Blind Abilities

Apple just released the Emergency SOS by Satellite feature for all the iPhone 14 series owners. In the settings, one can go to Emergency SOS and at the bottom of the screen is a "Try Demo" button. In this iPhone101 demo, Jeff Thompson dives in and goes off the grid to give you an overview of this incredible feature. It is important that one considers setting up their Medical I.D. in the Health App...

In this episode of Job Insights Serina Gilbert, Sarlie Drakos, Dacia Vanalstine and Jeff Thompson talk about your presence on Social Media platforms and how your profile, your presence can influence job recruiters, potential employers, and decision makers during the job interview process. How to clean up your past and build a purposeful and positive presence on social media that may help you land...

Blind Abilities welcomes Shane DeSantis, Transition Coordinator at State Services for the Blind of Minnesota, to the studio to talk about an upcoming College 101 webinar.   Are you interested in attending college to gain education and training needed to meet your employment goals? Do you have questions about what the transition to college will look like and what skills are needed to be successful...

In this seventh episode of  Wellness Wednesday , Beth Gustin, LPC and Robin Ennis, LCSW, CPC, address a listener's question about what one can do as a blind or visually impaired person if they should find themself in an active shooter situation. Beth and Robin share their agency training experience, thoughts and ideas  Full Transcript Be sure to  check out all the Wellness Wednesday episodes and s...

A Big salute to the entire Accessibility Experience Team formally at Twitter. As part of the takeover at Twitter and all the layoffs, the entire Accessibility Experience Team at Twitter has been laid off. Accessibility Experience Team Manager, Gerard Koen, released a twitter thread acknowledging the members of the Accessibility Experience Team, the work they did and is looking forward to working o...

Jeff and Pete welcome mat Carson into the Blind Abilities studio today. Matt is a Teacher of the Visually Impaired, a musician, a singer songwriter who is proud to write and perform sad songs that fit neatly into the country music genre. Matt has written, performed, recorded and produced dozens of songs, most of which he produced himself in his home studio. Matt released his first full length albu...

In this sixth episode of  Wellness Wednesday , Beth Gustin, LPC and Robin Ennis, LCSW, CPC, continue the conversation on Bullying and move it to the workplace. How it may look and what you can do to help your situation or another's situation if need be. Check out all the Wellness Wednesday episodes.   Show Hosts:             Robin Ennis on the web at www.robinennislcsw.com             Beth Gustin,...

Serina, Callie, Seyoon and Jeff chill out in the Blind Abilities Studio to bring you the Tech Abilities Show. From Avatars getting legs, Apple's new Savings plan, Air Tag battery replacement, new iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max for Seyoon and jeff, to Air Friers being Accessible, new Apple TVs, iPads new and the massive iPad Pro with the M2 chip. Wow factor gets tested. But, is this too much iPad? With...

In this episode of Job Insights Sarlie Drakos, Dacia Vanalstine and Jeff Thompson talk about following-up after a job interview and dive into the "white elephant" in the room, If, When, why and how to, if one decides to, disclose a disability during the job interview process. the Job Insights team shares their knowledge and experience to help you succeed and prepare for the job interview. Be sure...

Whether you are on your own, off-campus living or just wanting access to an Air Frier, this 5.8 Quart basket Air Frier from Cosori is accessible through a free app as well as through the Amazon and Google smart devices. With just a little set up with the VeSync App, and the VeSync skill for your preferred smart device, the rest is all at your command. Set your time and Temp and you be cooking. Jus...

Kevin Chao joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to share with us his experience with the Envision Glasses from LetsEnvision.com plus the Aira App experience on the envision glasses. Kevin also gives us a peak at the Dot Pad, a tactile pad that connects to voice over and conveys tactile representations that one can explore. Along with 20 cells of Braille this tool gives Kevin an unders...

In this fifth episode of Wellness Wednesday, Beth Gustin, LPC and Robin Ennis, LCSW, CPC, talk about Bullying and how one can ask for help and offer some coping strategies.   Show Hosts:             Robin Ennis on the web at www.robinennislcsw.com             Beth Gustin, LPC, NCC, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, CAGCS, PLGS             Www.transitioningthroughchange.com Full Transcript   You can mess...

Our guest on Blind Abilities today is Michael Cleveland . Michael is a fiddler who specializes in bluegrass music, although his repertoire spans a variety of genres and multiple styles of music. he wows other Bluegrass musicians including the best in the business,  in fact, Michael may just be the best bluegrass fiddler ever, but what  elevates him into the rare echelon of unique talent is the div...

The Believe You Can Virtual Talent Show Returns Bigger and Better than Ever Before! Join the Live Show, and Support the Creative Talents at BelieveYouCan. Live Believe You Can, the virtual talent show and fundraiser put on by  the Philadelphia Keystone chapter of the National Federation of the Blind is October 15 at 8pm. This year Dancing Dots is sponsoring the event in a big way and the name is n...

In this episode of Job Insights Sarlie Drakos, Dacia Vanalstine and Jeff Thompson talk about  preparing for the job interview. How quality preparation will build the confidence one needs to succeed in putting their best interview forward. From research, logistics, Mock interviews, Zoom and Teams technology, to dress and attire, the Job Insights team shares their knowledge and experience to help yo...

In this fourth episode of Wellness Wednesday, Beth Gustin, LPC and Robin Ennis, LCSW, CPC, talk about Guilt and how one can acknowledge guilt for what it is, how to make amends, how to give guilt a voice and how to let it go.   Full Transcript   Show Hosts:             Robin Ennis on the web at www.robinennislcsw.com             Beth Gustin, LPC, NCC, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, CAGCS, PLGS       ...

Serina Gilbert, Seyoon Choi and Jeff Thompson gather in the Blind Abilities Studio after the Apple Launch and dive right into the latest news and announcements from the 4 corners of the Earth. Yes, we record and then receive as like any other time, the Apples arrive and it is all good in the orchard as more apples will soon fall from the tree in this never ending routine of gadgetry. However, ther...

Blind Abilities presents another QuickByte offering some troubleshooting for a possible problem you may be having in the Safari app on your iDevice.  We think it's safe to assume many of us have experienced it… that distracting, irritating, downright annoying noise: what exactly would we call it? clicking? tapping… Pete Lane says "no," it's clearly ticking! And here is how to turn off that ticking...

In this episode of Job Insights Serina Gilbert, Sarlie Drakos and Jeff Thompson  will talk about how the Résumé is an important role in one's job and career search. The résumé is designed for companies to select the best of the best applicants and having an effective résumé will increase ones opportunities for gainful employment. Sarlie Drakos is a Disability Employment Coach and you can reach her...

In this third episode of Wellness Wednesday, Beth Gustin, LPC and Robin Ennis, LCSW, CPC, talk about Shame and how one may navigate the feelings of shame in a healthy way. Show Hosts:             Robin Ennis on the web at www.robinennislcsw.com             Beth Gustin, LPC, NCC, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, CAGCS, PLGS             Www.transitioningthroughchange.com   You can message Beth and Robin...

The much anticipated Far Out event from the Fruit Company called Apple was back on Wednesday and this group of 5 took it all in and got together in the Blind Abilities Studio to give their perspectives on the event, the new iPhone 14 line up, the 3 new Apple watches and the 2nd Generation Air Pods Pro. Serina Gilbert, Callie Gray, Seyoon Choi, Jesse Anderson and Jeff Thompson get to the core of th...

Sara Robberson Lentz, STEM Education  Officer at AUI and COO and Head of Partnerships at Tumble media, joined Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio with some exciting news for STEM education, accessibility and representation in STEM fields for the BVI. The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded $1 Million to a team comprised of Associated Universities Incorporated (AUI), Oregon State Univ...

Ricky Ties is a member of the Team USA Visually Impaired Judo Team. Ricky wrestled in high school and was a 2 time participant in the state tournament and was a National Highschool Coaches Association All-American. Ricky went on to college and  qualified for Nationals 2 times and Regional Champion in his sophomore  year. Ricky began coaching wrestling and started his own wrestling club.  if that w...

`Blind Abilities adds to the iPhone101 Series with this in depth, comprehensive review of blocking callers and senders of unwanted text messages and emails. Pete Lane takes us through a detailed journey covering the various processes for eliminating and reducing these unwelcome contacts in multiple Apps across iOS. From blocking unknown phone numbers in our Messages and Phone Apps, to blocking and...

Our guess today on Blind Abilities is AJ Croce. AJ is a singer, songwriter, a killer piano player and guitarist, who has been in the entertainment business for more than 30 years. He has 10 studio albums under his belt, and more than 20 top hits in multiple music charts covering genres such as blues, jazz, country, Americana and more! he is also visually impaired. Many of you will recognize the na...