Hadley Presents

When the doctor says, "there's nothing more I can do for you," what next? Who can help you make the most of your remaining vision and learn how to live more comfortably with vision loss? We break it down for you.

This week we talk to Dave Epstein, the visually impaired creator of the All Terrain Cane. He shares about his life with a progressive eye disease and his love of hiking. These two pieces of Dave lead him to develop his unconventional cane.

When you have vision loss, scams can be even more challenging to avoid. Listen in as we get some tips and tricks from Veronica Lewis who runs a low vision assistive technology website.

Be My Eyes CEO, Mike Buckley, joins us to talk about how this free, smart phone app merges technology and human kindness and how it's now using AI to describe the world in front of you.

Recently retired, David Tatel served for decades on the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He also happens to be visually impaired. In this episode, he and Ricky talk about his recently written memoir, a book about his life as a judge, a husband, a father, a grandfather, and how all of these roles intersect with his experience with vision loss.

This week we talk smartphone tools and when you might want to use the different options. Jennifer Shimon from the Wisconsin Office for the Blind and Visually Impaired joins Ricky.

Sometimes, navigating life with vision loss goes a bit sideways. Things don't always turn out exactly as we've planned, and it can help to just laugh at these strange situations. We've shared several episodes of listeners' stories, what we're calling vision loss bloopers. Today, Ricky Enger and Doug Walker share some more of these bloopers along with a few of their own.

Prevent Blindness' patient advocacy program empowers people facing vision impairment. Patients learn how to promote change with their physicians, their families, drug companies, and even policy makers.

Ever thought about getting a guide dog? Listen in as we chat with members Jeff Flodin and Ed McDaniel about their experiences with guide dogs and some common misperceptions.

The National Library Service has a free talking book program for anyone in the US with vision loss. Tonia Bickford, an advisor from Michigan's talking books program, joins us to discuss how to get the most out of this free service.

This week we learn more about visual hallucinations that sometimes accompany vision loss, a condition called Charles Bonnet syndrome.

Sometimes vision loss can make us feel less secure. This week we talk about personal safety with Hadley's Chief Program Officer, Ed Haines.

For many living with vision loss, watching TV is less enjoyable as they can't see what's happening on the screen very well anymore. Audio description fills the void by narrating key visual elements. Listen in as Ricky chats with Hadley member and avid audio description user, Judy Davis.

Listen in to our conversation with Dr. Mondal, a low vision optometrist and professor at the University of Wisconsin. We chat about what to expect from a visit to a low vision specialist and the kind of help they can offer.

Have you listened to Hadley's community-generated audio podcast yet? In this episode, Ricky and Marc Arneson, Hadley's Director of Community, share a few stories from Insights & Sound Bites and discuss how to contribute your own story. Insights & Sound Bites | Hadley

Listen in as artist Chloe Duplessis explains how a degenerative eye disease changed, and didn't change, her life and love of art. "I thought art required sight. I was wrong."

Dr. Judy Box, a Hadley member living with macular degeneration, shares her tips for managing those important conversations with your eye doctor.

In this episode, the Hadley team talks all things gifts. Giving them, getting them, what's on their wish lists, and how vision loss may, or may not, impact these activities.

Friendships often change when one has vision loss. Whether it's adaptations to the activities you enjoy together, asking for help, or turning that help down … there are conversations to be had. Let's tune in as two Hadley members, Eugenia DeReu and Tara Perry, share their experiences with what's changed for them — and what's stayed the same.

Losing some vision can make for shopping challenges. Here are a few mishaps that Hadley members have run into. Have your own to share? Email us at podcast@HadleyHelps.org

This week we chat with the chief technology officer from Envision as he shares how their free mobile app or camera-enabled glasses can help those with vision loss. It speaks aloud written information, describes surroundings and objects, and even tells you who's nearby.

Lots of questions, concerns, and stereotypes connected to use of the white cane. In this episode, we address several of them from past discussions on the topic.

Listen in as Hadley's Director of Community, Marc Arneson, chats with Hadley members Bill Massey and Gregory Peterson about their participation in Hadley's new Peer-to-Peer program.  To learn if getting a peer connection is for you, call us at 1-800-323-4238.

Listen in as we chat with Ed Haines about getting the most out of our magnifiers.

Listen in as we chat with animal lovers Debbie Worman and Sheri Robinson about the joys and challenges of caring for a pet when you have vision loss.