Blind Abilities Presents: Corona Virus from a Blindness Perspective

Full Transcript Show Summary: During these unprecedented times we want to talk about some of the challenges facing the blindness community brought on by the Corona Virus Pandemic. We highly suggest that you keep up with the latest news and information on the Center for Disease Control web site. Serina Gilbert, Lori Thompson, Tiffany Manosh and Jeff Thompson talk about the challenges and how they are over-coming and facing the situation of...

Minnesota Wild Blind Hockey is Here! Providing Children and Adults with Vision Impairments the Opportunity to Learn Skating and Participate in Ice Hockey

Blog Post by Jeff Thompson Have you ever wanted to play Hockey? Learn how to skate on ice? Minnesota Wild Blind Hockey has given me that opportunity as well as many others. You can join us on the ice and learn all about skating and playing this adaptive sport. It does not matter if you never skated before or you played hockey before. We all got started somewhere and with Minnesota Wild Blind Hockey and the Hendrickson Foundation,...

Leveling the Playing Field with Darkness and Challenging yourself in Full Sight – Kelsi Hansen Stars in Theater Production of Wait Until Dark.

Show Summary: Kelsi Hansen is starring in the Waterloo Playhouse Theater production of “Wait Until Dark.” She will be playing the part of Susan, a Blind person threatened by a murderous villain. Audrey Hepburn played the part of Susan on the big screen years ago, but a huge difference Kelsey will point out is that: "“…Audrey was actually playing the part of me, because I am actually Blind”. As usual, Kelsi laughs and is glad to be...

SciVIS: Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students, “Just because I can’t see the stars, doesn’t mean I can’t reach for them”

Show Summary: Dan Oates, Director of SCiVIS, Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students, finished up this year’s camp and sat down to talk about the camp, the experience and his 30 years of working at and organizing SCIVIS. SCIVIS is a week-long camp held in Alabama at the Marshal Space Flight Center known as the Home of propulsion. Where after World War II all the rockets engines were put together and tested. With the...

‪That Blind Tech Show: Stream Wars Begin! AppleTVPlus and Disney Have Set Sail and Peacock and HBOMax are Coming. the Stream is Filling Up and Accessibility and Audio Description is Getting the Love! ‬

Show Summary: Join the That Blind Tech Show Team as they wade through the stream of new Streaming Media companies floating their boat and offering up a pretty good line of shows with audio description and accessible means of accessing from AppleTV, iOS, Android, Computers, Fire Sticks and most anywhere you can imagine. What a change from just a couple years ago. With all the big names building their own smorgasbord  For us to choose from,...

Beautiful Life Experiences that Enhance Lives: Meet Bryce Weiler – Disability Consultant for the Baltimore Orioles and Co-Founder of the Beautiful Lives Project

Full Transcript Show Summary: Bryce Weiler is the Disability Consultant for the Baltimore Orioles Major League Baseball team and is the co-founder of the Beautiful Lives Project. Bryce Weiler and Jeff Thompson sat down in the Blind Abilities studio to talk about the Beautiful Lives Project, his work with the Baltimore Orioles and a little bit of Bryce’s journey through high school to college and the inception of The Beautiful Lives Project....

Start Your Impossible! Dr. Amit Patel is Racing Forward with No Finish Line in Sight. And Like Toyota, This Experience is Not Just for the Driver… It’s for the Entire Community

Full Transcript Show Summary: Dr. Amit Patel is  a proud father, a speaker, motivator and becoming an advocate for the Blind. After suddenly losing his eyesight six years ago, Amit was devastated and within 6 months he started to take charge of his situation and get on with the life he wanted. He learned how to use the cane, read Braille, use assistive technology to gain back his independence. He did not want to be a burden on others...

Way of the Servant Warrior: Meet Professional Adventurer Joshua “The Jedi” Loya – Grappling with, Surfing through, and Speaking about Life

Full Transcript Show Summary: Joshua “The Jedi” Loya is a professional adventurer, martial artist, U.S. Visually Impaired Surfing Champion 2017 and 2019 and public speaker. He lost his eyesight due to a prior health condition and an accident with nunchucks when he was a sophomore in high school. Since that day in January of 1996, Joshua has pursued personal growth and new experiences, never using his disability as an excuse for not giving...

Focus on Fitness: The Plank – Build Stability and Working the Core Muscles

Full Transcript Show Summary: Focus on Fitness is a new series of basic exercises you can do in your house, in the dorm or during a short break. Using the natural surrounding without having to find the right equipment, the best gym or the perfect time to do a little workout. Focus on Fitness is all about doing it when you can and hey, why not? Maria Johnson, aka Girl Gone Blind, joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities Studio to Focus on...

Active Shooter Preparedness – for Blind and Visually Impaired Individuals

By Pete Lane August 2019 Purpose This document is intended to provide suggestions for what to do if we find ourselves in an active shooting event: how to recognize signs of potential violence around us, how we might react, and what to expect after an active shooting takes place.  This material has been adapted to include some fundamental actions which blind and visually impaired individuals might find helpful in...