Blind Abilities

Blind Abilities welcomes Tony Gebhard back into the studio. he first appeared on Blind Abilities in the summer of 2019, when Geoff and Pete chatted with him at the NFB National Convention in Orlando, Florida. You can find that interview here,  A Morning with Tony Gebhard… The focus then was on his musical journey, This time back in the studio, the focus of this interview, is Toni's life, his recen...

Japricia shares her experience from Elementary school with discipline, race, and her Individual Education Plan (IEP) that inspired the goals she has for college. In this interview, Beau RaRa a staff attorney for the Youth Law Project and Minnesota Disability Law Center, sits down with Japricia, a recent high school graduate, to talk about the experiences of racial disparities in school discipline...

Jeff and Pete are in the studio again, this time to chat with Javier Pita, founder and CEO of NaviLens Corp., and their remarkable product, NaviLens.  NaviLens is a new and enhanced kind of QR code, but unlike existing QR codes that can only be read from a short distance, the NaviLens tag can be detected by your smart phone camera up to 60 feet away with a 160 degree wide-angle range. This means t...

Laura Allen joins Raqi and Jeff in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about new developments in Google's accessibility and disability inclusion. Laura Allen is Head of strategy for Accessibility and Disability Inclusion, bringing together the Google network of teams to bring awareness to accessibility and disability inclusion within the entire google corporation. Laura uses a mix of accessibility...

Blind Abilities welcomes back to the podcast, Beth Gustin, licensed professional counselor, a nationally certified mental health counselor, to speak about the impact that the prolonged pandemic is having on our mental health. Beth was a guest on the Job Insights podcast show back in October 2018 where she spoke about mental health and job searching with Jeff and Serina. Read more we would love to...

Feather Chelle has just published her first book,  Stranded , in December and soon her second book, a picture book, will be available as well. Feather Chelle, aka Heather, is a young mother of five and home schools her kids and leads a Girl Scout Troop as well. Heather lost her sight by age 3 due to cancer and adopted her late friends daughter while having 4 kids of her own. She is from a large fa...

Blind Abilities Teen Correspondent, Simon Bonenfant, chats with Cheryl Cummings and Ruth Kahn, representing an after school and career exploration program in Boston for middle and high school students who are blind or low vision. the Our Space Our Place program takes advantage of a variety of activities to promote social interaction and networking among the students, including the arts, theatre, d...

Dr. Natalina Martiniello completed her Doctorate in the study of Aging on Braille Literacy from the University of Montreal in December of 2021 and has a vast and robust knowledge of all things diversity, accessibility and related issues facing the Blind and Visually Impaired. Inclusion in the classrooms, inclusion in the curriculum building in Universities and the importance of learning Braille at...

Full Transcript Kym DeKeyrel has faced life threatening challenges and has made the necessary changes in her life to take on more and more as she is now all-in on the CrossFit training. Kym is the 4 th  Fittest Standing Adaptive Athlete in the World. Working out twice a day and balancing her family life and work as a Massage Therapist, Kym strives on being the best she can be.  Read more we would...

Full Transcript Our guest on this episode of the Blind Abilities podcast is Dr. Calvin W. Roberts, MD, President and CEO of  Lighthouse Guild , a nonprofit organization dedicated to addressing and preventing vision loss. Dr. Roberts  has a unique blend of academic, clinical, business and hands-on product development experience. He is a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical C...

Jeff and Serina are joined in the Blind Abilities Studio with State Services for the Blind of Minnesota Assistive Technology Specialist Jesse Anderson. Jesse is the creator and host of the Illegally Sighted channel on YouTube. If you are interested in Video Gaming from a Low Vision perspective, be sure to check out his YouTube channel! In this episode: Read more Send us an email at info@BlindAbili...

Juan Alcazar is a Film Maker and YouTube Creator and you can find his work on YouTube at JC5Productions. Juan joined Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about his journey with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and his passion for making films and videos. Storytelling is something Juan took to at a young age and he continues his passion as he embraces his sight loss and the blindness commun...

Today's guest on Blind Abilities is Donna Jodhan. Donna is a multi-talented individual, an author, entrepreneur and an advocate for the  blind and visually impaired. Now Donna is  rebranding herself as a sight loss coach, aiming at helping people who are experiencing sight loss to "...become more comfortable in their new type of world…", to become independent and fully functional.    Read more we...

The crew is intact and with a latte in-hand and most of the microphones locked down and ready, Serina, Raqi, Angie and Jeff take on a lot of topics starting with a very sad, sad story. Serina tossed her nose up at the  Air Pod Max  headphones and landed a new iPad Air 4. Meanwhile, Raqi scores a  Mac Mini  just to spoil her  Mantis . Meanwhile, Angie's travel experience is shared and she is now Ho...

Full Transcript BlindAbilities presents the team from touch pad pro assistive technology,  who is in the process of developing three new and totally innovative products for the blind and visually impaired. Jeff Thompson chats with  Kristin Smedley , Chief Communications Officer, Brian Edwards, chief  operating Officer, and founder and Chief Executive Officer, Daniel Lubiner With long term plans to...

 Roel and Ben Eynon from Strap Technologies sat down with Simon in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about a device that could possibly replace the white cane. This is a huge claim being that for nearly 100 years the cane has remained for the most part, the same low tech device used for navigation by the Blind and Visually Impaired. Diego and Ben talk about how they came about working together fo...

In the era of Covid-19 we have seen a sharp rise in the production of virtual music, ranging from individual performers, to bands, to choral groups.  Prior to the pandemic, however, this form of music was not only unusual, but rare. Our guests today on blind abilities represent one of those rare music groups that originated before the Corona virus  burst onto the world scene. the Serenity Virtual...

Serina, Angie and Jeff were joined by Jesse Anderson to host this episode of Tech Abilities. Jesse is an Assistive Technology Specialist and will be coming on to Tech Abilities more and more in the near future. Jesse is also the creator of the  Legally Sighted YouTube Channel  were he demonstrates gaming for the VI Community. From Headsets, to Guide Dogs during the Pandemic, to Apple Watch and Fit...

Full Transcript Jeff's guest today is Ryan Lukowicz. Ryan has a fascinating interest in a unique topic: Meteorology. as a matter of fact, he has studied Meteorology for over four years now and has developed an expertise in the topic  that is respected across the industry.  so, you may ask: where did he attend college? how did he attain such an advanced knowledge of this subject that is rooted in  ...

Full Transcript Travis Mashuga is a Pre-Employment Transition Services Counselor at State Services for the Blind (SSB) in Minnesota. Travis switched gears in college and decided to work in the Rehabilitation field and is now part of the Transition team at SSB. Travis explains what Transition Services offers and tells us how to get connected with the Transition Services. Read more we would love to...

Full Transcript Minnesota State Services for the Blind (SSB) like every other state rehab agency, is certainly not exempt from the impact of COVID-19. Like much of the Nation's  business and governmental sector, the staff began working from home back in mid-March. Jesse Anderson, Assistive Technology Specialist, Joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to talk about how his department has...

Saddled in between Christmas and the New Year, the crew arrives with a healthy dose of information regarding Microsoft, Apple, Facebook and maybe a bit about Google. We hope all of you are safe and warm. And while Angie is basking in the Florida sunshine, the rest of the crew are weathering the blistery wrath of Winter.  But the show must go on! Why are headsets, headphones and ear buds becoming s...

Full Transcript   Are you familiar with 3D printing: how it works, what tools and materials are used to create  3D models, and what is done with them when they are completed?  If not, or if you just want to learn a bit more about the subject and how it might affect you directly as a blind person, then sit right down and listen. We have the answers to all of those questions. We will also fill you i...

Seeing AI just dropped a fantastic update which includes a new World Channel that utilizes LiDAR and Spatial Sound for navigation and object detection. If you have an iPhone 12 Pro or Pro Max, update to the latest SeeingAI and start exploring. Contact Your State Services If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coo...

Full Transcript Cheryl McNeil Fisher  writes books, has used a guide dog from  Guiding Eyes for the Blind  for over 3 decades, experienced Google's Project Guideline wearing boots with heels, yes, with heels, and has found community events and programs on-line during the Pandemic. Cheryl shares advice about writing books and the publishing process. Talks about how she made the decision to get a gu...