Speaking Out for the Blind

KHON-TV reports that Marri Murdoch recently competed in Hawaii’s “Start to the Park 10K.” Marri started running in high school. But just five years ago, she suffered from a stroke. The stroke affected Marri’s left peripheral vision in both of her eyes. But that didn’t keep Marri from running. She’s here connecting from Hawaii to share her running. She’s connecting from Hawaii to share her running...

According to KGW-TV, Debra Erickson runs her online business called The Blind Kitchen . The business sells adaptive culinary tools to the blind and visually impaired who like to cook. The Blind Kitchen contains blogposts and articles related to many aspects of cooking. The aspects include the organization of the kitchen and labeling of food. Debra joins us to talk about The Blind Kitchen.    Ways...

The first USA blind soccer men’s national team is coming. The U.S. Association of Blind Athletes, or USABA, has announced its first ten athletes. We’re excited to welcome one of the players: Noah Beckman. Noah is going to tell us more about the team and their upcoming journey in international competition. Ways to Connect to Speaking Out for the Blind Amazon Alexa enabled device (RECOMMENDED) “Alex...

CNN says that Australian man Steffan Nero grew up visually impaired. Steffan remembers struggling with constant anxiety. He got out of that anxiety after discovering visually impaired sports. One of those sports was cricket. Steffan continues to play cricket today. And he joins us to talk about his life being visually impaired and becoming an international athlete. Ways to Connect to Speaking Out...

PR Newswire reports that the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco, California is welcoming a new Chief Executive Officer. Her name is Sharon Giovinazzo. And Sharon joins us to talk about how she’s going to lead the organization into the future. Ways to Connect to Speaking Out for the Blind Amazon Alexa enabled device (RECOMMENDED) “Alexa, Ask ACB Media to play Media 1”....

The American Council of the Blind has started its all-new ACB Mentoring Program. The mentoring program is designed to work to sustain ACB for a brighter future, prepare members for meaningful participation in the American Council of the Blind’s work, honor Resolution 2020-11, and help in developing a diverse group of interested members for future ACB leadership roles. Here to talk about the ACB Me...

The Chicago Lighthouse and Illinois Institute of Technology have joined forces. They’re taking on a special research project. The project is an Intracortical Visual Prosthesis. The Intracortical Visual Prosthesis, or ICVP, compensates for blindness. The ICVP stimulates the brain’s visual centers. And the prosthesis produces visual images for blind users. Joining us to talk about the ICVP are Co-Pr...

Vision Australia says that with blind grit, perseverance, and passion, fashion designer Nikki Hind believes that one can achieve anything. Nikki is proof of that and is now Australia’s first legally blind fashion designer. She joins us to talk about the inspiration behind her fashion designing career. Ways to Connect to Speaking Out for the Blind Amazon Alexa enabled device (RECOMMENDED) “Alexa, A...

Georgina Kleege is a blind Professor Emeritus of the English Department at UC Berkeley. Georgina has taught Creative Writing, Disability Memoir, and Representations of Disability in Literature courses. She’s written essays about her own blindness and a cultural critique of depictions of blindness in language, film, and literature. Joining us to talk about her blindness and interests in English is...

The Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired in Utica, New York has dedicated its newly renovated distribution center. It’s now called the Kenneth C. Thayer Production and Distribution Center. The Center is named after the former Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired Volunteer Ken Thayer. Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired President and CEO Ed...

Chicago Lighthouse President and CEO Dr. Janet P. Szlyk and Brinshore Development Principal David Brint join us to talk about a special new housing project just for the blind called the Foglia Residences at the Chicago Lighthouse. Ways to Connect to Speaking Out for the Blind Amazon Alexa enabled device (RECOMMENDED) “Alexa, Ask ACB Media to play Media 1”. (1 = stream number). PC / browser access...

Healio and BMC Ophthalmology say that patients with severe blindness and visual impairment admitted to American hospitals in 2017 had greater resource utilization and worse clinical outcomes than other patients. Why did this happen and what can we do about it? Study contributor Dr. Ché Matthew Harris from the John Hopkins School of Medicine is here to talk about the solutions to this issue and how...

Waymap - August 5th, 8PM Eastern (ACB Media 1) and repeats throughout the next seven days (go to https://speakingoutfortheblind.weebly.com/ for more details)   Reuters reports that an app for helping blind and visually impaired pedestrians use public transit is making its debut at a Washington, DC subway station. The app is called Waymap. Waymap’s Founder and CEO Tom Pey and Marketing & Commun...

SF State’s Program in Visual Impairments - July 29th, 8PM Eastern (ACB Media 1) and repeats throughout the next seven days (go to https://speakingoutfortheblind.weebly.com/ for more details)   We’re off to my alma mater: San Francisco State University in California. The university has a special program for teaching those with visual impairments. The graduates are prepared to become teachers of bli...

We’re celebrating Speaking Out for the Blind 300th episode by talking with several rappellers from Pennsylvania and how they’re rappelling down buildings to raise funds and support blind agency VisionCorps in Lancaster.   Ways to Connect to Speaking Out for the Blind Amazon Alexa enabled device (RECOMMENDED) “Alexa, Ask ACB Media to play Media 1”. (1 = stream number).   PC / browser access (RECOMM...

The State of Nevada is known for its bustling high-stakes casino action. And Nevada is also known for helping the blind and visually impaired become employable. The State is home to the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation. The Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation’s Rehabilitation Services offers services for the blind and visually impaired. Here t...

According to MobileSyrup and AdaptiVision, blind forty year-old Jaclyn Pope of Toronto, Ontario wants to create more accessible mobile apps for the blind and visually impaired. How’s she going to do it? Jaclyn joins us to speak out and talk about that mission.   Ways to Connect to Speaking Out for the Blind Amazon Alexa enabled device (RECOMMENDED) “Alexa, Ask ACB Media to play Media 1”. (1 = stre...

Noah Cook - May 27th, 8PM Eastern (ACB Media 1) and repeats throughout the next seven days (go to https://speakingoutfortheblind.weebly.com/ for more details)   We can all imagine, and some of us knew first hand, the challenges in navigating life as a first-year college student. And how imagine or recall what that experience is like if you’re blind and visually impaired. This challenge hasn’t kept...

The Blind and Visually Impaired Deserve the Same Opportunities as Everyone Else - May 20th, 8PM Eastern (ACB Media 1) and repeats throughout the next seven days (go to https://speakingoutfortheblind.weebly.com/ for more details) The subject of how blind and visually impaired people deserve the same opportunities as everyone else was brought up in a recent special column to the Topeka Capital-Journ...

The American Council of the Blind has commended the CBS Television Network for significantly increasing its offerings of audio described programming. Joining to tell us more about this big development in television for the blind is Paramount Global’s Vice President of Captioning and Audio Description Mark Turits. Also joining us will be ACB’s Audio Description Project Co-Chair Carl Richardson. To...

A team of cross-disciplinary researchers has been recognized for helping the blind and visually impaired learn geometry. Researchers from three universities – Scott Lambert, Chloe Hershenow, and Jenna Gorlewicz of St. Louis University, Brett Fiedler of the PhET Interactive Simulations Project and University of Colorado Boulder, and Dor Abrahamson at University of California Berkeley have won the D...

The Indian Express reports that there is nothing more heartwarming than when individuals try to achieve inclusivity together. This inclusivity was achieved when a visually impaired girl aced a shot at a high school basketball game. How did she do it? The girl who made the shot, Jules Hoogland, is here to tell us.   To listen to this week’s “Speaking Out for the Blind,” go to: https://www.acbmedia....

PR Newswire reports that the New York State Preferred Source Program for New Yorkers who are blind is adding Helen Keller Services for the Blind to its list of affiliated nonprofit agencies. The New York State Preferred Source Program and its affiliated agencies create employment opportunities and resources for blind New Yorkers. Helen Keller Services for the Blind is one of the oldest nonprofit r...

There’s one organization in Cincinnati, Ohio that’s printing Braille for the blind who need it the most. That organization is the Clovernook Center for the Blind. The center has a Braille Printing House who hires blind and visually impaired workers, producing thirty million pages for global customers each year. Joining us to talk about some of the wonderful Braille works that the Printing House do...

According to the Boston Globe, sixteen-year old Jack Berry was diagnosed with a visual impairment as a baby. Jack attended the Perkins School for the Blind’s Infant-Toddler Program in Watertown, Massachusetts. While attending Perkins, Jack was given a “‘story box.’” The story box was an interactive literary tool for visually impaired kids. Now as a Boy Scout, Jack is giving back to Perkins and cre...