Pediatric VIEW Newsletter Vol. 2

PEDIATRIC VIEW PRACTICE Newsletter

A word from Christine - p 1-2

What makes the Pediatric VIEW school support program work - p. 3 - 4

A Word From Christine Roman-Lantzy, Ph.D.

It is May 2023 and the end of another school year. I have been giving a lot of thought to the school support initiatives offered by Pediatric VIEW and what we have attempted so far Our goal, of course, is to provide assistance to school teams on behalf of students who have CVI and to customize the work we do to match the educational/CVI needs identified by parents, school professionals, and the child themself. We hope to collaborate and find better solutions together, rather than impose a particular method on an established program Our focus is excellence in education for students who have CVI, and, though it can be an effortful process, we believe that the experience and expertise reflected in the providers at Pediatric VIEW can help support the activities that are successful while also offering suggestions for improved access and effective instruction.

Individuals with CVI require a comprehensive and intentional approach to learning, social development, therapies, and self-determination. I recently had the opportunity to spend time at The Bridge School in Hillsborough, California. This

How Pediatric VIEW is making an impact with school services - p 5

Updated fee schedule for PVP - p 6

We have covered a lot of ground - p 7

PVP continues to grow with PVP Perspectives - p.8

Now offering - p.9

Christine Roman, Ph.D., gets honored at AAC By The Bay Conference For her work - p 10

We're hiring! - p 11

How can you support the growth of PVP - p 12

educational setting was not always distinguished for expertise in CVI, but, rather, for AAC, upright mobility, and integrated approaches to learning. Since 2012, they have afforded me the opportunity to work side by side with them, as they added the important principles of CVI to their already superb, child centered education Over the years, knowledge and skill associated with environments, materials and methods for CVI have deepened and become refined. It was not an overnight change, but a commitment to constant improvement that mattered.

The real lesson for me at The Bridge School is that excellence in CVI programming is more than possible it is a mandate It can be achieved It must be achieved The Bridge School is, of course, special. But I would challenge all of us to recognize that meaningful, effective, accessible education is achieved when there is a belief in the innate ability of all children regardless of the complexity of their needs That knowledge of the principles of CVI is not an occasional therapy, but an all-day obligation owed to every baby, child, adolescent, and adult we are honored to support. The school support service offered by Pediatric VIEW will endeavor to help school teams progress toward the goal of excellence in education for their students who have CVI We look forward to listening and learning

If you suspect your child has CVI, a CVI Range Assessment can help support a diagnosis, provide insight into the child’s functional vision, and guide the child’s educational team and family to better support the use of vision

To support the continued growth of the program or if you would like to supply financial aid to a family, please use this QR code:

$400 donation gives a child a Range Assessment and a therapy consult

WHAT MAKES THE PEDIATRIC VIEW SCHOOL SUPPORT PROGRAM WORK?

Pediatric VIEW’s School Support Program was developed to fill a gap in training and expertise for school-based teams who serve students with cortical visual impairment

The scope of the school support relationship varies based on the needs of the student, the team, and the family Nearly all school support relationships begin with a virtual observation of the student throughout their school day to better understand the visual demands that are placed on the student, as well as that student’s response to those visual demands.

From those observations, a plan for collaboration is developed and shared with the school team and the family. May marks the end of our first year of school support, and there have been many great lessons learned All of the teams we worked with this year made great strides in the following:

Accommodating environments

Rethinking how to introduce new concepts

Developing instructional materials that reflect the visual needs of their learners

school support

MAKING SCHOOL SUPPORT SERVICE TEAMS SUCCESSFUL

The most successful teams recognized a key component of successful planning for a student with CVI: Collaboration.

The school support focused on the following principles for collaborations:

Identifying a CVI leader

Documenting adjustments to activities and environments

Implementing team communication systems

Inviting the family to participate

Prioritizing the success and independence of the student

Given all the progress made this year, the PVP team is grateful to the students, families, and school teams who have invited us to join their journey.

HOW PEDIATRIC VIEW IS MAKING AN IMPACT WITH SCHOOL SERVICES

Services provided by Pediatric VIEW and specifically Jonathan have been outstanding. Jonathan's service allowed for both group and individual support and was driven by the need of our student and team. This was so important to us and we are very grateful. The team dynamic and expertise was elevated by the support of Pediatric VIEW's partnership and through this we have built our capacity as a school team to continue to work together and collaborate in support of our student with CVI Thank you Jonathan and team!

Regional School Administrator

Dr Isherwood, Montour School District Keystone Educational Consulting Group

vision expert that can support students with Cortical Vision Impairment Dr Jonathon Graves is working with a child in the

district that is the most complex case I have seen in 34 years

of work in this field His knowledge of assistive technology and

ways that instruction can be adapted and modified to help a

student with CVI is second to none. More school districts need

with Children's Home.

to look beyond the traditional service providers for assistance

with related services. We are very pleased with our experience www.ChildrensHomePGH.org | 412.441.4884 | 5324 Penn Ave | @childrenshomepgh

2022-2024

To support the continued growth of the Pediatric VIEW Program, or if you would like to provide financial aid to a family, please scan or click on the QR code

Pediatric VIEW has expanded its program in ways that have broadened the scope in which they are able to care for and support children with CVI The original vision for Pediatric VIEW was to meet with families and their children for assessments and treatments for CVI. Today, Pediatric VIEW looks a bit different and has grown in ways we could not have anticipated. One of the ongoing resources that Pediatric VIEW has developed is it’s Pediatric VIEW Perspectives.

Pediatric VIEW Perspectives is a VLOG series that is a free resources for families and professionals. This series is a culmination of multiple 6-7 minute videos covering different topics of CVI. These videos cover what CVI is, characteristics of CVI, phases of SVI and tips on how to navigate the world of SVI for your child New episodes come out monthly and can be found on The Children’s Home website and on The Children’s Home’s YouTube channel. Please join Christine, Jonathan and Traci as they lead you through journey to raise awareness of CVI and provide a resource that leads to the expansion of functional vision for children with CVI

Pediatric VIEW now offers:

A wide array of school support services

Advocacy services

AAC By The Bay Conference

Last month Dr. Christine Roman, Director and founder of our pediatric VIEW program, flew to sunny California to participate in AAC by the Bay 2023, a biennial international conference held in San José, California provided by the Bridge school

The Bridge School named Dr. Roman as their honoree this year for her work with their students and school. They award it to a person who has made an impact at The Bridge School and internationally.

The honoree presentation included videos of over 20 individuals with CVI and their families discussing what impact Dr Roman and her work has made on their lives It was a Milerstone for Christine to hear from so many families. She said, “It was one of the biggest honors of my life.”

Christine and Pediatric VIEW have transformed the lives of so many children and families. Tell us how Pediatric VIEW has helped you:

The Children's Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center, along with the Pediatric VIEW Practice appreciate your support. We look forward to expanding our services to help more children and families. We could not have come this far without you and your amazing children! Thank you!

YOUR APPOINTMENT

To make an appointment with our Pediatric VIEW Practice, please click or scan the QR code or send an email to PediatricVIEW@chomepgh.org