Alert
Alert
Alert

"Picture" of CVI - Answer to Picture Puzzle!

Author-Avatar Deirdre Galvin-McLaughlin

5/8/2018 3:56 PM

Did you figure it out? Did you get desperate and Google it? Once it was highlighted like the image attached were you able to immediately recognize the familiar object in the picture? It is bizarre to think that you've seen that animal so many times, yet were unable to recognize a picture of one when it was presented in a complex form without anything to help you identify it. 

Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) Characteristic Considerations

When the picture is oriented correctly and highlighted with a bright color are you able to find the hidden object that you’re looking for? This activity is meant to give you an idea of what it might be like to face visual processing challenges similar to a child with cortical visual impairment. Everyday children are being asked to find things or look when they are overwhelmed with information and are not sure what they are trying to look at because they have never seen that object before. By considering different factors that children with CVI are faced with gives parents and healthcare providers ideas of how to support their functional use of vision. 

Key characteristics children with cortical visual impairment have include: 

Latency - did it take you a long time to try and find the object? Did you become frustrated with how long it was taking?

Complexity - was it loud around you making it harder to focus? Were you in an uncomfortable position? Did you find the picture visually complicated?

Novelty - now that you have been shown where the cow is in the picture, you will find it much easier to find it next time because it is no longer “novel.”

Distance - did you hold it closer or further from your face when you were trying to find the object in the picture?

After this activity it will hopefully give you a mini and simulated experience of recognizing the support you can give a child with CVI when working with them. Allowing them enough time, being quiet, explaining and highlighting some of the key characteristics of what makes a cow a cow (big nose, wide eyes, pointy ears, etc.), it will encourage the child to use their vision and better learn what they are seeing. Now if you go back to the first post and try and find the cow in the picture, I bet you will be able to find it immediately! It is now in your visual catalogue and much faster and easier for you to identify. This is similar to children with CVI, once they have learned how to see an object, it becomes much faster and easier for them to identify it. However, it is still important to provide them with environmental and positional supports to set them up for success and encourage them to use their vision, as it takes time and regular practice to re-train the brain to process visual information. 

This post is part of the collection

The Communication Matrix is a service of Design to Learn at Oregon Health & Science University
© 2025 Charity Rowland, Ph.D.

Site by State33 and Smith & Connors