Cerebral Visual Impairment (CVI) is a visual disorder caused by damage to, or atypical development of, the brain. Children with CVI have difficulty processing what they see, even though their eyes are usually unimpaired.
At visual rehabilitation centres such as Royal Dutch Visio, children with suspected CVI undergo comprehensive assessments. When the diagnosis is confirmed, they and their parents receive tailored guidance and practical advice for home, school, and daily life.
Before a child reaches such a centre, however, they must first be referred — for example by an ophthalmologist, optometrist, general practitioner, neurologist, or rehabilitation physician. This referral is often based on the difficulties or symptoms that children show in daily life, but recognising CVI is not always straightforward. In older children (aged 6 and above), the everyday problems can resemble those seen in ADHD or dyslexia, while in younger children (under 5 years) it is often difficult to distinguish between normal visual development and possible visual impairment.
To support referring professionals, two screening questionnaires have been developed in collaboration between Royal Dutch Visio and Erasmus MC: one for children aged 6 to 15 years, and one for children aged 2 to 5 years. Although these questionnaires are still being validated, they already provide valuable tools for identifying early signs that may indicate CVI.
Below you can find more information about the screening questionnaires and the scientific publications on which they are based.
This research was funded by the Visio Foundation.
Papers
Þ Hokken, M. J., Geldof, C. J., Stuit, S. M., van der Zee, Y. J., Moskalenko, V. W., Escudero, P., & Kooiker, M. J. (2025). CVI questionnaires for preschool children: Towards early screening of visual difficulties in daily life. Applied Neuropsychology: Child, 1-11.
Þ Hokken, M. J., van der Zee, Y. J., van der Geest, J. N., & Kooiker, M. J. (2025). Parent-reported problems in children with Cerebral Visual Impairment: Improving the discriminative ability from ADHD and dyslexia using screening inventories. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 35(1), 54-74.