CVRP opens doors, broadens horizons for blind and visually-impaired children across West Virginia

It may only have been one day out of the summer months during her childhood, but years later, Children’s Vision Rehabilitation Program alumnus Tatyana Tolliver says that day has added up to a lasting impact on her life.

“For the first time in my life, I realized that I wasn’t alone,” Tolliver said. “I learned other kids like me were facing the same hurdles I was and understood what I was going through. I’d finally felt normal in a world that had otherwise made me feel othered.”

Tolliver, now a sophomore African American Studies major at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, credits the first CVRP day camp she attended in seventh grade as a significant turning point, as it was the first opportunity she had to interact with other blind children her age.

“CVRP helped me completely change my perspective. It gave me the confidence I needed to accomplish things I might’ve never even tried to attempt before. I wouldn’t be where I am today without the amazing CVRP community.”

During the next six years, she continued to attend every CVRP event she could, where she forged lifelong friendships with the other children and CVRP staff while learning valuable independent living skills such as cooking, doing household chores and shopping for groceries. But of all the skills she learned through the program, she said the most valuable is how to believe in herself.

It's the camp’s mission in action, says program founder Rebecca Coakley, MA, CLVT.

When CVRP launched in 1996, Coakley said it was with the goal of creating a community where blind and visually impaired children could come together, learn crucial skills and forge pathways to a successful future.

Coakley said that for nearly 30 years, the program has helped CVRP alumni like Tolliver accomplish just that through clinical vision evaluations, partnerships with educators and events like the CVRP day camps.

The camps provide a forum for blind and visually impaired children to gather together and receive direct instruction on specific skills such as reading braille, utilizing assistive technology and developing independent living and self-help skills.

“Tatyana is such a great role model for our kids,” Coakley said. “She has already accomplished so much at such a young age. I know that she will achieve even more great things, both personally and professionally. Her infectious ‘can-do attitude’ inspires our students, and we’re lucky to have her as a member of the CVRP family.”

Tolliver plans to attend law school after completing her undergraduate studies. While home in West Virginia during summer breaks, Tolliver now volunteers at CVRP camps.

For more information on how to become involved in CVRP and the other outreach programs available through the WVU Eye Institute and the WVU Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, visit medicine.hsc.wvu.edu/eye/outreach.