Olive at 2 years of age is learning how to use her vision and how to integrate her other senses.
Olive turned two years old this year. She has a happy smile that can light up a room. She also has a sad face that can melt your heart. She has a giggle that is guaranteed to make you want to join in the fun and a grumble that lets you know it’s time to give her some space. Olive became a Lighthouse client in February 2017.
Each of the children in our Early Intervention Program has a visual impairment that can significantly affect learning style. Many of the kids have other challenges such as cerebral palsy, hearing impairment, seizures or other serious health concerns. Our goal is to find ways for each of these unique little individuals to meet developmental milestones.
Olive has a type of visual impairment called Cortical Visual Impairment (CVI) which makes processing what she is able to see even more complicated. CVI is a form of blindness that is neurological in a way that affects how and when she uses her very limited vision. We have to teach her to use her vision—but as a baby, we first have to stimulate her vision. She responds best to clear, crisp images with little background clutter and high contrast, bright colors (especially yellow or red), movement, and lights. Olive’s favorite thing to do at the Lighthouse right now is to spend time in the sensory room. She is a big fan of all the lights and music in the room. They always bring out that room brightening smile of hers.
Since beginning her Lighthouse program, Olive has learned a lot and is now learning to use assistive technology such as the switches that control the lights and sounds. Olive is able to move herself around safely on the mats in the room to practice her emerging motor skills. She is learning to combine tactile skills, auditory skills, and visual skills to access information about her environment in ways that she can process. Most importantly for a two year old girl, she’s having big fun while doing it.