Our Journey

The foundations of AGAHDER were laid with a profound belief in the brain’s capacity to relearn, the principles of neuroplasticity, and the transformative power of human experience.

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It all began with a child who, following a severe head trauma, experienced a profound disconnection from the visual world and began the arduous journey of re-establishing a relationship with their environment.

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This process, which initially appeared only as a struggle for survival, eventually brought a much larger question to light: Was a child truly "unable to see," or did the world simply not yet know how to understand the way they perceive?

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Progressing through the simple rhythms of nature, the habilitation process revealed—more clearly each day—the vital impact of repetition, rhythm, secure relationships, descriptive language, and environmental adaptations on the child.

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This experience also uncovered a vital truth: The individuals who observe a child’s visual world most closely are almost always the parents.

It was experienced step-by-step how small adjustments within daily routines could support the child in reconnecting with space, people, and the world at large.

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When this lived experience merged with international neuroscience literature on how the brain processes visual information, it exposed significant scientific, educational, and social gaps in the field of CVI (Cerebral/Cortical Visual Impairment) in Turkey.

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This is because many systems still evaluate vision solely through the eyes. However, vision is a dynamic process shaped by attentional organization, perception, spatial awareness, movement, relationships, and the brain’s unique way of making sense of the world.

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Today, AGAHDER approaches this lived experience not merely as a personal story, but as a domain for scientific, educational, and social transformation.

Our association aims to develop measurable and sustainable models by integrating artificial intelligence, neuroscience, clinical medicine, and habilitation approaches.

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Our goal is to build a future where:

• Children with CVI become visible,

• Families are never excluded from the process,

• Teachers and experts establish a common language,

• And science is seamlessly integrated into daily life.

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We chose the name AGAH for our association because "agâh" means to be aware, conscious, and well-informed. We are here to render visible and share the knowledge that remains hidden—knowledge of which we have become "agâh" through experience.

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Because we know that only those who have faced "none" truly understand how much "a little" can be.

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​AGAHDER - Association for Low Vision Research and Habilitation