Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Introducing Sheila Koenig, Transition Services Coordinator for State Services for the Blind of Minnesota. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
STP is what it\u2019s known as, Summer Transition Program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:
Looking ahead to the summer of 2021, using creativity to develop innovative and effective programs for transition youth in Minnesota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:
We are also going to add another work-based learning experience for a marketing and outreach associate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:
Listening and taking her leads from the students themselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Students really felt like oh, we really need to do more around how to interact with sighted peers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And now let\u2019s join Jeff Thompson and his guest, Transition Services Coordinator for State Services for the Blind, Sheila Koenig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:
Just set opportunities in front of people, and just try to open some doors and make sure they know about all of the different events and programs and connecting opportunities, that\u2019s really what I\u2019m trying to do with the newsletter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Welcome to Blind Abilities, I\u2019m Jeff Thompson, and today in the studio we have Sheila Koenig, and she is the Transition Coordinator at State Services for the Blind in Minnesota. Sheila, welcome to the show!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:
Hey, Jeff! Thanks so much for having me here!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Well, I\u2019m so glad you could make it, because summer\u2019s coming up and there\u2019s always some new programs or new stuff happening for the transition-age students, so let\u2019s dig in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alright. Yeah, isn\u2019t it amazing to be thinking of summer? I know there\u2019s still a little bit of snow in patches, but it is gonna be here before we know it. I am excited about a couple of different opportunities. Last year, for the first time, SSB had peer educators, which was an opportunity to give students a work-based learning experience. For those students that were interested in education or psychology, with an opportunity for them to really create programs for other students during the summer, so rather than have like staff people like us creating the programs, it was really driven by the students. So this summer we are going to do that again, it was so successful last year, we had a great group of peer educators, and some really fun programming, so we will be looking for a couple of peer educators this year, and then we are also for the first time going to add another work-based learning experience for a marketing and outreach associate, so that person will be working with our outreach coordinator on things like web content, and social media posts, and doing all kinds of cool things related to marketing and outreach, so we\u2019re right now in the final drafts of creating these position descriptions and then we\u2019ll be sending them out and hoping that the students can start right around June 7th.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wow. That\u2019s really neat that it\u2019s student driven, because who else knows best for what they would like to have, that\u2019s great.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:
Yeah. Like one example that came up last year was students really felt like oh, we really need to do more around how to interact with sighted peers, that\u2019s just something that students were saying gosh, it\u2019s a little bit uncomfortable at first, and how do you present yourself in a way that\u2019s confident? Often they\u2019re taught to, like as soon as they meet someone, disclose their visual impairment, and in some ways doing that right away kind of sets them apart, so our peer educators were like yeah, I know, this would have been so helpful for us before starting college, that they put a program together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
That\u2019s really interesting. We just did a college panel thing, and one of the topics that came up was how do you get involved in activities. You know, it wasn\u2019t really how do you do math, how do you do social science or something of that nature, STEM programs, it was the interaction of their peers. How do you get effectively involved in the community outside of the classes? That\u2019s really interesting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it\u2019s such an important piece of college, and just life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Mm-hm. There\u2019s a program, Socially Savvy, that kind of handles these soft skills too, you know, the handshake, the interaction that they have, stuff that we really don\u2019t think about, usually it\u2019s like I\u2019ve gotta get my books, all this stuff, but I think a lot of times they\u2019re just worried, how do they fit in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah. Well, and you mentioned Blind and Socially Savvy, that\u2019s such a good example and they will actually be a part of Summer Transition Program this summer, so for the students who are signing up for STP, is what it\u2019s known as, Summer Transition Program, they\u2019ll be able to attend Socially Savvy, but you\u2019re right, it\u2019s that same kind of thing, like how do I walk- well, pre-pandemic, right, when we all could be in person, how do I walk into a room full of people with my cane and try to navigate all the little pods of people talking, and then to balance my cane and a beverage or plate of food, like how do I do that? That\u2019s a lot of what Blind and Socially Savvy does. They also, this past year, put together a program that was about being virtually savvy, and it was things like interviewing from behind the screen, and making meaningful connections in a virtual world, so those will be some of the pieces that we\u2019re bringing into the program in June for the STP students, because it\u2019s so much of where the world is right now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
And if someone\u2019s interested in this type of program, whether you\u2019re a parent or whether you\u2019re a student that\u2019s listening to this, how would they go about that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Probably the best thing to do would be to contact me, STP is a program that\u2019s a collaboration between State Services for the Blind and Minnesota Department of Education and local school districts, so it is something that needs to be written into a student\u2019s IEP, but I\u2019m happy to connect parents or students to whoever might best be able to help them do that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Oh, that\u2019s great. That\u2019s great that you have that collaboration between all the entities. They don\u2019t slip through the cracks as much, you know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
And I\u2019ve heard nothing but great reports over the years that this has been going on, whether it\u2019s through STP or Duluth or down here in the office itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, well, and I think, Jeff, really, I just want to encourage students to get involved and do some programs over the summer. I know that right now things are probably going to be virtual, I don\u2019t know that for sure yet, because I think programs are still figuring that out, but it\u2019s really such a great way to meet other peers and just talk about the situations that are unique to people who are blind or low-vision, or deaf-blind. You mentioned the Duluth, it used to be the Duluth Center for Vision Loss, they actually changed their name a little while ago to the Duluth Center for Vital Living, because they\u2019ve kind of expanded some of their programs, but I know that they will have some really strong student programs over the summer, and then in the metro, there\u2019s Blind Incorporated and Vision Loss Resources too. You know, sometimes we can kind of get stuck in our own little bubble, and it\u2019s just a great way to make those connections with other people and learn the skills that are going to help you through the rest of high school and college and work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Yeah. And I\u2019ll gather up some of that stuff and put it in the show notes, some of them have released some dates and times, what they\u2019re gonna be doing, so it\u2019s really exciting to see the innovations that they come up with. This pandemic has forced people to do online, and I like that, virtually savvy, because whether you like that or not, you had to figure out what Zoom was about and how to use it and stuff, and how to build those relationships which are essential, and I think networking and like the programs you have with peers, getting together and sharing ideas, it\u2019s just a great way to do it. You know, we can go back to the day we didn\u2019t have all this social networking or you mention the word Zoom and they go huh? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Right, right, right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Should have bought stock in that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I know, for sure, you just mentioned programs that give peers a chance to connect, and it reminded me about a program that we started, maybe back in November, called Chill and Chat, and the reason the idea kind of came about is because in my conversations with students, I could tell that they really were feeling kind of isolated, you know, their schools were online, and they weren\u2019t really connecting with other students who were blind or visually impaired or deaf-blind, and you just said, we need those connections, right? So they were craving that, so we created this program called Chill and Chat that meets the first Tuesday of every month on Zoom, and it\u2019s exactly what it says, like there\u2019s not any kind of preconceived agenda other than giving students a chance to just hang out, and problem solve, and just talk about whatever they want to talk about. So that\u2019s been kind of a cool innovation that came from this time of being virtual. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Yeah. You don\u2019t realize how much, you know, there\u2019s Clubhouse, there\u2019s these other things that are coming up, and I think it\u2019s just getting people together, so Chill and Chat, where they get to meet everybody, and I think if I can reflect back to when I was involved, you know, communicating, meeting new people, you still drop in on people and you hear from them and stuff like that, especially when you\u2019re embarking upon college or something that you don\u2019t know much about, you know, there\u2019s so much resources out there, it\u2019s so great that you\u2019re bringing these entities together so that they can learn from role models or people who have already been there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, and that\u2019s really been an important part of what we do, just try to help students get the confidence and the skills so that they can live their lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You know, you have The Spectacle, and that\u2019s a newsletter for teens, visually impaired, and parents, people involved in training, just anyone involved in enhancing the opportunities for people with visual impairments, especially the transition-age students. I\u2019ve got to admit, you\u2019ve done a great job and as this has evolved, it seems like now I start reading and I just want to go to the next thing, next thing, I mean I like each one but it just keeps on growing. You\u2019ve got the Helen Keller stuff, you have the events where ASL\u2019s gonna be available, and credits for people, it\u2019s just well-rounded and it\u2019s really grown, I really like it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I appreciate that. I feel like what I really want to do is just set opportunities in front of people, and just try to open some doors, and make sure they know about all of the different events and programs and connecting opportunities, that\u2019s really what I\u2019m trying to do with the newsletter, and you know, SSB really fundamentally believes in becoming independent, and part of that is learning those skills, and connecting with other people, so it\u2019s a place to try to put all of those options. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, and it\u2019s not just for students, I would say TVIs that are reading that, there\u2019s so many different links that they can share with other people, it\u2019s just great to have that information. It\u2019s based in Minnesota here, but you have some national stuff going on there, like webinars that are going on that anybody can tap into. It\u2019s a good resource, so we\u2019ll put a link to The Spectacle right in the show notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:
Awesome, and another hope from our program, because we\u2019re always wanting to seek out other ideas, hearing reactions from people in other states and learning about things that they\u2019re doing is also kind of a cool branch of it, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, yeah. Not only are you creating networks, but it\u2019s nice that you can network with others, and that sharing of ideas, that\u2019s how we grow and I think with all these changes that we\u2019ve come to over these last year, especially, I just wonder where it\u2019s gonna go next year. This is kind of an added thing, if we go back to some form of normality or something like that, I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll lose this virtualness that we\u2019ve- virtualness, is that a word? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:
I don\u2019t know, but it works!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Yeah, but this being virtual-savvy, you know, I don\u2019t think it\u2019s gonna go away, I think if you become virtually savvy, it\u2019s a skillset that you\u2019re gonna have now, because like you said, interviews, can you imagine doing an interview on Zoom? They\u2019re doing it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:
Yep, well, and talking about this also reminds me about another opportunity for people across the country during the summer, a lot of the conventions have gone virtual too, right, because having so many thousands and thousands of people in one space really isn\u2019t something that\u2019s safe to do right now, but both the National Federation of the Blind and the American Council of the Blind have their conventions during the summer, and they are virtual, and they are such great places to connect with other people and to learn from other people, and just find out hey, what are some of the things that are important to people with a vision loss right now? Legislation that\u2019s important, or what are programs that are important? I want to encourage listeners from across the country to attend those conferences too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mm-hm. We just did the C-SUN, where you could go on and listen to breakout groups and you know, actually drop in onto the exhibitors and go right into their booth and talk to someone from APH or from Aira, wherever, it\u2019s kind of neat, but I really think the NFB and the ACB, when they did their conventions virtually, they knocked it out of the park. I was expecting, I don\u2019t know what I was expecting, but it was well-organized, you could flow through it, you could pick and choose what you wanted and stuff like that, it was really good. I mean, they had a professional app, you know, that you could actually drop in, go here, there, and drop in anywhere you wanted to go, it was just like being at a convention but the distance was a lot shorter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, right? The cool thing about the app, too, is that it kind of simulated that networking, because you could look at all the participants and then send someone a message, and so I was able to find transition coordinators in other states and just kind of send them a little message, hi, I\u2019m Sheila from Minnesota State Services for the Blind, I\u2019d love to hear what your state\u2019s doing, and then instantly you have that connection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:
Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
I really like that application. You didn\u2019t have to learn it, it was like the intuitiveness was right there, and oh, okay, I\u2019m here, I\u2019m there, yeah. I really liked it, so if you see these conferences and they\u2019re virtual, give them a chance. Give them a try and meet some people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, yeah. Absolutely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Well, Sheila, is there anything else you want to share?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:
Maybe just one other thing, \u2018cause we are really excited, SSB has been working with Learning Ally, they\u2019re a college success program, to get things set up for students to be able to be a part of that program, and earlier when you mentioned the role models and connecting with peers, that is something that the Learning Ally college success program does, it opens up resources for students to attend meetups, and webinars, but then it also connects them with a mentor who is blind or visually impaired or deaf-blind, and in college right now, so it\u2019s just a really great program, I know there are several other states doing it as well, and we\u2019re excited to have that up and running, really within the next month or so here in Minnesota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
Really? That\u2019s pretty cool. Do you remember when BookShare came about?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:
I do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
We were in a room, all of us were in a room and they were announcing it and stuff, and I still have two or three connections from that room when I was at the convention, we all got our free BookShare, still around though, all this stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yeah, it\u2019s really lasted the stretch of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
It has. So has what you guys are doing there at SSB for transition students, so keep up the good work and thanks for coming on and sharing all of this, we\u2019re gonna put a lot of stuff in the show notes here for a resource, so check it out, and thanks for coming on!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Oh, thanks for having me, and if any of your listeners, students, teachers, parents in Minnesota have ideas of things that would be helpful for them, please reach out, I\u2019d absolutely love to keep building our programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:
And how can they reach you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They can email me at sheila.koenig@state.mn.us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jeff:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila Koenig, thank you so much for being here, and we\u2019ll stay in touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sheila:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Awesome, thanks Jeff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pete:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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 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. Sheila: STP is what it\u2019s known as, Summer Transition Program. Pete:Looking ahead […]<\/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-6643","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P6rcRg-1J9","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5816,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=5816","url_meta":{"origin":6643,"position":0},"title":"Level Up \u2013 A New Online Workshop Series for High School Transition Age Students with Topics Ranging From Self-Advocacy, Self-Determination, Positive Self-Talk and More","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"April 15, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Jeff Thompson: Welcome to Blind Abilities. I'm Jeff Thompson. Today with the coronavirus affecting all of us across the nation, there's changes happening everywhere, and one of those is in the high schools. Students taking their classes online and changing how students interact with each other and that\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":5514,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=5514","url_meta":{"origin":6643,"position":1},"title":"Raise Your Cane! White Cane Safety Awareness Day at the Capital!","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"October 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Jeff Thompson:Welcome to Blind Abilities. I'm Jeff Thompson. White Cane Safety Awareness Day 2019. This was an awesome event attended by so many. We had teachers, parents, kids, students, instructors, directors, senators, representatives, all gathering and bringing awareness to the White Cane and the month of October, National\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":5462,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=5462","url_meta":{"origin":6643,"position":2},"title":"Save The Date! White Cane Safety Awareness Day at the Capital! October 15, 2019. National Disability Employment Awareness Month \u2013 The Right Talent, Right Now.","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"October 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Speaker 1:Hey, little dude, what you doing? Speaker 2:I'm getting my cane all cleaned up because there's a big day coming up. Speaker 1:What's that? Speaker 2:What do you mean what's that? Speaker 1:Well, what's that? Speaker 2:It's White Cane Safety Awareness Day at the Capitol. Speaker 1:Oh.\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":6122,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6122","url_meta":{"origin":6643,"position":3},"title":"Around The World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective: Episode 2 – Chee Chau from Malaysia – Helping Others.","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":[]},{"id":6448,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6448","url_meta":{"origin":6643,"position":4},"title":"Assistive Technology Specialist Jesse Anderson and State Services for the Blind Go Virtual in Providing Transition Services to Students","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"January 6, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Pete:\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Jesse: We started working from home March 16th, we\u2019re probably gonna be working from home for quite 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":6111,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?page_id=6111","url_meta":{"origin":6643,"position":5},"title":"Around The World with COVID-19 from a Blindness Perspective – Episode 3: Steve Wicketts from England \u2013 Look Out for Your Mates.","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\/6643","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=6643"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6643\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6644,"href":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6643\/revisions\/6644"}],"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=6643"}],"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