Identifying and characterising cerebral visual impairment in children: a review

Abstract

Cerebral visual impairment (CVI) comprises visual malfunction due to retro‐chiasmal visual and visual association pathway pathology. This can be isolated or accompany anterior visual pathway dysfunction. It is a major cause of low vision in children in the developed and developing world due to increasing survival in paediatric and neonatal care. CVI can present in many combinations and degrees. There are multiple causes and it is common in children with cerebral palsy. CVI can be identified easily, if a structured approach to history‐taking is employed. This review describes the features of CVI and describes practical management strategies aimed at helping affected children. A literature review was undertaken using ‘Medline’ and ‘Pubmed’. Search terms included cerebral visual impairment, cortical visual impairment, dorsal stream dysfunction and visual function in cerebral palsy.

Key words:

• cerebral visual impairment
• dorsal stream dysfunction
• habilitational strategies
• ventral stream dysfunction
• visual perception