Callie Gray:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is Callie in Miami. In April of 2020, I lost the majority of my vision due to a retinal detachment. At that point, my Macbook Air became a paperweight on my desk, as I had no idea how to use voiceover. In search of answers I posted questions to the blindness community on Facebook and received varying responses. Some worked, some did not. One day I came across a post from Mac For The Blind, where John Panarese was offering four free online courses on Mac OS and voiceover\u2014a basic starter kit. I immediately signed up. I enjoyed the courses, and gleaned so much information from John Panarese. He\u2019s a patient teacher, and more importantly, he knows his stuff. He even provided free Dropbox links to the participants so that we could download and review the lessons at our own pace. This is a feature I greatly appreciated. Also, I went to the website and purchased several courses, one including \u201cthe finder,\u201d as this is the meat and potatoes of the system, and I needed to know how to find my stuff and the basic layout of the system. I also purchased a course on signatures and mail OS, as I had no idea how to do it, and I could not wrap my brain around it. In fact, after purchasing the course, I had to email John a couple of questions, and his customer service is so great he immediately got back with me and answered my questions. I love Mac For The Blind, and I really appreciate the job that John is doing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff Thompson:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Welcome to Blind Abilities, I\u2019m Jeff Thompson. In the studio, we\u2019ve got John Panarese, and he\u2019s the creator of Mac For The Blind. You can find that at macfortheblind.com. Jonathan\u2014well, I said Jonathan\u2014John, how\u2019re you doing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John Panarese:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alright! My dad used to call me Jonathan, so it\u2019s kind of weird that you call me it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How\u2019s it going with Mac For The Blind?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s going well, going very well. I\u2019m trying out exploring new areas, with focusing specifically on just providing one-on-one or small group training sessions, but have now kind of opened up to doing some online courses, so that was a very successful little venture back in June or July, so I will be continuing that effort as the fall turns into the winter,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Now, Mac For The Blind has been around for quite a while\u2014I think it dates back to 2011 or so? I\u2019m not sure-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:
Yes, yep, that\u2019s exactly-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
I nailed it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yep, that\u2019s when I came into existence. I was a vendor, I sold products for several years, from the mid-90s to 2009, 2010. I was actually planning to go do something else outside of the blindness industry, and sort of got sucked back in. A friend of mine\u2014a sighted friend, actually, he\u2019s the one who talked me into putting up Mac For The Blind, the website, with all of its informational stuff on the Mac and iOS at the time, and he kind of nudged me and said \u201cHey, why don\u2019t you put something on there that you can do training?\u201d And I said \u201cWhat do you mean? I don\u2019t really teach people,\u201d and he\u2019s like \u201cWell, when you were selling your products and you got involved with Apple a few years ago, haven\u2019t you trained people?\u201d And I said \u201cWell, unofficially, yeah.\u201d So, he finally convinced me to do it, and I put a little blurb on the website, and lo and behold within a few weeks I got contacted by\u2014I think it was three or four state agencies and at least a dozen different private clients who were looking for Mac or iOS training, and within a year I was sort of sitting back saying you know what, I can actually make this into a living and I\u2019m really enjoying what I\u2019m doing for a change, because selling products can be very stressful, and stocking products and keeping track of invoices and all that stuff\u2014I mean, I enjoyed it, my dad had retired from the New York City Fire Department and was kind of like my business partner, we used to travel together, so that part of it was great, it was just all the other nonsense that kind of burned me out, so doing the training was so much easier because it\u2019s just working with people, and you\u2019re working either one on one or in a small group and you\u2019re teaching them things they didn\u2019t know before, and in a lot of instances it\u2019s really providing a sense of independence and self-reliance for people who didn\u2019t have that kind of access before. And for blind people technology is really underrated sometimes, it\u2019s such an important aspect that we have, that we need, that\u2019s a little bit different than the sighted world, because a lot of blind people tend to be on the isolated side, so when they have access to an iOS device or a computer, and they can get involved in social media and Facebook and Twitter and doing Zoom and things like that, it just opens up the world to them, and I\u2019ve had so many great experiences over the last 10 years of really opening the doors, so to speak, for people to get into this world of\u2014this crazy world of technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You know, John, I was talking to a friend of mine, Callie Gray, and it came up that she was looking for training on the Mac, and she found Mac For The Blind, and she was raving about it because it was exactly what she wanted. She tried other areas, and stuff, but when she found this she just raved about it, and I said \u201cOh wow, I thought he did this all the time,\u201d but as you said, as we were talking before, that you started out doing small groups and now, with the pandemic going on, these larger webinar type of meetings just blew up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Absolutely, and it\u2019s helped me\u2014I mean, like I said I was talking to you earlier about how I didn\u2019t think this was going to fly. I mean, I was saying to my girlfriend when I was kicking around the idea one time when we were out to dinner, and I said \u201cOh, you know, if I get 20, 25 people interested in doing this, it\u2019ll be worth at least something for me,\u201d and lo and behold, the Mac courses, I think I had said 145, somewheres around there signed up in total. And then the iOS was close to 100, so that just blew my mind, I did not expect that kind of an interest from everybody out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s neat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:
Yeah, and it\u2019s got me motivated now to do more of this stuff, you know?
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Oh, yeah, I\u2019m excited. And you\u2019ve got stuff coming up in the fall that you\u2019re planning now?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:
Yes, that\u2019ll be on the website, I\u2019ll send out an email to everybody who had signed up, so Callie will be getting an email with information. It\u2019s going to be Mac and iOS, it\u2019s going to be a mixture of free courses and there\u2019s going to be some more directed courses that\u2019ll have a small fee, maybe 10 or 15 dollars to sign up, and I\u2019ll post a schedule, I\u2019ve just got to figure out\u2014it\u2019s most likely going to be on Tuesday or Thursday afternoons, because I don\u2019t want to conflict with\u2014Matt Vollbrecht does a whole iOS thing on Mondays and Wednesdays, and he\u2019s got a lot of people who\u2019ll sign up for that, so I don\u2019t want to overlap and try to compete with anybody, especially since he\u2019s a very good friend of mine, so I\u2019m going to either do Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, eastern time, and those people in the UK, in Australia, don\u2019t worry, as I\u2019ve done in the past, I will have recordings of the lessons available, I\u2019ll set up a Dropbox link, and so nobody will be left out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I like that, that it even says on your website, there\u2019s other resources out there and you\u2019re not trying to compete, it\u2019s great that people have the access to getting some tutorials, some demonstrations, some\u2014to learn the devices that they have, to better utilize them. I like that attitude that you have. Now, John, what is your demographic? Who are you aiming to join these tutorials, these meetings?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think it\u2019s a combination of anybody, and it\u2019s funny because I had people who are novice beginners, knew very little about this technology, and then I had very experienced, long-time users who were pioneers with me, learning the Mac back in 2005, and iOS in 2009, 2010, who took the courses just for a kind of refresher, or just to see if there was something that they didn\u2019t know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:
You know? And that\u2019s why I say, you know, for me, my belief is, look, I don\u2019t have an ego, I don\u2019t believe I am the be-all, end-all of training, there are a lot of good people out there who are doing this, and you know I took the extra steps, I got the ACSP and the ACT from Apple directly, the training certification and all that stuff, but I am a firm believer that you should learn from other people, you should get multiple opinions of something, because somebody\u2019s mentioned something that I didn\u2019t think of, or that I didn\u2019t see as being as important that might be important to you. So that\u2019s why I always promote other people, and I have no problems\u2014like on my Mac For The Blind list, anybody advertising their group thing, their courses, or whatever they\u2019re doing, because to me it\u2019s\u2014we\u2019re a community, and it\u2019s really about helping each other. We\u2019re small, we don\u2019t always get the respect and the attention of a lot of the vendors, even Apple at times, so we\u2019ve got to kind of stick together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So you\u2019re not the Apple almighty god, as Callie told me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No, no\u2014I kind of get embarrassed, I\u2019ve had a few people say that to me, and I have a few of my fans that, as my girlfriend likes to call it, my fanbase, that kind of embarrasses me about that stuff, so. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m just pulling your leg with Callie, she just spoke highly of it, and it\u2019s really neat that someone found that solution, because when we get a device, I\u2019d be one of those persons that join on, if I could find that one little trick, that one little hurdle to get me past something that takes me a little bit longer, that\u2019s well worth it. Just those barricades, that sometimes you just reach a dead end, so\u2014I think what Callie said, she just wanted that information right now, and that\u2019s what she got. She got her answers, she got her fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Good, I\u2019m glad. I\u2019m glad she got something out of it. That makes me feel good to hear, that other people have really benefited and are spreading the word to others, I mean, that to me is the greatest compliment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, the other thing is, you know, I\u2019ve heard of a demo on a podcast, somewhere, I\u2019ve got to remember the podcast, which episode it was, then you\u2019ve got to go hunt for it, but if they find out how to add that signature to their email in the Apple email environment, boom, they have it, they can listen to it when they have it, and relisten to it to get it down pat-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:
Right, as many times as they want, just keep practicing with it. You know, when I do the lesson I really try to let you hear as I use the Mac or the iPhone-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Real time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, so you should hear what I hear, you know what I\u2019m saying? So I hope that gives that added little benefit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If someone had questions, could they email you? If they took a course, is there some type of-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Absolutely, absolutely! john@macfortheblind.com, J-O-H-N@macfortheblind.com, you can just go to the website, there\u2019s a contact link on there as well if you can\u2019t remember the email address. I get questions from people all the time, and try to direct people, and it\u2019s like, would you ultimately like them to take lessons from you? Yeah, absolutely, but I don\u2019t expect every person that comes to me, that they\u2019re going to want to take lessons, you know, it\u2019s just\u2014if I can help somebody or at least point them in the right direction, that to me is at least getting them along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I really like the fact about the lessons, and the Mac, it\u2019s hard to find those. A lot of people will show you anything about the iOS devices, but the Mac is kind of a quiet area, I\u2019m glad you\u2019re doing this, but I don\u2019t know what I don\u2019t know, and I think I know a lot, but when I come across a, almost like I was talking, those little darlings, those little \u201cOh, that\u2019s how you do that,\u201d you know, that\u2019s where I really like that, so I highly suggest people, you know, to take a course, see what it\u2019s like, see what you learn from it, and you also have\u2014something I saw was Apple Slices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:
Yes, yeah, Apple Slices are mini lessons, so I have the audio tutorial series for the Mac and iOS where I focus specifically on an application or a feature, so for example the Apple mail application or using Safari, or settings, but then I got this sort of inspiration one day of doing these mini lessons, maybe five, six minutes, where I take an app but I focus specifically on a feature that people might be really needing to do, like creating a signature in mail, or how to move files in Finder, things like that, and, you know, five bucks, and you know, Apple Slices just kind of hit me, and as I was telling you earlier, my audio engineer, Derek Lane does all the audio stuff for me, just loved it, just loved the idea of Apple Slices, and kind of ran with it with the intro and stuff like that, so they\u2019re really neat. I\u2019ve got to do more of them, I was really on a roll, and then I\u2014when you\u2019re a one-man show, unfortunately things pull you in multiple directions, and I have, you know, issues with\u2014my mom is 86 and has got senile dementia, and I got a brother who\u2019s ill, so it\u2019s not\u2014I\u2019m always getting pulled in multiple directions, so that\u2019s one of the problems too, here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, hopefully you find good enough time to get the fall stuff rolling, because people are headed back to school, and now that\u2014for some people, now that kids are back at school you might have time to take some lessons, so I like the fact that it\u2019s available for anybody, just anybody\u2014yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, anyone, anyone who\u2019s interested, and like I said, you\u2019re welcome to contact me with questions, and what I typically will do is I\u2019ll offer specials, or discounts on the audio tutorials and I also usually will offer either a free lesson or a half-price one-on-one lesson if there\u2019s something that you want help with, that comes directly from, you know, one of the courses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now you mentioned early on that even state agencies, vocational rehabs were contacting you for, you know, hey, what do you got? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, I\u2019m contracted with several states, you know, actively right now would be the state of Washington, New Mexico, North Carolina, New York, but I\u2019ve had Vermont, New Hampshire\u2019s done business, Mississippi, I\u2019ve done probably I\u2019d say 10 or 12 states over the years that I\u2019ve done business with, and I\u2019m always looking for in-roads into other places as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, that\u2019s great, and you can find all this at macfortheblind.com, just scope it out. Check out the about page, I like that, I like reading a little bit of the history of when you started and how it grew and where you are today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:
It\u2019s just a lot of people have helped along the way, some people don\u2019t even realize that they kind of helped in one way or another, and that\u2019s why I have the credits and acknowledgements page because, as I said, we\u2019re a community, and in the beginning there was a small group of us pioneers that really kind of learned on our own before we had tutorials and all this material out there, so we kind of got to know each other simply by virtue of the fact that, you know, we were kind of helping each other out. They\u2019ve always contributed in my mind to a lot of the material that has become sort of the building blocks that I use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I like that, you know, there\u2019s a resource page there where you can actually click on the Apple accessibility, other types of tutorials that are out there as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:
Right, yeah\u2014I mean, you\u2019ve got the National Braille Press, and APH, and stuff, who have all kinds of great resources out there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, great. Well, Jonathan, is there anything else you want to capture on this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:
I think that\u2019s really the major stuff, other than you know, like I said, I do one-on-one training. If you are receiving services from a specific state and you would like to look into receiving some specific training, I do the ACSP\u2014in other words, soup to nuts, teach people, get them prepared for the Apple certification. I\u2019ve been beta testing the ACSP exams for Apple, so contact your counselor. This is how I\u2019ve ended up getting involved in a lot of state agencies, just through people who wanted my services, so there is an answer, is really what it comes down to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What you\u2019re saying is if someone wanted to be certified, you actually bring them through the ropes of that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes, yeah, it\u2019s a long, lengthy\u2014it\u2019s something you\u2019ve really got to be committed to. There\u2019s a training guide, an Apple Pro training guide that you can purchase, and that will really give you all\u2014you don\u2019t need to go out and buy any of the crazy other stuff that\u2019s online, you just need that Pro training guide. It\u2019s 28 lessons, it\u2019s about 900 pages. If you\u2019re going to go for your certification, you really have to decide that that\u2019s what you want to do, it\u2019s not something that you take lightly, it\u2019s not something that you can say \u201cOh, I\u2019m going to take that next week,\u201d you know, you\u2019re talking three or four months of preparation, but once you get it you can use it in a lot of different ways. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If they have any questions they can just contact you at john@macfortheblind.com?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Great. Well, John, thank you so much for coming on here, thanks for what you\u2019re doing, making this available to everybody out there, anybody out there that, you know, may want to step up their game with their iOS device or their Mac, I\u2019m glad it\u2019s available to them, so thank you very much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, thank you, thanks for having me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And for more podcasts with a blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com, on Twitter @BlindAbilities, and give us a call at 612-367-6093, leave us a message and let us know if we can put your voice on the next podcast. Drop us an email at info@blindabilities.com, and download the free Blind Abilities app from the app store and Google Play store. That\u2019s two words, Blind Abilities. And from all of us here at Blind Abilities, through these challenging times, to you, your family, and friends, stay well, stay informed, and stay strong. I want to thank you for listening, hope you enjoyed, and until next time, bye-bye. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
[Music] [Transition noise] -When we share<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-What we see<\/p>\n\n\n\n
-Through each other’s eyes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For more podcasts with the blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com, on Twitter @BlindAbilities. Download our app from the app store Blind Abilities, that’s two words, or send us an email at info@blindabilities.com. Thanks for listening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you reside in Minnesota, and you would like to know more about Transition Services from State Services contact Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig by email<\/a> or contact her via phone at 651-539-2361.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Check out the Blind Abilities Community<\/a>on Facebook, the Blind Abilities Page<\/a>, and the Career Resources for the Blind and Visually Impaired<\/a> group<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Full Transcript Callie Gray: This is Callie in Miami. In April of 2020, I lost the majority of my vision due to a retinal detachment. At that point, my Macbook Air became a paperweight on my desk, as I had no idea how to use voiceover. In search of answers I posted questions to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6259","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P6rcRg-1CX","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6293,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6293","url_meta":{"origin":6259,"position":0},"title":"That “Tech Abilities” Show: Time Flies – Apple Event Sept. 15 -, iOS 14 Tidbits, Faster TV and Welcome Raqi G","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"October 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript: Jeff Thompson: Oh, yeah, because that water just went in there and went\u00a0whoosh- Raqi: And the coffee was lousy too, because it didn't even send it through the coffee, it sent it all through the Keurig so it was like it was just barely coffee tasting hot water,\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"The TechAbilities Logo-Dark Sunglasses with TA and BA bold letters in each lens.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/TechAbilitiesLogo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5380,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=5380","url_meta":{"origin":6259,"position":1},"title":"iPhone101: Snatch It, Grab It and Paste It! A Review of the Text Selection Features in iOS","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"September 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Pete Lane:Hi, folks. Pete Lane. Welcome to Blind Abilities and welcome to another iPhone 101 demo. Today we explore selecting, copying, and pasting text in iOS. Pete Lane:I want to share today a process that I use that will demonstrate a couple of tips and a quirk or\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5495,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=5495","url_meta":{"origin":6259,"position":2},"title":"iPhone101: Personalizing VoiceOver Touch Gestures \u2013 Quick Search Simplification Makes it All the More Commanding!","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"October 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Jeff Thompson:The steps that we will be using in this demonstration is as follows: One, go to settings. Two, go to accessibility. Three, go to voiceover. Four, go to commands. Five, go to touch gestures.Six, choose a gesture. Seven, choose the command. Jeff Thompson:Welcome to Blind Abilities. I'm\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6026,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6026","url_meta":{"origin":6259,"position":3},"title":"A Conversation with Apple\u2019s Accessibility Team. Meet Sarah Herrlinger and Dean Hudson.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 20, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcription Dean: Just ignore those folks who say \u201cWell, you can\u2019t do that, because you need to be sighted.\u201d Really try and explore the technologies that are out there, \u2018cause there\u2019s a lot of stuff out there.\u00a0 Sarah: Accessibility should be a human right, that everybody should have the\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9359,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=9359","url_meta":{"origin":6259,"position":4},"title":"From Gestures to Jobs: Learning Assistive Tech That Actually Matters","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"February 5, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Podcast Summary: Learning assistive technology isn\u2019t just about memorizing shortcuts\u2014it\u2019s about building skills that open doors to school, work, and everyday life. In this episode, Cheryl McIntosh and Sree Roy share how mastering screen readers like JAWS, NVDA, and VoiceOver can turn frustration into confidence. They break down why fundamentals\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0035.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0035.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0035.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/IMG_0035.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5492,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=5492","url_meta":{"origin":6259,"position":5},"title":"iOS13.1 Reviewed: That Blind Tech Show Talks About the New Features, Gestures and By the Way, Does the Status Bar Get Downsized?","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"October 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Brian:So you're saying it's kind of like my mental condition, unstable? Jeff Thompson:Yeah. Brian, remember what goes on in session stays in session. Brian:That's true. That's true. Jeff Thompson:All of a sudden, Whoa, what's going on here? It was wiggling and all sorts of stuff. Brian:I thought I\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"BlindAbilities Logo A black square with white initials, B A.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6259"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6259\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6260,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6259\/revisions\/6260"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Contact:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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