVI may not consistently respond to visual stimuli unless the environment is adapted
  • Reducing visual complexity, highlighting movement or preferred colors, and ensuring simplicity can significantly impact how a child uses their vision
  • Functional vision can change over time, particularly when supports are responsive and individualized

These findings don’t promise a “cure”—they point toward a path to access.

How CViConnect Helps

CViConnect was built on these same principles:
That access begins with understanding how a child sees, and that learning environments should adapt to fit the learner—not the other way around.

With CViConnect PRO, families and educators can:

  • Present activities aligned with CVI characteristics and Phases (as defined by Christine Roman-Lantzy, Ph.D)
  • Customize visual stimuli for contrast, movement, color, and complexity
  • Track visual responses using look detection data
  • Note potential distractions such as ambient room volume
  • Monitor child’s ability to look and reach
  • Document changes in visual attention to inform IEP teams

CViConnect is not a therapy or diagnostic tool. But it is a secure, research-informed system that helps teams align their interventions with what the child actually sees.

Why This Matters Now More Than Ever

The A.J.T. ruling reaffirmed that:

  • Delaying essential tools like AAC or assistive tech is a denial of FAPE
  • Parent advocacy and clinical expertise must be taken seriously
  • Schools are responsible for timely, individualized action

For students with CVI, that means tools like CViConnect PRO could help districts meet that responsibility—by removing guesswork and making visual responses visible

Final Thoughts

CViConnect was built to help families and educators do what research and law both tell us is right:
Give every child the chance to be seen—and to see.
Not by waiting for vision to change, but by changing the way we teach, support, and respond.

Resources

Perkins CVI Research Library
https://www.perkins.org/resource/cvi-research-library/

A curated collection of peer-reviewed articles organized by topic, including prevalence, functional evaluations, compensatory skills, and CVI visual behaviors.

Legal Context
A.J.T. v. Osseo Area Schools, U.S. Supreme Court Ruling, 2024
Case summary – Wrightslaw

Reaffirms student rights to timely access to assistive technologies under IDEA and Section 504. Relevant to CVI learners using AAC or visually adapted materials.

CViConnect Early Adopter Program Benefits

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You are invited to be one of the first to experience the CViConnect iPad application by joining our Early Adopter Program. The CViConnect app is being offered initially to the first 300 families that subscribe. As an Early Adopter, you will be the first to gain access to everything CViConnect has to offer, including:

  • Learning activities based on the individual progress of your child
  • Exciting, new cutting edge technology utilized to improve the eyesight of your child
  • A vibrant online community to provide ongoing support
  • Freedom and convenience to use the program anytime, anywhere

Only $50 for a three month subscription! See program details here.

Normally priced at $50 per month, this saves you $100 dollars and gives you two free months of the CViConnect program. Beginning on the fourth month, your subscription will revert to month-to-month. You can cancel anytime.

Your Early Adopter membership will also help us learn, enabling our developers to refine and grow the program. Your comments and engagement will help guide our work to improve the vision of children with Cortical Visual Impairment. Each family will have the opportunity to provide feedback on their experience.

Reserve your spot today!

CViConnect Mission

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The CViConnect mission focuses on providing cutting edge technology, proven teaching techniques and a program of iPad-based activities for children with cortical visual impairment. CViConnect is intended for use by parents and teachers who are searching for learning opportunities that are designed to meet the specialized learning needs of children with CVI. Through consistent use of the app, CViConnect’s mission is to provide targeted activities that facilitate improvements in functional vision in children with CVI.

The CViConnect Story

Brent Kevern is the VP of Research and Development at LifeScience Therapies, LLC. As a result of Brent’s own personal experiences and his many years at Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Brent has a passion and desire to help sick kids and those with special needs.

Brent has a unique combination of technical expertise and medical education that he has successfully applied to software solutions for the healthcare industry.

At a family reunion, Brent was visiting with his niece, Stephanie, who is a Teacher of the Visually Impaired.  Upon learning about some of the new technologies that Brent was working on, Stephanie suggested that there was applicability and could be useful with kids with CVI.  Brent was skeptical at first, but together they collaborated and formed an idea for a potential technology solution that could provide new hope for the community of parents and children struggling with CVI. Brent sought out leading experts in the field of CVI and Stephanie suggested only one – Dr. Christine Roman-Lantzy.

Dr. Roman-Lantzy is recognized as a leader and innovator in the creation of an approach to assessment and intervention for CVI children. Her methodology has been widely implemented and incorporates use of functional vision into educational and everyday activities. Brent reached out to Christine and, together, they set out to create a cutting edge iPad app that could take Christine’s protocol to the digital screen.

With the technology available, they all agreed that the goal would be to not only provide appropriate activities, but to simultaneously track and record data that could be used to guide parents and teachers. Today, that technology is a reality. In early 2017, Brent and Dr. Roman-Lantzy, along with a team of dedicated staff, launched CViConnect. CViConnect’s state-of-the-art technology, incorporates The CVI Range and intervention methods developed by Dr. Roman-Lantzy and is delivering on the hope of facilitating improvements in functional vision for thousands of children with CVI.