Nicola McDowell

Great meeting today with the fantastic team at @springloadnz to launch the development of the Austin Assessment app. Who would have thought that this simple little idea I had to detect #CVI issues in children would be made into an app! #phdproject

Can't believe I am in the final stages of my #PhD. What a journey. Now all I need to do is outline what I believe is an effective practice framework for supporting children with #cvi #makinglifebetter #understandingcvi

Finished all the interviews for my research on effective strategies to support children with #cvi. It has been fantastic to hear how effective they were. Can't wait to share my ideas for creating #cvitoolboxes #calmbreaks #clutterfreezones #cvimindfulness

Can't wait to start working with the fantastic team at @springloadnz to turn my assessment tool to detect visual perceptual difficulties - the 'Austin Playing Card Assessment' into an app. #CVI #CVIassessment #simpleandeffective

Another simple strategy implemented in my research to help children with #CVI was using calm breaks throughout the day. Small breaks of time away from the noisy cluttered classroom. Helped the child get through the day with less crying and fatigue #sosimple

Want a simple strategy to help a child with #cvi in the classroom? Make sure there is a blank wall they can face into when you want them to concentrate on their work. Teachers in my case study research all reported it made a significant difference #cvihack

Pretty excited that my article on my assessment tool 'The Austin Playing Card Assessment' which helps to detect visual perceptual difficulties has been accepted in the British Journal of Visual Impairment and will be published soon #cvi #helpmakelifeeasier

I asked a 12y old who only found out she had CVI a year ago, but has had it since age 2, what the world looks like to her. Her response - normal, but different to everyone else. We need to start understanding their #cvi normal better. #whatisnormal

Another final interview with a case study family today. They thanked me for getting them out of ‘no man’s land’ and identifying that their daughter has #cvi. It has changed their lives. How many more families are still struggling in no man’s land?

Child’s final words to me “thank you for helping me understand myself”. #empoweredchild #empoweredparents

Interview today with parents and child involved in my case study on developing a practice framework for supporting children with #CVI. Dad said finding out their daughter has #CVI has changed their lives. Before they were lost, now they can help her.

Final interview with a classroom teacher of one of my case study students today. She said understanding the child’s #CVIs was the most important element in being able to help her. Once she understood what her world looked like, helping her was easy

More evidence of the impact of clutter on children with #cvi from a reading assessment. In the quiet room student was able to answer comprehension questions related to the text. In the cluttered classroom she gave random answers that didn’t really make sense

Clutter is the enemy for children with #CVI. Research participant sat basic facts maths test in cluttered classroom and got 5 in 10mins. Test was repeated a couple of days later in a quiet room with no clutter & she got 22 #banclutteredclassrooms #clutterfree

Been working on my literature review for my #PhD and it has made me realise how truly exciting it is to be conducting research focused on supporting children with #cvi. So much new research out there, but still so much more that needs to be done.

Felt very privileged to be able to host my research participants and their families for afternoon tea. So empowering for us all to share a space where CVI is normal and understood by everyone in the room. #makingcvivisible #supportingcvifamilies

Thank you so much @springloadnz for including me in your “scrum” today. What an amazing day and to finish the day with a prototype of an app of my assessment tool to detect #cvi visual perceptual difficulties has turned my dream into reality!

So great to hear the @thecviproject talk about the importance of psychological well-being for children with #CVI. Anxiety and self esteem issues make life with #CVI so much harder. Making life better for those with #CVI