CVI and Other Visual Impairments in Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities

Drawing on expansive student data, the National Center on Deaf-Blindness (NCDB) and Accessible Teaching, Learning, and Assessment Systems (ATLAS) collaborated to produce a 2021 technical report, Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities and Dual Sensory Loss to learn more about students who are deafblind and have significant cognitive disabilities. The findings provide essential information to help educators, technical assistance providers, researchers, and policymakers better understand the disparities faced by students with dual sensory loss.  

In a new report brief by NCDB and ATLAS, researchers examine how cortical visual impairment (CVI), impacts instruction and academic skills for students with significant cognitive disabilities. CVI is distinct from other forms of visual impairment in that the health of the eyes appears to be normal, but the brain has difficulty processing information it receives from the eyes. 

CVI and Other Visual Impairments in Students with Significant Cognitive Disabilities is the second report brief produced from the technical report.  

Researchers determined that, as compared to students with other types of VI, those with significant cognitive disabilities and CVI: 

  • may struggle more to access instruction and make progress in the general education curriculum; 

  • have fewer communication and academic skills; 

  • are more likely to have suspected hearing loss; 

  • more often experience health issues that interfere with instruction or assessment; 

Read the briefs and the full technical report on the NCDB website.