Blind Abilities News Letter July – Sept 2018

The nip of Fall is in the air, quietly chilling your nose in preparation for winters cold embrace. Starbux has brought out the pumpkin spice latte once again. Thanksgiving plans are being laid in advance, perhaps. New technology is making its debut, and last, but certainly not least, students have come back to school. Blind abilities has news on these things, sans latte, and a whole lot more.

First, Ardis Bazynspeaks about her journey into blindness, her writing, and her public speaking as an entrepreneur. Picking apart the latest offerings from tech giant apple, Jeff Thompson Serina and Andy on the new Tech Abilitiescast take a look at iPhones, apple watches, and more. Phil Hubbard and Bill Denehytalk to Jeff about baseball and golf, respectively, from a blind perspective. Next, Jeff meets up with John Greedy, and they talk guide dog development. Jo Fishwickchats with us about assistive technology and resources for the blind in England, weaving this important information with her life story and what it’s like to be a mother as a blind person. Jim Barbourtells us about his programming work, education experiences, and working overseas, touching a bit on Aira in the workplace.

Liz bottnertells us about her early life, and how she helps teach people to use technology, touching on both playing hockey and using Aira. Speaking of Aira, Michael Hingson and Patrick Lanego in depth on how aira can be used in class, at the work place, and more. In a different episode, Patrick Lane tells us more about Airain general. Another possible aid to students, the SF lighthouse is beginning to produce tactile mapswhile they rebuild a summer camp that has been operating for years. Will Butler tells us more. Back to successful people, Peter Walterstells us of his journey through education to become a nuclear scientist. And, tony Gebhardshares some of his music, and tells the story of his vision loss, influences, and success.

Simon Bonenfant and John Dowling praise the summer academy in the latest episode of the TVI Toolbox, a sub podcast on transition aged students going from high school, to college, to the work place. In a different episode, Simon also discusses Scienceand Math, and how he’s been successful in both fields.

In the job insightssphere of things, first up Emily Zimmermanntells us about a brain tumor that changed her life, and how coding and independence changed it back. Next, Serina Gilbert and Jeff Thompson discuss employment convention breakouts, helpful apps, and Aira as an accommodation. The same lovely folks then delve into everything you could need to know about interviewing, and later, do an incredible piece on job hunting. Lori Thompsontakes apart the morass of information that is blindness skills and continues to explore Aira as an reasonable accommodation.

From ExcelAbility: we see Steve Walker about an interesting approach to life, and how he turned dyslexia into something that gave him a major edge over business competition to become amazingly successful. Peter Denman, a user experience designer with Dyslexia and quadriplegia speaks about his experiences and story.

Blind abilities visits with National Parents Center on Transition and Employment Specialist Erika Theiler in a series of topics including self-advocacy, children’s mental health, and more in the Pacer seriesof podcasts.

Finally, the Blind abilities team brings you convention coverage. At the NFB convention, Pete Lane walks us through people in the exhibit hall. He also was able to grab an interview with David Bradburn about his company, zoomax, makers of a wide variety of low vision products. Antonio Guimaraes does a spotlight on the Tap keyboard, a new kind of wearable technology. At the ACB convention, Cheryl spencer was able to grab Interviews from Vendors and Marketeers from the exhibit hall. The blind abilities team also speaks about a new app called Way Around, and their associated NFC enabled tags. They also catch up with Joy Mistovich, an aira advocate who talks about her use of the service in general, as well as in a convention setting. Kristen Steele was another Aira explorer met at NFB2018. She is also a massage therapist and an advocate. Join the blind abilities team to find out more about her. Lastly, Amazon and Humanware both meet up with Blind abilities to talk about the technology they offer.

Whether you want the latest scoops on Technology, the most UpToDate blindness news, or a success story to warm your soul or get you inspired, we hope you’ve found something for you in this latest Blind Abilities newsletter.

Thanks for Listening!

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