How Our Black Mat is Making an Impact On Kids with CVI
When we launched the first batch of Busy Baby mats, our mission was to make life with a busy baby easier for parents and caregivers.
And we’re confident our products do just that.
We’ve received hundreds of testimonials from parents and caregivers who love how helpful our mats are when it comes to preventing the toy and bottle toss. It’s also proven to keep busy baby’s entertained, all while stimulating their development.
Out of all the testimonials we’ve received, we’re thrilled to learn that our black Busy Baby mats are specifically helpful for children with CVI (Cerebral visual impairment, also referred to as cortical vision impairment). This condition is common amongst babies and young children but can continue into adulthood.
While the impairment can improve over time, early intervention is key in increasing visual development for CVI children.
Early intervention methods can include therapy, educational support, and other special services based on the child’s needs.
This is where our black Busy Baby mat comes into play.
According to teachers and specialists at the Cleveland Sight Center, the black mat stands out amongst other colors when working with CVI children.
“When working with children who have vision needs, we especially like the black mat because it provides contrast to many of the items we put on it, including toys, snacks, and other everyday objects.” Barb Williams, M.Ed., Teacher for the Visually Impaired (TVI) & Early Intervention Specialist at the Cleveland Sight Center
Since our black mat is compact and sticks to a variety of surfaces, parents of CVI children can also use the mat at home for additional support when their child is not in therapy.
“Using the black mat creates a perfect “high contrast” background for infants/toddlers with impaired vision to help them find (light or bright-colored) items on a high chair or other surfaces within their home.” Laurie Zebrasky, Cleveland Sight Center
CVI requires a very different approach when it comes to learning and development; the learning environment and learning materials all play a big part. When approaching the learning needs of CVI children, there are 10 Characteristics of CVI to be aware of.
These characteristics are specific to every child’s CVI range and not all children experience each one. But we learned that several characteristics include color, spatial, and surface preferences.
Color Preferences
Some children may be attracted to particular colors. According to experts, children with CVI tend to focus on red and yellow objects. However, if they don’t have a preferred color, using other brightly colored objects also keeps their attention. And saturated colors become even bolder when using a black background like our black mat.
Simple Surfaces
Objects with simple patterns and surfaces typically receive the most responses from children with CVI. So, if you plan to grab one of our black mats, be sure to place objects on it that are bright and simple in design.
Sensory Environments
It’s more challenging for children with CVI to stay focused when there are other sensory objects around them. When working together, it’s important to have them participate in one activity without being distracted by other things that could overload their visual stimuli.
Challenges with Visual Distance
CVI can also cause children to have issues seeing things far away. As a result, objects that are closest to them are more likely to maintain their attention. Having a placemat that can stick to a number of surfaces is a great way to provide them with one area they can keep their toys attached and close by, especially if you attach the mat to a highchair tray or table.
“Students or children with cortical visual impairment benefit from a solid (typically black) background to better attend to the information in front of them. The black Busy Baby Mat is absolutely perfect for this! This mat offers a built-in black background so wherever you are, you always have a black background on hand. In addition, since the mats are made with silicone, they offer a glare-free background as well.” Busy Mom Melissa Chalme
By considering these characteristics, amongst others, parents and specialists can increase the visual development of children with CVI over time.
We are thrilled our black mat has been such a great asset to the amazing work the Cleveland Sight Center is doing. And we’re proud to say that this mat is helping parents and caregivers whose children have CVI.
Our hope is to share this impact with others and continue to improve the lives of parents and children with this impairment.
After discovering how helpful our black Busy Baby mat has been for the CVI community, we’re cutting the price by 50% all month! Shop now through the end of October to receive the discount on this special color.