Panelists Announced!

CVI = Consensus, Vision, and Initiative:

Mobilizing Advocacy to Improve Special Education for Children with CVI
A National Teleseminar Presented by:
The American Foundation for the Blind

Wednesday Evening, March 14, 2018 8:30pm Eastern, 5:30pm Pacific

To join the call: Dial: 1-866-939-3921
Code: 46438061

For further information, contact: Mark Richert, Esq.
Director, Public Policy, AFB
(202) 469-6833
mrichert@afb.net

Join the Panelists for a Discussion Concerning Special Education of Children & Youth with CVI:

Brenda Biernat CVI Parent & Founder of StartSeeingCVI.com
Rebecca Davis CCVI Parent Advocate; Member of the Pediatric Cortical Visual Impairment Society; & Blogger at CVI Momifesto
Sandra Lewis, Ed.D. Coordinator and Professor, Visual Disabilities Program, Florida State University
Amanda Lueck, Ph.D. Professor Emerita in Special Education, San Francisco State University
Rona Pogrund, Ph.D. Professor and Coordinator of Program for Teachers of Students with Visual Impairments, Texas Tech University
Dorinda Rife, CLVT, COMS Vice President, Educational Services and Product Developmeent, American Printing House for the Blind
Christine Roman-Lantzy, Ph.D. Director, Pediatric View Program, Western Pennsylvaniia Hospital
Diane Sheline, TVI, CLVT Independent Consultant for Students with Cerebral/Cortical VVisual Impairment
Alisha Waugh, COMS CVI Parent & Physical Therapist

Moderator: Mark Richert, Esq. Director of Pubblic Policy, American Foundation for the Blind

About the Conversation:

Any successful advocacy effort requires at least three key elements: consensus both about the real problems to be addressed and the strategies best suited to solve them, a shared vision among stakeholders for what the overall desired outcome should ideally be, and demonstrable initiative on the part of committed change agents who are willing to play a long game while achieving milestones along the way toward the envisioned goal.

Any organized effort to advocate for improved special education services to children living with cortical visual impairment - what others refer to as cerebral visual impairment, and still others describe as neurological visual impairment - will require consensus about the problems and the solutions, a vision for the overall outcomes to be achieved, and initiative on the part of committed advocates. Can there be shared consensus, vision and initiative among parents, educators, and other advocates concerned about the education of students with CVI when many of these stakeholders cannot even agree on what CVI means? How can our field embrace the diversity of perspectives but yet come together to collaborate on national, state, and/or local strategies to transform the quantity and quality of special education services for children with CVI? If we can indeed achieve robust consensus, a shared vision for outcomes, and sustained initiative to get the job done, what are our first steps together to reach key milestones?

On Wednesday evening, March 14, 2018, beginning at 8:30pm Eastern, 5:30pm Pacific, you are invited to join in a spirited and substantive conversation with parents of children with CVI, groundbreaking thinkers in the field, front line educators, administrators of teacher training and other national programs, and prominent advocates who will come together to explore whether and how our field can achieve the consensus, vision and initiative necessary to affect much-needed changes in the extent and quality of special education services available today to students with CVI.

There is no charge to attend this AFB-sponsored national teleseminar, and there is no need to RSVP.
The conversation will feature panelists who discuss the critical issues affecting the education of children with CVI. During the second half of this 90-minute conversation, we will be accepting your comments and questions. You will have a chance to voice your own perspectives, offer your own recommendations for change, and interact with the panelists. Please share this announcement far and wide via your own networks.

Again, all are welcome, and we look forward to engaging in a lively conversation to hear different points of view but ultimately to consider how our field might build consensus, envision progress, and mobilize initiative to ensure that children with CVI, just like all children with vision loss and other disabilities, can finally receive an education that is truly worthy of their tremendous potential.