Supporting Children with Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI)
Children with Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) experience the world differently. For some, faces blur in a crowd. For others, distance and depth feel uncertain, or movement becomes hard to detect. At HelpKidzLearn, we design software that removes barriers and helps every learner explore, play, and thrive.
What is cerebral visual impairment (CVI)?
CVI is the most common cause of visual impairment in children in the developed world, affecting up to 1 in 30 in mainstream classrooms and three-quarters of children with cerebral palsy. It doesn’t always mean a child is blind - instead, it means their brain has difficulty processing the information their eyes take in. Children with CVI may: 🔹 Struggle to recognise faces and everyday objects 🔹 Find it hard to judge distance or depth 🔹 Have difficulty knowing whether an object is moving or still 🔹 Become overwhelmed in busy or cluttered spaces 🔹 Be sensitive to loud environments, sounds and strong smells 🔹 Show a preference to certain colours or simple shapes. Every child with CVI is unique. That’s why flexible, personalised support is essential.
How to Support Learners with CVI
Simple adjustments can make learning clearer and more accessible: 🔹 Use uncluttered, high-contrast visuals with bold colours 🔹 Present activities against dark backgrounds to reduce distractions 🔹 Pair visuals with speech or sound effects to reinforce meaning 🔹 Minimise background noise and adjust lighting to minimise distractions 🔹 Provide a choice of access methods - touch, switches, or eye-gaze 🔹 Repeat activities for familiarity and celebrate every small step 🔹 Encourage communication by asking questions about what they see 🔹 Provide time for children to process and explore
How HelpKidzLearn Supports Learners with CVI
Accessibility is built into all of our software. Across every product, you’ll find bold colours, uncluttered layouts on black backgrounds, clear audio cues, and flexible access methods such as eye-gaze, switches, and touchscreens. Most importantly, our play-based learning approach ensures every activity is both engaging and motivating for learners with CVI.
Big Bang Apps
Created specifically for learners with CVI, Big Bang apps use high-contrast silhouettes, bold line art, and engaging sound effects. Presented on black backgrounds, these apps are ideal for developing visual attention and tracking.
Sensory Space
Interactive sensory activities where learners explore cause and effect, anticipation, and decision-making. Sensory Space combines clear visuals with adjustable colours and soundscapes.
Games & Activities
Interactive learning games that combine bold colours, simple layouts, and clear audio prompts. Perfect for building early skills in cause and effect, anticipation, and decision-making — all through play.
ChooseIt Maker
Customise activities with symbols, photos, text, and sounds. For learners with CVI, colours can be adjusted to high-contrast options, layouts simplified, and text-to-speech enabled.
Insight
An assessment and teaching system designed for learners using eye-gaze. With over 100 activities, Insight measures visual attention, colour preferences, and information processing.
Customer Story: The Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired (CCVI)
Educators and therapists at CCVI in Kansas share how HelpKidzLearn’s ChooseIt Maker transformed communication, personalised learning, and built independence for their students.
Customer Story: Insight in Action at Pendle View Primary School
Pendle View used Insight to reveal hidden strengths in learners with CVI. Objective eye-gaze data showed progress that traditional assessments missed, helping staff tailor support with confidence.
Why It Matters
Every child with CVI deserves the chance to be seen for who they are - curious, capable, and full of potential. But too often, the world around them feels overwhelming or unclear. That’s where HelpKidzLearn makes a difference. By combining bold, simple visuals with clear sound, flexible access methods, and playful activities, we give children the chance to focus, explore, and enjoy learning at their own pace. Let's open up the possibilities together.
Testimonials of CVI Success.
Children’s Center for the Visually Impaired
They smile, giggle, and clap during ChooseIt Maker activities, especially when they get the reward music! It's not just about getting the answer right – it's about the entire learning journey, and HelpKidzLearn makes it a blast.
Delaney RezekTeaching Assistance Supervisor
District 279
It has surpassed our expectations and is now being requested for our visual impaired students and our developmental cognitive delay students as well. It is very user friendly and requires little staff training. It is engaging, has nice variety, and allows students to be able to engage with their devices in ways they never could before.
Rebecca JonesMA, OTR/L
Pendle View Primary School
When using Insight, Haris's visual attention scores soared to an impressive 70% and above, with his ability to notice images consistently exceeding 90%. This all created evidence for us to put together a bigger portfolio and develop our understanding of Haris and what his needs are and where we can go with that.
Jess GottCommunication & Computing Lead
