Mindy Merten

EDSP 5389
Observation Birth-Age 6
An 18 month old female child, Carley, with Cortical Visual Impairment was observed in
her daycare setting. Carley was involved in a car accident as a five month old and sustained
several life-altering injuries. The right side of her body is paralyzed, and she is prone to seizures.
Both eyes have lateral nystagmus, and she has trouble focusing on objects. Carley also receives
Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, VI services, Orientation and Mobility, and Speech
Therapy. All of her therapy sessions are spaced out so that she does tire easily.
Carley is nonverbal but will cry when she is upset or not wanting to work with the
therapist. The O&M specialist that works with Carley stated that if she does not want to work,
she will place two of her fingers in her mouth and try to fall asleep. While working with the
O&M specialist, Carley was not able to reach for the toy positioned on the tray of her Easy
Stand. Carley would search for the toy using sound and would become frustrated if she could
not find the object quickly.
Carley is unable to regulate her body temperature, so she was wearing a large jacket and
wool pants in the warm classroom. Her teachers state that it is hard to tell if she has a fever or
not because her temperature is so different than the other children in the classroom. The O&M
specialist stated that the only way she can tell if Carley is not feeling well is if she is crying a lot
during her instructional session because she is normally a very happy child.
Once Carley focused on an object she was able to hold her gaze for about ten seconds.
The O&M specialist stated that ten seconds is the longest she has been able to maintain focus on

an object. If she is not interested in the object, then she will cry or vocalize and move around in
her chair to show that she does not like the object in front of her.
Overall, Carley is making slow progress, and her O&M specialist has stated that she is
more alert now compared to when she was an infant. With the current services provided, there is
hope that Carley will walk and talk in the future. This process will take some time, but she is on
the right track for a successful future.