In the Dutch section of this website, I have included links for both acquired brain injuries and CVI within Dutch-speaking Belgium and the Netherlands. I have no plans to do the same in English!
For English speakers I also have a link there to CVI Scotland. This is the best resource I have found anywhere on the web for information about CVI. Here you will find a wealth of useful information in an easy to understand format. This site, together with the Dutch site hersenletsel-uitleg.nl, provided me with the vocabulary to be able to explain how I experience the world now. The website is largely aimed at the parents of children with congenital CVI. This is to be expected, as the majority of recognised CVI patients are children and those with congenital CVI. I suspect that acquired CVI is underreported – that there are many people who live with undiagnosed CVI. You will also find a lot of information on CVI Scotland about CVI in adults as a result of acquired brain injury, and the site is regularly updated and expanded.
I highly recommend Nicola McDowell’s blog. At the age of sixteen, she underwent brain surgery that left her with CVI. When I first read her story, I immediately recognised myself in it. One big difference with my story was that it took her seventeen years to find out what exactly was wrong with her, so she could begin to understand it properly. It took me only nine months to get a diagnosis, and even that seemed far too long…
Scale Dogs is a training centre for guide dogs not far from Brussels. This is where Nino and Vyuzu both came from. They train the dogs and provide them free of charge to people with visual impairments. There is a rigorous application process to ensure that the dogs end up where they can best serve. Scale Dogs is a non-profit organisation and is financially supported by sponsors and individual donations. It costs a lot of money to train a guide dog (and its handler)!