Pete: <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Welcome to Blind Abilities, I\u2019m Pete Lane. The Minnesota State Services for the Blind, like every other state rehab agency, is certainly not exempt from the impact of COVID-19. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We started working from home March 16th, we\u2019re probably gonna be working from home for quite the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And having to adapt to new and different needs of their clients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some students are attending classes in person, some are doing an online-only, some are doing kind of a blended or mixed learning style.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While also adjusting to technical issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We have an internet bandwidth issue, especially in some rural areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:
And the need to build new skills to get by in the post-COVID era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, it\u2019s the technology but it\u2019s also having the technology skills to use the technology to be able to even do it, to be on a Zoom call and be on the internet and do whatever it is you need to do for class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it\u2019s always been a matter of adapting to changes for SSB, even outside of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People on average are probably using multiple platforms nowadays to do everything that they need to do. They\u2019ve got a smartphone, they maybe have a tablet, they\u2019ve got some kind of a computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:
They have always focused on making their clients more productive and competitive in whatever endeavor they\u2019ve targeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Windows side of things, I would argue that if you want to be productive, if you want to be competitive, knowing one screen reader probably isn\u2019t enough these days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:
So the expert staff at SSB continues to provide up-to-date and state of the art guidance and counseling for youth transitioning to the workplace, and to those individuals who are new to the SSB services offerings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re new to SSB or interested in learning more about what SSB does, what services they have that might be able to help, I would definitely recommend checking out the SSB website or calling the main number, 651-539-2300.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Today, Jeff is joined in the Blind Abilities studio by Jesse Anderson. Jesse describes the changes being made by the SSB staff in order to meet the changing needs of their clients. And now let\u2019s join Jeff and his guest, Jesse Anderson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Welcome to Blind Abilities, I\u2019m Jeff Thompson. Today in the studio we have Jesse Anderson, and he is an accessibility specialist, part of the workforce development. Jesse, how are you doing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am doing pretty well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
During this pandemic, there\u2019s been a few changes and all that, how have you adjusted over there at State Services for the Blind?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, I got to admit it\u2019s definitely been a little different this year, for sure, for everybody. We started working from home, I believe it was like March 16th. I came back on, yeah, it was like a Friday the 13th, got back from an appointment on the road, got an email from management, they were like \u201cYeah, by the way, we\u2019re gonna be working from home for a little while,\u201d and you know back then we\u2019re thinking oh, this is gonna be a couple month thing, maybe. You know, maybe by summer or something, but I started working from home in the middle of March, and it\u2019s now December, and we\u2019re probably gonna be working from home for quite the foreseeable future for the most part. Overall, I really like it actually, I like working from home, I can do pretty much most of my job quite easily with the technology that we have, that\u2019s a huge piece of it, like completing technology assessments has been an interesting learning process, because you know, you want to provide people with the information and kind of demonstration of the tools so they can kind of make an informed choice on what would work best for them, so, you know, over the last few months we\u2019ve been, all of us, technology specialists have been kind of trying different things and seeing what works, and how to best kind of get the information across to people and I think I\u2019m finally starting to get the hang of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Huh, there you go. So, how has it changed for the customers? You deal a lot with the Pre-ETS, which is Pre-Employment Transition Students out there, age 14 to 21, how has it changed for them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, that\u2019s the interesting thing is depending on where you are in the state and what school district or what school you\u2019re in, you know, some students are attending classes in person, some are doing an online-only, some are doing kind of a blended or mixed learning style, and even this has sort of changed over time, because as we\u2019ve had this sort of uptake in cases here this fall around Thanksgiving for the pandemic, a lot more schools are closing, then you have to offer classes via distance, and it depends on what technology the students have access to, both mainstream technology, what assistive technology, but especially in greater Minnesota, it also really depends on where they live, because not just the technology itself but, you know, we have kind of an internet bandwidth issue, especially in some rural areas. I know I worked with a student just the other day who – like, they have some technology but their internet access really leaves a bit to be desired because they don\u2019t really have a lot of broadband access where they live, and they\u2019re trying to use, you know, like a Verizon hotspot. It\u2019s things like that, like yeah, it\u2019s the technology, but it\u2019s also having the technology skills to use the technology and having the internet access to be able to even do it, you know, to be on a Zoom call and be on the internet and do whatever it is you need to do for class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you talk about assessments, explain that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:
So a technology assessment or evaluation is we will meet with someone, usually in person, but now of course virtually, and we\u2019ll kind of find out like what it is they\u2019re doing, you know, whether they\u2019re in school, whether they are looking for work or in a job, and what is it that they\u2019re trying to do, and what are they having trouble with, what types of tasks do they need to be doing for school, for work, independence, a combination of these things, and based on that and based on their vision, you know, we\u2019ll look at different technology options and technology training options so that they can ultimately get a job, you know, go to school, get the training that they need, and then become employed and taxpayers like the rest of us, so if they\u2019re low vision we\u2019ll go through computer technologies, you know, screen magnification, screen reader, contrast tools, mobile is a big thing, iOS, Android, a lot of accessible apps that can do amazing things now, and the great thing is that a lot of the devices, be it your computer, PC, Mac, iOS device, Android device, there are a lot of accessibility features built into them already, so if you\u2019re low vision and need magnification, higher contrast, if you\u2019re totally blind and you take the device out of the box, well, you have built-in screen reader on pretty much everything, and then you have the apps on top of it, especially on mobile, things like seeing AI, or the Voice Dream Reader and Scanner apps, I love all three of those for all kinds of different reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Yeah, it\u2019s amazing where things have come in the last five years, I mean not only, you know, since the iPhone, as a smart device a lot of people have shifted over to that, even where JAWS has come over the last few years, to another level of accessibility, so it keeps on changing. Is it tough to stay on top of all that technology?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, it certainly can be. People on average are probably using, you know, multiple platforms nowadays to do everything that they need to do. They\u2019ve got a smartphone, they maybe have a tablet, they\u2019ve got some kind of a computer, and in the Windows side of things I would argue that if you want to be productive, if you want to be competitive, knowing one screen reader probably isn\u2019t enough these days, especially now that costs have come down, you know, you do have- even JAWS, you said things changed technology-wise, but even some of the pricing schemes have changed to where JAWS, Zoomtext, Infusion, are being offered in a subscription model, so instead of paying outright, you know, thousands of dollars, you can get a license for like 100 bucks a year and you\u2019re paying for it that way, and you have things like NVDA, the free open-source screen reader, and you know, some of them they work better in different places, and so I switch back and forth between multiple screen readers even using Narrator from time to time because it\u2019s gotten better in some places as well, so it can be a little bit tricky to, you know, remember all the commands and functions and features and wait, does this one support that or does this other screen reader do, you know, there\u2019s a lot to remember. You pretty much can\u2019t remember it all, so thank god for Google, it knows a lot of things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
So basically what you want to find out is what technology is going to make life better for that person?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Right, which technology will make life better, what\u2019ll make it easier, but everything is really- like where we are in workforce development, we\u2019re gearing everything towards employment, so, you know, there are things that would be nice to have, like oh, you know, it would be nice to have the whole smart home setup, and smart speakers and accessible game consoles and things like that, which are out there, but we\u2019re looking at it more from what types of technology do you need to be independent, so that you can get to school, get to your job, so that you can find a job, and then ultimately become competitively employed part-time, full-time, and keep that job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, retention is an area that people don\u2019t think about, but if someone\u2019s losing eyesight while working, keeping that job and getting assessed for it may give them the tools to allow them to continue on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:
Absolutely, and we do have, like I said, we do kind of general technology assessments, but we do job site assessments as well, which are kind of a little bit different, where, you know, let\u2019s say that somebody gets a job offer and they\u2019re not quite sure if one of the systems or programs that they\u2019re using on the job site may be accessible to their screen magnification software, or screen reader software, so we can work with the person, we can work with the employer, and set up a time to go meet with the employee, the employer, and see what it is they\u2019re trying to access, what tools do they need to use, what assistive technology is the person using, and does everything work well together, and what can we do to try and make everything work better, so we go out to employers fairly often to do that kind of thing as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, when someone contacts State Services for the Blind of Minnesota here, they get an intake, and right after that you\u2019re probably one of the first few people that they get to meet, to sit down with, you know, virtually right now as you said, and start the process, so people are kind of green- I can say that, right? They\u2019re new to the system, so you probably get them at a point where they don\u2019t know or some of them may know what they want to do and all that, but they\u2019re at the beginning of their process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, a lot of it is especially in the Pre-ETS, the transition area, they, you know, a lot of people are newer to the assistive technology. They may have had some access to it, they may have had some exposure to it through their school, either through like a vision teacher or a caseworker, that kind of a thing, but you know, it just depends. Some of them are already- sometimes they figure it out on their own, or they\u2019ve learned a little bit of it, like I said, through the school system, that kind of a thing, but yeah, we just kind of help them out, and like I said, once they go through intake they\u2019re assigned a SSB counselor. Once they\u2019re assigned a counselor, the counselor will work with the student or the adult and you know, figure out what types of services do they need, technology being one of them, so if they need, you know, adjustment to blindness skills, training, independent living, orientation-mobility technology training or technology assessment, whatever it happens to be, you know, that\u2019s where different staff come in, you know, different staff or even different contracted vendors come in to help get those services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
And your department, you guys go all the way from low vision to total blindness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yep, low vision, total blindness, deaf-blind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Great. So how can someone get a hold of State Services for the Blind?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They can find us via telephone, we have our website, we have our workforce development area, senior services department, and communications center, which is really important but especially for students getting their materials for high school or college. If you\u2019re new to SSB or interested in learning more about what SSB does, what services they have that might be able to help, I\u2019d definitely recommend checking out the SSB website or calling the main number, 651-539-2300.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There you go. Jesse, what advice would you give to a student out there that is thinking about what SSB can do for them?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SSB does have a lot of services that we can offer to a student or an adult, but if you are a student going through high school, thinking about college, or even in college and maybe you were doing okay in in-person classes but now that everything has kind of shifted more digitally, and if you\u2019re having some troubles accessing some materials or really using some of the advanced features of your assistive technology, have questions, want to be set up with training, because we do have a couple of on-staff technologists that do some technology training, and we also have, like I said, contracted vendors throughout the state that work with people one on one for technology training, and that could be anything from, you know, PC, Mac, iOS, Android, you know, whatever it happens to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
So there\u2019s something for everyone. Jesse, I want to thank you very much for coming onto Blind Abilities, giving a little description of what is happening at SSB, the lights are on, the doors are open, virtually, so give them a call. Thanks, Jesse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Indeed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank you. No problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019d like to thank Jesse Anderson for joining us on the podcast today, and for sharing his update on what Minnesota State Services for the Blind is doing to adjust to the changing needs of their clients, both in the COVID-19 pandemic era and otherwise. 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. Thank you so much for listening, and have a great day!<\/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 You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities<\/a> 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 Pete: Welcome to Blind Abilities, I\u2019m Pete Lane. The Minnesota State Services for the Blind, like every other state rehab agency, is certainly not exempt from the impact of COVID-19. Jesse: We started working from home March 16th, we\u2019re probably gonna be working from home for quite the foreseeable future. Pete: And having […]<\/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-6448","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P6rcRg-1G0","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6118,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6118","url_meta":{"origin":6448,"position":0},"title":"Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective. A New Series. Episode 1 \u2013 When it Began Down Under.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Pete: The coronavirus \u2013 creeping onto the world\u2019s scene only a few short months ago- British Newscaster (male): -hundred dead, thousands infected across multiple continents. But how did the coronavirus spread so quickly? American Newscaster (male): Now the growing concerns about the deadly coronavirus officially hitting the US,\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":5380,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=5380","url_meta":{"origin":6448,"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":6079,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6079","url_meta":{"origin":6448,"position":2},"title":"Around The World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective: Michael Babcock, – Work, Life and Family. Coquille, Oregon","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcription: Pete: The coronavirus \u2013 creeping onto the world\u2019s scene only a few short months ago and then exploding into our day-to-day lives. Every day we hear about the impact of corona and COVID-19 on \u2013 well, almost everyone. But how is it affecting disabled individuals? Today on Blind\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":6643,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6643","url_meta":{"origin":6448,"position":3},"title":"Programs and Opportunities are Growing for Students: A Chat with Transition Coordinator Sheila Koenig – Make that a Chill and Chat!","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"April 9, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Sheila: Last year for the first time SSB had peer educators. It was an opportunity for them to create programs for other students during the summer. Pete: Introducing Sheila Koenig, Transition Services Coordinator for State Services for the Blind of Minnesota.\u00a0 Sheila: STP is what it\u2019s known as,\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":7506,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=7506","url_meta":{"origin":6448,"position":4},"title":"The BlindShell Accessible Cell Phone with Tactile Buttons is Growing to Meet the Needs of the Blind and Visually Impaired. Yes, Tactile Buttons on a Smart Phone!\u00a0\u00a0Did we mention Aira? Yup, Aira!","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"August 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Bari: The phone is running on Android, behind the scenes Pete: Please welcome to our podcast, from BlindShell USA, president and CEO Bari Azman. Bari: It may not be your traditional smartphone, but the BlindShell Classic 2 is pretty intelligent. Pete: And senior program director Diane Ducharme. Diane:\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6091,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6091","url_meta":{"origin":6448,"position":5},"title":"Around the World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective – Episode 8 – Sherry Molengraft: In Jacksonville, Florida – The New Hotbed.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 30, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Pete: The coronavirus \u2013 creeping onto the world\u2019s scene only a few short months ago and then exploding into our day-to-day lives. Every day we hear about the impact of corona and COVID-19 on \u2013 well, almost everyone. But how is it affecting disabled individuals? Today on Blind\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\/6448","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=6448"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6448\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6449,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6448\/revisions\/6449"}],"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=6448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Contact:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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