Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some people call it the holy braille.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Think of your high level iPad, but for the blind and low-vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The manufacturing and development, all that, is ready to go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Introducing the team from Touchpad Pro Assistive Technology, in the process of developing new and totally innovative products for the blind and visually impaired. Meet Kristen Smedley, Chief Communications Officer, Brian Edwards, Chief Operating Officer, and their founder and CEO, Daniel Lubiner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Something that could have braille and graphics, possibly 3D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their long-term plans to develop the highly technical Touchpad Pro, but focusing now on an innovative low-tech device, the Braille Doodle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The launch product, out of the products that are coming out of the gate, is the Braille Doodle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It would be great if there was something for in there around $65.00, that we could not only buy for one kid but all the kids. Think about the size of a laptop, but covered with hundreds of holes. You\u2019ll be able to feel the drawing as you go. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When you take the wand or the pencil-type device across it, the magnet just springs up, and so that makes it raise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yes. The secret sauce is in the capability of the tactile pens themselves. Repeatability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:
Witnessing a unique interest among the blindness community, and with a building passion for what they\u2019re creating-<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I saw every person listening lean into their Zoom cameras to hear more and were on the edge of their seat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Understanding these products and the level of innovation that Daniel brought to them, with thought and passion and heart and integrity, I saw that this was something that I wanted to be involved in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:
And now let\u2019s join Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities studio as he chats with the team from Touchpad Pro Assistive Technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
We\u2019re talking to Daniel Lubiner, and he is the founder and CEO of Touchpad Pro Assistive Technology. How are you doing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:
I\u2019m doing great. It actually started out about four or five years ago, I was told, you know, that I\u2019d be switching from teaching art to emotionally disturbed students to also teaching art to about 90 blind and low-vision kids a week. When I saw the kids using iPads and stuff and the way they were using electronics and the refreshable braille devices, I got to thinking about an iPad for the blind, you know, some people call it the holy braille. Something that could have braille and graphics, possibly 3D. I really wanted to go all out, and see what I could design from the perspective of everything I could put in there. So I just started drawing and designing and drawing and designing and then finally I put together a patent application for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Would that be for the Touchpad pro?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:
Touchpad Pro. The holy braille.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
I like it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:
This COVID, for me, in a way it\u2019s been a blessing. It has been so hard to be away from my students, I really can\u2019t stand it, but I would never have gotten this far, I would never have met Kristen, I would never have gotten Brian involved, if it wasn\u2019t for this COVID, you know, because it gave me that time to be home and think about how my kids had nothing in their homes, they were sent home, they didn\u2019t have anything. I couldn\u2019t do art with them, you know, some of my students are from the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, they don\u2019t have a lot of money to just go on Amazon and buy a lot of stuff. So, I started thinking, like, what could be simple that we could send home with these students that would allow them to do art and to do braille? That\u2019s where the Braille Doodle was born. I was playing around with this toy, but the toy, like, you can\u2019t really use it for the blind and low-vision, so what if we created an [unintelligible] toy specifically for the blind and low-vision? And then came the idea of making it into a thing to help instruct braille, because that\u2019s another that came to me, is I went to the braille instructor at my school and said \u201cHow are you doing this now? You\u2019re doing Zoom and you\u2019re trying to instruct kids in beginning braille, and the kids have nothing there,\u201d and the stuff I saw out there that were available were very expensive, like $70.00 for one cell that you could play with, that has pegs that you could lose, you know? It didn\u2019t seem like there were any things that they could really use to teach braille that was inexpensive. That\u2019s how this came to be, I really think that it would be great if there was something for in there around $65.00, that we could not only buy for one kid but we could buy for all the kids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Can you give a description of the Braille Doodle when it\u2019s in your hand, how does it work, what\u2019s the expectation someone would have when they say, \u201cHere\u2019s a Braille Doodle?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The way I designed the Braille Doodle is thinking about the size of a laptop, a MacBook Pro or any laptop, or maybe even a little smaller, but covered with hundreds of holes that are placed tightly together. In those holes are little metal objects or little magnets that get pulled up with the stylus and get locked into place. Many kids played with Etch-a-Sketch, or Magnet Doodle – this would be like a Magnet Doodle, Etch-a-Sketch for the blind and low-vision, because when you take the stylus and you drag it along the surface, you\u2019ll be able to feel as you go, and feel the drawing as you go. You can do triangles and circles and all kinds of different things, it\u2019s not gonna be the highest level drawings, it\u2019s not gonna be thousands of pins, like we hope with the Touchpad Pro someday, you know, so that\u2019s the drawing aspect. And then we got the idea of putting a braille sleeve on it, so just sliding on a piece of plastic that blocks out everything except for rows of braille cells, you know, 6×2, your basic learning braille cells. That way you could instruct a child over Zoom, you say \u201cOkay, go up to your left-hand corner, yeah, yeah, that\u2019s right, up to the left-hand corner, you\u2019ve got the six dots, they all have numbers, so let\u2019s go down that one side, one, two, three, four, five, six, let\u2019s lift up that one peg at the number one spot, okay, you\u2019ve made an A!\u201d And you go through there and copy from there, and we could have other sleeves that actually have the alphabet already put into it, so kids can learn from home that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dot to dot, trace by numbers, or templates, tracing paper, we used that, but this is refreshable. There are devices that have some type of wax paper type of thing that you draw on, but once you fill that in you\u2019ve gotta get a new piece. This here, you can refresh it, right?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:
That\u2019s right. You just sweep it with your stylus, the side of the stylus, and it\u2019ll got down, or you can push them down with your finger, like oops, I didn\u2019t want to bring up that pin, I\u2019ll push that down. Everything would work with just simple springs and gravity, and when I see these toys and I see these things coming from China that they\u2019re costing $10.00, there\u2019s gotta be a way to modify it, so we can use it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff, I don\u2019t know if you remember the tactile picture maker, the velcro board that I\u2019m sure a lot of your listeners have had, and we had it, I still have it, with all the little velcro pieces, and I used to build, like we went to the first- don\u2019t judge me, I\u2019m a Philly fan, ok? We went to the first Philly Flyers game, and that\u2019s one of the teams where everyone can kind of nod their head, there\u2019s a lot of talent there all the time, right? We went to the first Flyers game, and before we went I showed the boys on the tactile picture maker what the rink looks like, you know, the goals, and the shape of it, and had to have all those little tactile pieces, put them on the velcro, you know, we have a ziploc bag that holds all of that. I did that all the time when we went to new places or tried to describe something and get their hands on it. When I was looking at the Braille Doodle, I thought \u201cOh my gosh, that\u2019s like an easy way to just take that stylus, make the squares where the two nets are, make the oval of the rink and have it tactile, right there, without any pieces.\u201d You know, for the moms listening, that kind of practicality that the Braille Doodle brings in addition to learning braille and a child just sitting and drawing, and being able to erase it and then do a whole not her picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially with, like, spatial recognition, like if you want to describe one room to the next room to the next room, or something like that, it\u2019s a matter of two lines, you can have four quadrants or something. I really like the templates that you can slide over it, that\u2019s ingenious because that makes it teachable and now TVIs have a tool that they can actually rely upon to interact with, like you said, over Zoom, if they have one of those, you can teach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Exactly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, being an art teacher, I\u2019m sure you\u2019re, you know, crafty, and all that, but this has to do with plastic springs and magnets. Now, how did you go about developing the product and interesting Brian and Kristen to get involved?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First of all, I got involved with Andrew, from Voss Engineering, I was asking around, finally I found someone who would listen, that was Andrew from Voss Engineering. We have gone back and forth, so it\u2019s not just an idea, it\u2019s not just a thought, it can actually get to fruition quickly. I saw Kris online, I reached out to her, and we just hit it off. Brian was a friend of mine since high school, I was like I don\u2019t know anything about business, the business side of this, and Brian, he\u2019s really together when it comes to business, and it\u2019s great, because Kris and I, we\u2019re like kind of dreamy, and like \u201cOoh, we can invent all these things, and we can do this, and we can get a hand to help,\u201d and stuff like that, and Brian, you know, Brian\u2019s like \u201cCalm down, we have to think seriously.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian\u2019s like \u201cWe\u2019ve gotta build the diving board before you two jump off of it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, it\u2019s interesting, I mean Jeff, we\u2019ve followed each other and talked a lot, and I know that you and a lot of your listeners know about Thriving Blind, and my blind sons Michael and Mitchell, and I guess I probably have a reputation of not sitting still, ever, and finding solutions when my boys need solutions. As Daniel was mentioning, COVID, although it slammed the door shut on so many things that are so frustrating, it did open up opportunities to utilize curiosity and trying new things, right? And when the whole world was on Zoom, and clogging up the internet, I thought why not get everybody, all the parents of the blind and visually impaired kids that need the strategies and tools and resources that I know about, why not open up the Zoom room and talk to them about it and bring in some cool folks that can teach them great tools and strategies, which is how we had you, Jeff, on that Friday night that we also had Daniel on. I\u2019m sure that you remember and those listeners of yours that were in the Zoom that night, when Daniel started talking about Touchpad Pro, and the Braille Doodle, and I saw every person listening lean in to their Zoom cameras to hear more and were on the edge of their seat, there was one young guy in particular who, he\u2019d been struggling with some things in his life and his blindness condition, it was like one thing after the other, and he was so down at the beginning of Daniel\u2019s presentation, and when I watched that light come back on in his face and in his eyes hearing about these products, it was uncanny, and then my Mitchell, who\u2019s the biggest critic on the planet, you know, came to me that night, and he said \u201cMom, we\u2019ve gotta figure out how to make that product happen, when is it coming into the world?\u201d I said, \u201cI don\u2019t know, let me, you know, follow up with Daniel,\u201d and then when Daniel told me the story of where his company was and it\u2019s literally funding and awareness, getting people together to get this thing moving forward, that was, you know, the thing standing in the way, and like Daniel says, he didn\u2019t know anything about business. Well, I don\u2019t know about business, but I sure know how to get people together, right, and get things to catch on and get people to fall in love with the mission that needs a lot of love and support, and then Daniel invited me to be a part of the team and I thought, gosh, you know, when my journey started 20 years ago, I was the last person on the planet that you would ever think would be excited about being involved in a tech startup for the blind community, because I was so not in a good place over a blindness diagnosis, and when I heard \u201cYour son is blind,\u201d I crashed, and I crashed because of a couple of things. I had never known a blind person until I met my oldest son Michael, and heard that he was blind at four months old, and I continually crashed over the next several years because there was no access to get my guys the tools that they needed, and then they would get the tools they needed and then we would come up against another barrier, like Mitch had to give up art when he was young because there was just nothing like the Braille Doodle for him to even do the drawing anymore in a way that worked for Mitchell, I mean, I know that there\u2019s some paper that you can run a tactile thing over, but there were so many different pieces to that and you know, Mitch wasn\u2019t that kind of guy, he wanted it all in one. Watching my sons have to give up things that were interesting to them, and they had potential with, simply because there was nothing to put in their hands to be able to access those parts of themselves, was more heart-wrenching than hearing about a diagnosis that I knew nothing about. So when this opportunity came about, I thought man, it really is a testament to a 20 year journey of constantly just taking another step forward, constantly being open to what opportunities are there, constantly learning and constantly asking for help, and when Daniel came and said, \u201cWould you help with this team and this project?\u201d I was kind of doing cartwheels even though at 49 they don\u2019t look as good as they did at 12, but hey, I was excited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that\u2019s a huge problem, as parents, they don\u2019t know of all the resources that are out there, and you\u2019re probably always looking, so now with the Braille Doodle, there\u2019s something that they can find.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And afford, Jeff, because you know, that\u2019s the other piece of this. A lot of the equipment, yeah, it tends to be overpriced and a lot of companies get away with that because hey, the school district\u2019s buying it, or Medicaid, or all these places, and the family doesn\u2019t own it. And to be perfectly honest, I didn\u2019t know that until Michael was leaving the school district to go to college, and they said \u201cOh, all of those, the braille refreshable things, everything is ours, you now have to go buy it yourself.\u201d I\u2019m no longer in a position to have a second income in the house, and I suddenly was in the boat that almost the entire country is in. I couldn\u2019t afford to have one for school, one for home, and when Daniel says, \u201cOh, the Braille Doodle, we\u2019re looking at about $65.00,\u201d and I\u2019m like $65.00? Are you kidding? But that\u2019s the level- see, this is how you know that this company is rooted in the love of children learning, that\u2019s where it\u2019s rooted, because he doesn\u2019t have a blind child at home, but he had already considered the cost of things, how accessible they\u2019re gonna be, how quickly we can get them in the hands of the kids, all the things that I would consider for my own child he had already thought of, and I know, I know in my bones that that\u2019s why this company is gaining so much traction so quickly that nobody can believe it, it\u2019s because it\u2019s rooted in the love of learning for kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s also rooted in those kids themselves, because that\u2019s where it all came from. Back home, like my codesigners, because they were there all the way over the last four years, \u201cWhat do you need? What do you do at home? How do you use that electronic? How are you using that iPhone?\u201d They really helped design all of this, and when it came to also the statistics of 70% of blind and low-vision people are unemployed, I mean, that\u2019s just ridiculous in our current state of our society, you\u2019ve got that 30% who is employed, right? Out of that 30%, 90% of those people are braille literate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This really inspired me as well, so we can hopefully put a dent in that with the Braille Doodle, because this can go anywhere. It\u2019s not only for kids who are home, but you talk about rural communities where they can\u2019t get the TVIs, adults who have become blind, teach them over Zoom now, things like this I think they\u2019re really gonna make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff, I think that what you just heard from Kristen and Daniel, a level of passion and advocacy, is what got me excited from the very beginning when I had my first conversation with Daniel. I\u2019ve actually shared this, you know, origin story several times already, and I don\u2019t want to make it sound like it\u2019s actually something I\u2019m reading off a script, but this is literally just how organic this began with us. We started high school- as you do with a lot of people, you might lose touch after you graduate, which we did, the advent of Facebook, reconnecting with a lot of classmates and Daniel being one of those people, meeting up, and then Daniel really having a serious conversation, like you know, I think there\u2019s something going on that you might be interested in, and I need your assistance with. What you heard from Daniel is the reason why I was like, excited about this. Hearing him speak about his children is like speaking about his biological children, he takes this very seriously. He talked about all the gaps in terms of learning, he talked about the challenges of trying to teach remotely during the pandemic, talking about the challenges that low-income students in urban areas are having right now to access to tools, and we also tend to think, and myself included being a sighted person, that we tend to believe that these resources are in places for the blind and low-vision community. You actually have access to braille tools and technology as you\u2019re going through your studies with TVI, etc. That\u2019s not the case. Understanding where these products and the level of innovation that Daniel brought to them with thought and passion and heart and integrity, I saw that this was something that I wanted to be involved in. We\u2019ve had a level of connection, the three of us as the core C-suite right now, as we are starting this start-up, as we are getting this advisory board that we have together. All of us have had three principles that I mentioned passively, but it seems like it rings out every time we\u2019re talking, and that\u2019s passion, vision, advocacy for the blind and low-vision community. And everybody that decides to hear anything or gives us five minutes of their time is like wow, this is phenomenal, this is innovative, this is mind-blowing. How can I be a part of this? Even people in terms of the R & D aspect of this, we have people from the engineering world for the designs of these products who are seeded on our advisory board. This is how passionate they are, they can sit there and say, \u201cI\u2019ll treat this like any other product, give me a check and we\u2019ll start working on this.\u201d These are people who are taking time out of their schedule to work with this start-up, see that vision, and see where they can help and add something of value to this world. This has been an incredible journey, and I\u2019m just really looking forward to where this can go, and the sky\u2019s the limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I can\u2019t wait for this to happen. In fact, I might be a bit of a dreamer, but we\u2019re trying to get this in the can to kids by September. A lot of people, like \u201cOh, well, it\u2019s a little too quick,\u201d but you know, I told the product developers that\u2019s how fast I want this done. All that\u2019s standing in the way is the funding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s part of the reason that I got onboard is when I saw that this is all that\u2019s standing in the way, is funding and connecting to the right people. You know, it could be thousands of people putting in a little bit of money, it could be a handful of people that are looking to get involved with a socially conscious movement and give a big sum of money, it doesn\u2019t matter what it is, and the funny thing is, or the interesting thing is so many people are joining in this journey at whatever level they can, because they see the value and they see the impact and how fast we\u2019ll be able to make this happen, and I keep thinking to myself, some nights, have I talked to Daniel more than I\u2019ve talked to my own family? Because we have so many things to work through in the beginning of this whole journey, and I think to myself gosh, won\u2019t it be amazing in September of \u201821, as the world is finally getting back to some sort of normal, when we can look back and in the blind community that is always seeming to be the afterthought, and the last to gain access to everything, right, can you imagine in September \u201821, when the blind community and specifically blind and low-vision children are the first to be able to have a Braille Doodle in their hands, because this company formed and accelerated so fast because of the spotlight on the issue of literacy? Won\u2019t that be great, if they can sit there with that in their hands and say, \u201cThank goodness these people came together and all of the people joined the journey so I can have this now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And that\u2019s a fantastic way to put it, Kristen, because this tool and these products were needed before the pandemic. Because of the pandemic, they were needed yesterday, months ago, the level of imperative nature for these to be in the marketplace and in the hands of children, we can\u2019t understate in terms of where we can actually go and what we can provide for these students. As Daniel and Kristen gave statistics earlier, braille literacy is very important, it\u2019s very important for employment, and being a socially conscious company, that\u2019s why it\u2019s very important for us to have people who are in the blind and low-vision community on our advisory board, and to be employees and employed as we actually grow over time. That\u2019s very important to us, not to necessarily sit there and make this all about us, and we have three sighted people that are in charge of the whole thing, we want the inclusive nature to be community as well, and that outreach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think it\u2019s also great that you mentioned the portability, but especially for parents to be able to sit down, and you know, what\u2019s the letter A to a child that\u2019s never seen before, there you can just draw a letter A and actually work together on it, and it seems like it\u2019s so intuitive, like you said, like an Etch-a-Sketch, but it\u2019s raised and reusable, I think it\u2019s a great invention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here\u2019s one more dream of mine, when I think about when this product is ready, I run the patient organization for CRB1, LCA, and RP. And in our organization, one of our advocacy directors at CRB1, he\u2019s a blind adult, he\u2019s the VP of a major nonprofit in New York City. Now this is an extremely successful person, right? His wife called me a couple years ago, and they had- at the time their son was three, and was moving into a new type of picture book that his dad could no longer read the print because the print had gotten smaller, and she said that was their biggest struggle, that he couldn\u2019t sit with his son and read a book anymore, so I was telling her about Twin Vision books, and he was trying to learn braille and all that, and now that he does know braille, I thought can you imagine the day that he can sit there with his son, and now he has a younger daughter, and the two of them on one device like the braille doodle, the sighted son can draw the A, right, and he can feel it, and then he can show the braille A, and they can sit there together as father and son and have that experience of literacy. The possibilities for this are extraordinary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So you said September, September 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s what we\u2019re hoping. Fingers crossed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We just need funders. Anyone that wants to get onboard and help us fund this we can set up a meeting, we have the business plan, we can let you know where we\u2019re at with all of it, but in terms of the, like Daniel pointed out, the manufacturing and development, all that is ready to go as soon as the funding\u2019s there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen, where can they find this information?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019re at tppat.com, all the information to get in touch with us is there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Touchpad Pro Assistive Technology, so the initials are T-P-P-A-T.com. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And they should also join the journey on Facebook too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And also I just noticed that if you put Braille Doodle into Google, our stuff comes right up. So if you Google Braille Doodle, actually the first thing that comes up is our Indiegogo, so we\u2019re running a little fundraiser now, we\u2019re trying to just get a head start. Can\u2019t expect to get all the money, because we do need hundreds of thousands of dollars, it\u2019s no simple task, it\u2019s not a little thing that we\u2019re just gonna throw together, it\u2019s gonna take some funding. We\u2019re starting off with the Indiegogo and trying to raise a little funding to get a kickstart to our little business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And to let the audience know where those funds go, it\u2019s not going into anybody\u2019s pockets, it\u2019s literally going in to cover some initial legal fees, user group research and also patent follow-up information, your typical product and start-up\/follow-up information, and procedural processes you need to get through, that\u2019s where it\u2019s going, everything is going right back into the development of the products, and into furthering the initiative going into the rest of the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Well, I think it\u2019s really great, you know, you guys aren\u2019t operating out of a box, I mean, Daniel, all your experience and teaching and involvement with the students, you bring such passion to it and Kristen, your 20 years of working with your sons, and then all the work that you\u2019ve been doing, then your advisory board, all this pooling together, it seems like it\u2019s something that this is for the blind, and somewhat by the blind, this is the tool that you see a good use and purpose for, a well-needed tool too, so I\u2019m glad to have you on the show, and I\u2019m glad you\u2019re doing what you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank you, Jeff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, thanks, Jeff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thanks. Yeah, I was listening to some of your work, and it\u2019s great. I\u2019m definitely a fan, now, so I\u2019m gonna be listening to your stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thanks for the work you do, Jeff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Well, thanks for all you guys, I mean, it\u2019s all of us, we\u2019re all in a community, and I hope people listen to this or go to your website, read your book. Brian, I\u2019m glad you got on board too, because you know, a lot of us do dream about stuff, we have ideas and all that, but it does take someone to actually, okay, let\u2019s pull this thought bubble down and put it into reality. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There you go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s Brian, he\u2019s the thought bubble puller! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
I teach woodworking too, so I have a lot of blind students, they have an idea and I have to try and grab that bubble and bring it down into a practical skill use, teaching type of thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, that is so cool! You do woodworking, with students?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, I did it at Blind Incorporated for five years, but then I left that and now I teach out at Enchanted Hills out in San Francisco. Well, this year didn\u2019t happen. Yeah, so teaching woodworking to students and adults and then we have advanced stuff too, so people from basically around the world, mostly United States, Canada, get together and share ideas and stuff, I learn a lot from them, but in the beginner stuff it\u2019s people who want to do like beekeepers and want to build their own toolbox type of thing that they carry out into the field, you know. So you get some really interesting people you get to meet, even Mr. Holly, he worked 19 years with Apple, Steve Jobs. He worked with him when he went to Next and came back, so just sitting out on the balcony after shop, just sitting there rocking in a chair talking to these people, it\u2019s like the stories you can get, you know? They call it woodworking, I call it interacting with people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Seriously, that\u2019s great, I mean that was the best thing about teaching with these students, they really taught me a whole unique way of experiencing life. We take so many things for granted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
I think you\u2019re a good team with Kristen because while you\u2019re working with the students, the parents- I used to do a teen night thing, the parents would all get together, you know, and I think that type of advocacy, bringing together their first advocate basically as a group, because it\u2019s a lonely spot when you first go blind or when your child first goes blind, that you have at least a network. That network is very valuable, I think, especially parents, so thank you for what you\u2019re doing, Kristen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, well thanks, that\u2019s the beauty of this journey, too, we\u2019re getting all those folks together. Next week, actually we\u2019re getting a bunch of the teachers of the visually impaired together. A lot of them, I\u2019m sure, have never met, but to say how do you see you using this product, what are things we haven\u2019t even thought of, and then we\u2019re talking to the parents the same way, these are opportunities for you to now learn right alongside your child, and they can all meet each other, so to your point, Jeff, I mean, yeah, building networks at the same time that we\u2019re building this product and building these dreams for this kids. It really is one of the most extraordinary journeys I\u2019ve ever seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, good. Well thank you guys, thanks for reaching out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brian:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thank you, thanks so much, Jeff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Daniel:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thanks, we appreciate it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kristen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thanks so much, Jeff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We\u2019d like to thank the team from Touchpad Pro Assistive Technology.com for joining Jeff in the Blind Abilities Studio. Kristen Smedley, Chief Communications Officer, Brian Edwards, Chief Operating Officer, and their founder and CEO, Daniel Lubiner. You can find out more information about the Touchpad Pro or the topic of today\u2019s podcast, the Braille Doodle, at the company\u2019s website, that\u2019s www.tppat.com. 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 a 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\u2019s 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 Daniel: Some people call it the holy braille. Brian: Think of your high level iPad, but for the blind and low-vision. Kristen: The manufacturing and development, all that, is ready to go. Pete: Introducing the team from Touchpad Pro Assistive Technology, in the process of developing new and totally innovative products for 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-6495","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P6rcRg-1GL","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6638,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6638","url_meta":{"origin":6495,"position":0},"title":"Unified English Braille (UEB) Practice Sentences – Comprehensive, Ready to Use and Fun. A New Book from Roberta Becker","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"April 8, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Pete: Introducing a new braille book entitled\u00a0Unified English Braille Practice Sentences. Roberta:\u00a0 This book is for teachers who are teaching braille to blind students, it works for anyone from beginning braille readers all the way up to adults.\u00a0 Pete: Our guests are Lori Scharff- Lori: It's like a\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":5002,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=5002","url_meta":{"origin":6495,"position":1},"title":"Career Expo: From College to Blindness Training and Not Living Within 10 Minutes From Home, Meet Teacher of the Blind and Visually Impaired, Beth McGarr.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"May 15, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Jeff Thompson:Welcome to Blind Abilities. I'm Jeff Thompson. Speaker 2: Okay, so State Services actually played a huge part in everything that I'm doing. Speaker 3: Don't be afraid. Get out there. Meet people. Be friendly. Nobody is judging you. Speaker 4: Think big. Look at what do\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Image of man with cane and woman with service dog and City Skyline with Job Insights in bold letters.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6561,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6561","url_meta":{"origin":6495,"position":2},"title":"Inclusion in Academia for Blind and visually Impaired Students, Inclusion in STEM and the Importance of Braille at Any Age, Meet Dr. Natalina Martiniello","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"February 24, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Pete:Please meet Dr. Natalina Martiniello, a researcher focused on the education and rehabilitation of individuals with visual impairment, sharing her experiences of moving through the educational process, and more. Natalina:Growing up, I actually struggled with subjects like math, as many other blind students do. They\u2019re kind of traditionally\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":9459,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=9459","url_meta":{"origin":6495,"position":3},"title":"New Language, New Opportunities: Unlocking Independence Through English Learning with Abbi Mayland","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"March 20, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Podcast Summary: What if learning English could open the door to independence, education, and meaningful work? In this episode of Blind Abilities, Jeff Thompson sits down with English Language Learning specialist Abbi Mayland from State Services for the Blind of Minnesota. Abbi shares how she helps students who are blind,\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":5091,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=5091","url_meta":{"origin":6495,"position":4},"title":"Career Expo: Life Throws Curves – Get a Well-Balanced and Broad Foundation, Meet Manager of Braille Programs – Jennifer Dunnam","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"June 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Jeff Thompson:Welcome to Blind Abilities. I'm Jeff Thompson. Speaker 2: Okay, so state services actually played a huge part in everything that I'm doing. Speaker 3: Don't be afraid. Get out there, meet people, be friendly. Nobody is judging you. Speaker 4: Think big. Look at what do\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"Image of man with cane and woman with service dog and City Skyline with Job Insights in bold letters.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/jobinsights.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8713,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=8713","url_meta":{"origin":6495,"position":5},"title":"From Audio Books, Braille to Broadcast: Behind the Scenes at State Services for the Blind – A Tour Through SSB\u2019s Communication Center","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"June 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Podcast Summary: Ever wonder how a book becomes Braille? Or how an employee manual turns into an audio file? The students of the Summer Transition Program (STP) at the University of St. Thomas got to see it all firsthand! During their visit to State Services for the Blind\u2019s Communication Center,\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\/6495","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=6495"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6496,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6495\/revisions\/6496"}],"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=6495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Contact:<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com<\/a>
Send us an email<\/a>
Get the Free Blind Abilities App on the App Store<\/a>and Google Play Store<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n