{"id":3191,"date":"2017-12-20T10:30:08","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T16:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=3191"},"modified":"2018-01-05T08:26:00","modified_gmt":"2018-01-05T14:26:00","slug":"tvi-toolbox-success-stories-tools-for-success-seeingai-app-meet-wesley-sissen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=3191","title":{"rendered":"TVI Toolbox: Success Stories, Tools for Success &#8211; SeeingAI App, Meet Wesley Sissen. (Transcription Provided)"},"content":{"rendered":"<!--powerpress_player--><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_7097\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-3191-1\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/TVIToolbox1.mp3?_=1\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/TVIToolbox1.mp3\">http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/TVIToolbox1.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p>Blind Abilities presents the TVI Toolbox. Where the collaboration between Teachers, Counselors, Parents, Agencies and the Students themselves help enhance the opportunities for success.<br \/>\nTransitioning from high school to college and the workplace is  a major step and the beginning of lifetime goals and aspirations. As Wesley Sissen, the featured Transition Student in the Success Stories portion of this podcast, puts it very well, \u201cNo one has to do it alone.\u201d<br \/>\n<!--more--><br \/>\nFrom the TVI\u2019s to the Agency counselor\u2019s and program specialist, working together along with parents as well, is creating more opportunities and successes for Transition age students.<br \/>\nSharing experiences through Success Stories, sharing programs that make a positive impact, sharing ideas, findings, upcoming events and the Tools for Success all play a part in making the transition process a natural progression and better understood by all.<\/p>\n<p>In this introductory episode we illustrate the collaboration between TVI\u2019s and State Services for the Blind personnel. In the Tools for Success the FreeIOS Seeing AI app is given an overview. This Swiss Army Knife of an app does OCR, Product Identification, Color detection, light detection and even Hand Writing detection. Microsoft\u2019s accessibility team has done wonders with this new app for the iPhone making it a personal favorite for many in the blindness community.<\/p>\n<p>On The Horizon is a bulletin space for upcoming events, information and resources submitted by listeners and our staff. You can submit to On the Horizon by emailing <a href=\"mailto:Jessica.Hodges@state.mn.us\">jessica Hodges<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Success Stories feature an experience of a Transition Student, whether they are attending college, preparing for college or are now employed, the Success Stories brings a positive and a sharing of the experience of transitioning from high school to college and the work place.<\/p>\n<p>Here are the links to the information we bring to this episode.<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.pathstoliteracy.org\/topic\">Paths To Literacy<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/msab.msa.state.mn.us\/\">Parent Child Institute 2018<\/a><br \/>\nThe Parent Child Institute(PCI) is open to all Minnesota families with children, birth to 6, who are Blind or Visually Impaired and\/or deaf\/blind (including children with additional disabilities). Topics will include: advocating for your child, music therapy, pre-braille literacy, Orientation Mobility, sensory needs, and being an active member of the IFSP\/IEP process&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/nz\/app\/seeing-ai\/id999062298?mt=8\">Seeing AI App for the iPhone<\/a><br \/>\nSeeing AI is a free app that narrates the world around you. Designed for the blind and low vision community, this ongoing research project harnesses the power of AI to open up the visual world and describe nearby people, text and objects.<\/p>\n<p>Optimized for use with VoiceOver, the app enables you to recognize:<br \/>\n\u2022 Short Text &#8211; Speaks text as soon as it appears in front of the camera.<br \/>\n\u2022 Documents &#8211; Provides audio guidance to capture a printed page, and recognizes the text, along with its original formatting.<br \/>\n\u2022 Products &#8211; Scans barcodes, using audio beeps to guide you; hear the name, and package information when available. (works with iPhone 6 and later)<br \/>\n\u2022 People &#8211; Saves people\u2019s faces so you can recognize them, and get an estimate of their age, gender, and emotions.<br \/>\n\u2022 Scenes (early preview) &#8211; Hear an overall description of the scene captured.<br \/>\n\u2022 Currency &#8211; Recognizes currency notes.<br \/>\n\u2022 Color &#8211; Identifies color.<br \/>\n\u2022 Handwriting &#8211; Reads handwritten text.<br \/>\n\u2022 Light &#8211; Generates an audible tone corresponding to the brightness in the surroundings.<br \/>\n\u2022 Images in other apps &#8211; Just tap \u201cShare\u201d and \u201cRecognize with Seeing AI\u201d to describe images from Mail, Photos, Twitter, and more. <\/p>\n<p>Seeing AI is built to help you achieve more by leveraging the power of the cloud and artificial intelligence. As the research progresses, more channels may be added. <\/p>\n<p>Check out tutorials with this YouTube playlist: <a href=\"http:\/\/aka.ms\/SeeingAIPlaylist\">http:\/\/aka.ms\/SeeingAIPlaylist<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Visit http:\/\/SeeingAI.com for more details<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/mn.gov\/deed\/ssb\/\">State Services for the Blind<\/a><br \/>\nWe offer tools and training for employment and for helping seniors remain independent and active. As Minnesota\u2019s accessible reading source we also transcribe books and other materials into alternative formats, including audio and braille. We assist Minnesotans who are blind, DeafBlind, losing vision, or who have another disability that makes it difficult to read print.<br \/>\nI hope you find what you need here. We&#8217;ve also created a <a href=\"https:\/\/mn.gov\/deed\/ssb\/tips\/index.jsp\">Tips for Using Our New Website\u00a0page<\/a>.<br \/>\nIf you\u2019d like to apply for services, learn more, or have more questions, just give us a call. You\u2019ll find contact information for all of our offices on our contact page, or you can call our main office at 651-539-2300.<\/p>\n<p><strong>See complete transcription below.<\/strong><br \/>\nThank you for listening!<br \/>\nYou can follow us on Twitter <a href=\"http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/blindabilities\">@BlindAbilities<\/a><br \/>\nOn the web at <a href=\"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\">www.BlindAbilities.com<\/a><br \/>\nSend us an <a href=\"mailto:info@blindabilities.com\">email<\/a><br \/>\nGet the <a href=\"https:\/\/appsto.re\/us\/demUab.i\">Free Blind Abilities App<\/a> on the App Store.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Transcription:<\/strong><br \/>\n<strong>TVI Toolbox: Success Stories, Tools for Success &#8211; SeeingAI App, Meet Wesley Sissen. (Transcription Provided)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>[building music]<\/p>\n<p>Narrator:<br \/>\nWelcome to the Blind Abilities TVI Toolbox.<\/p>\n<p>In this first episode we&#8217;ll be hearing from<br \/>\nprofessionals from the State Services for the Blind in Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>They&#8217;ll be talking about what they provide, and the collaboration that they have with teachers for the visually impaired.<\/p>\n<p>Our news update &#8220;On the Horizon&#8221; Bringing<br \/>\nyou News that you can use.<\/p>\n<p>The &#8216;Tools for Success Spotlight&#8217; is on &#8220;Seeing AI&#8221; a Microsoft app that&#8217;s free from the app store.<\/p>\n<p>And our transition success story is Wesley<br \/>\nSisson, attending his first year in college at the<br \/>\nUniversity of Minnesota Duluth.<\/p>\n<p>We hope you enjoy this introductory TVI toolbox episode.<\/p>\n<p>And for more podcast with the blindness perspective check us out on the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Download our free app from the app store;<br \/>\nthat&#8217;s two words: &#8220;Blind Abilites.&#8221; We hope you enjoy.<\/p>\n<p> [music changes] Sheila Koenig:<br \/>\n&#8220;The special education teacher and I, we worked on technology.<\/p>\n<p>We looked at different job options and job<br \/>\nopportunities, and career opportunities.&#8221; Male voice:<br \/>\n&#8220;Used State Services for the Blind all the way through college.&#8221; Narrator: Welcome to TVI Toolbox.<\/p>\n<p>[musical interlude] Wesley Sisson:<br \/>\nPart of the &#8216;blind skills&#8217; that I had<br \/>\nto learn which helped me with my job is I have to be really on top of things.<\/p>\n<p>Narrator:<br \/>\nSuccess stories of students on their journey, through the transition process: From high school, to college, to the workplace.<\/p>\n<p>With agency professionals, teachers of the<br \/>\nvisually impaired, parents of students and the students themselves.<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s in your toolbox?<\/p>\n<p>[mulitple overlapping]<br \/>\n-What&#8217;s in your toolbox?<br \/>\n-What&#8217;s in your toolbox?<\/p>\n<p>TVI toolbox is a tool: for teachers, for agencies, for clients.<\/p>\n<p>To enhance the opportunities and the understanding of transition services.<\/p>\n<p>Professionals talking about the services that<br \/>\nthey provide, teachers for the visually impaired talking<br \/>\nabout topics of transitioning from high school, to college, to the workplace.<\/p>\n<p>Students talking about their journeys, their<br \/>\nsuccesses and some of the barricades and brick walls that were in their way; and<br \/>\nsolutions, tips and tricks on how they got through it.<\/p>\n<p>Sheila Koenig:<br \/>\n&#8220;Whether they go to college<br \/>\nor directly into work&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re all about helping them to get the skills to be successful, while they&#8217;re still in high school.&#8221; Narrator:<br \/>\nThat&#8217;s Sheila Koenig, she&#8217;s transition coordinator at State Services for the Blind of Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>Not only is there transitioning from high<br \/>\nschool, to college, to the workplace- there is also transitioning from public schools to the state agencies.<\/p>\n<p>And that&#8217;s where TVIs and counselors<br \/>\ncome together to enhance the opportunities for success.<\/p>\n<p>Sheila Koenig:<br \/>\n&#8220;Definitely the connection<br \/>\nthat we have with teachers of blind and visually impaired students is critical.<\/p>\n<p>These teachers are with students all the time and they are such a critical tool in how the students access all<br \/>\nof their academic information; and the other programs: like orientation<br \/>\nand mobility, assistive technology, self-advocacy.<\/p>\n<p>These teachers are really a vehicle for the<br \/>\nstudents to get all of this information.&#8221; Narrator:<br \/>\nEmployment Team Program Specialist, Deja Van Alstyne Deja Van Alstyne:<br \/>\n&#8220;What is your job goal? What..<\/p>\n<p>What do you want to do? What are the various avenues to get there? We&#8217;ll work on trying to figure out what&#8217;s<br \/>\nthe most appropriate point from point-A to point-B, for you.&#8221; Narrator:<br \/>\nTransition counselor, Ashlyn Cahill.<\/p>\n<p>Ashlyn Cahill:<br \/>\n&#8220;At state services for the blind we have the IPE which is the &#8216;Individualized Plan for Employment&#8217; and that outlines all the services we agree to provide the student in order for<br \/>\nthem to reach their employment goal.&#8221; Narrator:<br \/>\nIt is the collaborative effort of<br \/>\nthe teachers of the visually impaired, state agencies, the parents of the students, along with the<br \/>\nstudents themselves in an effort to enhance the opportunities towards success and creating and making these partnerships cannot start too soon Sheila Koenig:<br \/>\n&#8220;And it used to be that we would start working with students when they&#8217;re adults, and now because of the new laws and regulations we can start working at age fourteen, or ninth grade whichever comes first.<\/p>\n<p>Teachers are really excited about this new<br \/>\nway to partner and the information is really flowing both ways.<\/p>\n<p>We find out for example how we might be able to supplement with something like ONM, or Assistive Technology, for example.<\/p>\n<p>And in turn, a teacher might write as an IEP goal for a student to connect with someone at State Services for the Blind, in order to find out more about us.<\/p>\n<p>So it truly is a partnership.&#8221; Narrator:<br \/>\nNow here&#8217;s Jessica Hodges<br \/>\nwith &#8216;On the Horizon&#8221; and this is where we share useful information: articles, websites, and upcoming events submitted by our listeners and our staff.<\/p>\n<p>Jessica Hodges:<br \/>\n&#8220;This month, On the Horizon, we have several lovely tidbits of information to give you.<\/p>\n<p>First from Sheila Koenig.<\/p>\n<p>Transition coordinator at State Services for the Blind.<\/p>\n<p>Located in St.<\/p>\n<p>Paul, Minnesota She stresses how important reading is to students, in particular transition age students.<\/p>\n<p>To help with this she recommends people check out the website called &#8216;Paths to Literacy.&#8217; This website is a collection of blog posts<br \/>\naiming to help readers from every walk of life.<\/p>\n<p>Including those who: are deaf-blind, speak<br \/>\nEnglish as a Second Language, or are newly blinded.<\/p>\n<p>It can also be helpful for those who have<br \/>\nbeen blind since birth, but struggle to get into reading.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;d like to know more about this website<br \/>\ngo to www.pathstoliteracy.org\/topic.<\/p>\n<p>Happy reading! I myself I&#8217;m a reader and it&#8217;s a very, very important thing [in order] to have a new life.<\/p>\n<p>The next topic does not have anything to do with reading, but hopefully it will help with reading later on in life.<\/p>\n<p>In the charming town of Faribault, Minnesota.<\/p>\n<p>The Minnesota State Academy for the Blind<br \/>\nis holding a Parent\/Child Institute, on March 10th, 2018.<\/p>\n<p>This workshop, and networking event is aiming towards Minnesotan parents who have children under six, who are blind<br \/>\nor visually impaired.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s open to children with multiple disabilities as well, and will cover various things like: Orientation mobility, IEP processes, sensory curriculum options and more.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;d like to know more or register: you can go to the Minnesota State Academy for the Blind website msab.msa.state.mn.us.<\/p>\n<p>Turn your child into a great reader.<\/p>\n<p>If your state doesn&#8217;t have one of these consider Facebook.<\/p>\n<p>There are a lot of different groups for a<br \/>\nlot of different things, including blindness.<\/p>\n<p>For parents, and students, and young children alike.<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;re likely to find the resources that you<br \/>\nneed online if your state doesn&#8217;t have a place that you<br \/>\ncan gather them.<\/p>\n<p>If you&#8217;d like to submit an event to<br \/>\n&#8216;On the Horizon,&#8217; feel free to email Jessica.Hodges@state.mn.us and we&#8217;ll try and get you in next month.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you, and I hope you have a lovely day, wherever you are.<\/p>\n<p>Narrator:<br \/>\nThank You Jessica.<\/p>\n<p>And now tools for success.<\/p>\n<p>The app today is &#8216;Seeing AI&#8217; that&#8217;s S-E-E-I-N-G space A-I.<\/p>\n<p>Stands for: Artificial Intelligence, and that&#8217;s from Microsoft.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a free app on the iOS platform, and you can get OCR, scene-detection, product-identification, where you take a picture of the UPC code and it will identify the product.<\/p>\n<p>The Person Channel will allow you to identify people or let you know where the faces are located through the camera lens, for centering faces while taking a picture.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;ll also identify people that you have identified, and that&#8217;s in the menus! And now, with four new channels added, it&#8217;s<br \/>\na Swiss Army knife of apps for the blind.<\/p>\n<p>They have currency detection, light detection, color detection and handwriting detection.<\/p>\n<p>Now some of these are more novelty than they<br \/>\nare practical for the workplace, or for school, but the short text is a quick way to riffle<br \/>\nthrough some mail to identify, you don&#8217;t have to do anything just point and<br \/>\nit starts talking when it identifies text.<\/p>\n<p>There&#8217;s also a document channel where you can read documents and it tells you: &#8220;left, right, up, down&#8230;&#8221; Computerized Voice:<br \/>\n&#8220;Right edge not visible.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\n&#8230;for help in shooting the picture of the text that you want to get the OCR from.<\/p>\n<p>It even has speech if you don&#8217;t use voice<br \/>\nover.<\/p>\n<p>So it&#8217;s a very versatile app, and now with the new added features: Light detection; it&#8217;ll get higher pitched<br \/>\nor lower pitched&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>[beeping becomes increasingly higher in pitch]<br \/>\n&#8230;depending on the brightness of the light.<\/p>\n<p>The brighter, the higher the pitch.<\/p>\n<p>So it&#8217;s an easy way to identify if the lights<br \/>\nare on.<\/p>\n<p>As for the Color Detection: Computerized Voice:<br \/>\n&#8220;green, black, grey.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nIt does a pretty good job, just like most detection devices do.<\/p>\n<p>Computerized Voice:<br \/>\n&#8220;White, black, grey and brown, red.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nSometimes they&#8217;re good, sometimes it&#8217;s not so good; depending on the lighting in the room.<\/p>\n<p>And the handwriting&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Well, the jury&#8217;s still out on the handwriting, but it&#8217;s a great start.<\/p>\n<p>Microsoft is really doing a great job of making this available for everybody.<\/p>\n<p>Especially with the Currency Identification, it&#8217;s available in multiple currencies, and it works pretty good.<\/p>\n<p>So check it out: &#8220;Seeing AI&#8221; a free download from the App Store.<\/p>\n<p>[thumping and a swooshing transition sound] And for today&#8217;s Success Story we&#8217;re to talk<br \/>\nto Wesley Sisson.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s a first year student at the University<br \/>\nof Minnesota Duluth, way up by Lake Superior and he&#8217;s active in<br \/>\nextracurricular activities.<\/p>\n<p>So without further ado meet Wesley Sisson [thumping and a swooshing transition sound] Jeff Thompson:<br \/>\nWelcome to &#8220;Blind Abilities,&#8221; I&#8217;m Jeff Thompson.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re talking to Wesley Sisson, he&#8217;s a first<br \/>\nyear student at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.<\/p>\n<p>He graduated from high school, transitioned<br \/>\nto college, and someday, would like to finish his college and a little<br \/>\nbit warmer part of the country.<\/p>\n<p>Glad to have him here.<\/p>\n<p>Please welcome Wesley Sisson.<\/p>\n<p>Wesley, how are you doing? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;I&#8217;m doing pretty good, how about yourself?&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nI&#8217;m doing great, and thanks for taking<br \/>\nthe time I know you&#8217;re busy up there in school and coming on and speaking to our listeners on Blind Abilities.<\/p>\n<p>Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;Of course I appreciate it .&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nSo, Wesley can you tell us a little<br \/>\nbit about yourself? Wesley: &#8220;Yeah my name is Wesley Sisson.<\/p>\n<p>I am a freshman at the University of Minnesota, Duluth.<\/p>\n<p>My current majors are World History, Foreign Policy, and Environmental Law.<\/p>\n<p>I did PSEO classes all of my senior year of high school, <\/p>\n<p>so I took college classes while still in high school.<\/p>\n<p>I decided to come back to UMD for the rest of my college career.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nWell congratulations on going through<br \/>\nthe transition, and getting to college, and it seems like you&#8217;re well on your way.<\/p>\n<p>Are<br \/>\nyou enjoying it? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;I&#8217;m finding it extremely fun, it&#8217;s<br \/>\nchallenging..<\/p>\n<p>it&#8217;s- and the challenge is always something I enjoy.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nSo when you were in high school, how<br \/>\ndid you get to know State Services for the Blind? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;We got to know them when I was- I believe fourteen, they reach out to high schools with students who could require some of their assistance later in life.<\/p>\n<p>They came in and we had a meeting where we discussed what they had to offer and what I could gain by accessing State Services programs.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nAnd there you are today; up there at<br \/>\nthe University of Minnesota, Duluth.<\/p>\n<p>Wesley: &#8220;Mm-hmm.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nSo you didn&#8217;t head for warmer weather, or anything? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;I&#8217;ve been thinking about it for maybe grad school of heading down to the southwest.<\/p>\n<p>I love Colorado, specifically.<\/p>\n<p>Colorado or New Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m going to probably finish these  three\/four years and then decide what I want to go from there.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nSo I&#8217;m assuming that you&#8217;re in your<br \/>\nown dorm, apartment- some type of living situation? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;Yeah, I am currently on campus in the dorms.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nYou mentioned to me, when we were talking before this podcast, that you got a little bit of mobility instruction? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;During my time acclimating myself to the campus here I accessed State Services resources, and had some &#8216;orientation mobility&#8217; here on campus.<\/p>\n<p>Where I just kind of learned a lot of the<br \/>\nlay out here, where certain classes could be, and just kind of how you can find your own<br \/>\nway on the campus.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nHow did you connect with your teachers? What process did you go through to let them know that you&#8217;re visually impaired? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;I connected with the Office of Disabilities here, and we basically emailed professors, and just kind of said: &#8216;Well, I&#8217;m a visually impaired student, and there are certain resources that I require to be in the class, but it&#8217;s nothing to be worried about.&#8217; We just kind of reached out to professor&#8217;s<br \/>\nby email and just told them what was up.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nSo can I ask what types of alternative techniques or devices do you use on a daily routine? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;A PC with JAWS screen reader, sometimes NVDA as another screen reader.<\/p>\n<p>I am a Braille-user, so I like to kind of..<\/p>\n<p>-depending on the assignment, depending on whatever I&#8217;m doing- I like to switch back and forth, and yeah just keep my options diverse.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nAnd that&#8217;s working well for you obviously.<\/p>\n<p>Wesley: &#8220;Mm-hmm.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nSo Wesley, do you have any hobbies that you partake in? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;I&#8217;m a vocalist and musician.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve sang in many choirs, I&#8217;ve been in charge of a couple musical groups -a couple rock groups here.<\/p>\n<p>I currently have one on campus that involves a few musicians, and I&#8217;m an outdoorsy environmentalist kind of person.<\/p>\n<p>And I am currently one of the Environmental Task Force leaders for one of the nonprofit&#8217;s here at the University.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s called MPIRG, or M-P-I-R-G, or Minnesota Public Interest Research Group, and we focus on a lot of social, economic, and environmental issues brought up by students.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nOh that&#8217;s interesting.<\/p>\n<p>That&#8217;s a good location for it too;<br \/>\nup there in Lake Superior area.<\/p>\n<p>Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a statewide organization.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s completely student-run, non-partisan, non-profit group; and we work on issues that students are interested in on campus, in the Duluth community; and we have a presence Statewide.<\/p>\n<p>So, we get to talk to representatives, and go down and talk with our elected officials, on what matters pertaining to students; and I&#8217;m glad to be a part of that.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nNo, that&#8217;s good.<\/p>\n<p>That sounds pretty proactive- seems like you&#8217;re involved in stuff.<\/p>\n<p>Did your visual impairment ever hinder your willingness to get involved in activities like that? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;My visual impairment never really was an issue in terms of my willingness to get involved.<\/p>\n<p>You sometimes have to find alternative ways of working around a system, especially in cases where situations are majority &#8216;sighted-based.&#8217; I&#8217;ve always been a proactive person and I&#8217;d<br \/>\nlove to get out in the community.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nThat&#8217;s great.<\/p>\n<p>Obviously, you&#8217;ve been in high school, and<br \/>\nwith that pro-activeness and willingness to get out: how was high school? You must have had some good training and good<br \/>\nadvocates around you.<\/p>\n<p>Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;In high school, it got a little interesting, with school resources, versus state resources.<\/p>\n<p>And I got myself and into a couple binds here-there with in terms of getting work that I need, and stuff like that.<\/p>\n<p>But when State Services for the Blind stepped in, they opened up a whole new realm of possibilities that can be accessed by students, and later on.<\/p>\n<p>Jeff:<br \/>\nAnd what are some of those resources? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;Depending on the person you can have training in stuff relating to technology, and all your use of computers an- and phones.<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s the best way that works for you? I am currently looking at the new Braille system that is coming out here- or that has come out, and just kind of learning how that new system works.<\/p>\n<p>You can have orientation mobility, learning your way around.<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;re- if you&#8217;re in a big city how does one navigate and learn how to get the most out of your everyday experience.<\/p>\n<p> Yeah.&#8221; Jeff: Good stuff, good stuff.<\/p>\n<p>Yeah.<\/p>\n<p>I remember back in the day I used to have<br \/>\nthis impression without people telling me, I didn&#8217;t know any blind or visually impaired people- I thought state services like- was like a safety net.<br \/>\n&#8220;Just in case.&#8221; But the more and more as time&#8217;s going on<br \/>\nhere it&#8217;s becoming a vehicle for people, like a resource, it gives you<br \/>\nmore optimism towards your future goals.<\/p>\n<p>Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;It is definitely a hand-up resource, not hand-out.<\/p>\n<p>It gives people the access to resources that they might not have realized existed; or had access to before.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nThat&#8217;s right good.<\/p>\n<p>You mentioned a phone.<br \/>\nWhat type of device are you using? Wesley: &#8220;I am currently using an iPhone6.&#8221; Jeff: Mm-hmm.<\/p>\n<p>You like that? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;I find it is very easy<br \/>\nfor a user to get acclimated to, and use&#8230;&#8221; Jeff: Voice-over accessibility Wesley: &#8220;Voice-over is very easy.<\/p>\n<p>Siri, although not necessarily the most helpful thing, is something that allows you to research and-&#8221; Jeff: So what are your goals after college? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;My goals are to get involved in conservation work, as a legal representative, in doing Environmet&#8217;l- Environmental law.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m interested in foreign policy, and being<br \/>\nable to go to other countries, and work on issues between countries.<\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m a historian at heart, and I love educating<br \/>\npeople about historical events and stuff so- teaching is always something in the back of my mind.&#8221; Jeff:<br \/>\nThe Industrial Revolution is one of my favorites, in America, right in that period of time.<\/p>\n<p>Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;Yeah it is definitely an interesting period, and I&#8217;m a World War II fanatic.<\/p>\n<p>But I love everything from early European history, to colonialism and I&#8217;m currently taking world history courses, along with early, early Roman Empire stuff; which is really interesting.<\/p>\n<p>Jeff: Yeah, I love history.<\/p>\n<p>We&#8217;re your parents effectively involved in advocating for you as a youngster? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;Yeah my parents, both, were extremely good at advocating and taught me to do the  same.<\/p>\n<p>They would go to most meeting stuff with teachers to try to find the best way of working on stuff that would be beneficial for me and it was a great example for me.<\/p>\n<p>[music fades in] Jeff:<br \/>\nAnd you mentioned that they taught you to advocate for yourself.<\/p>\n<p>Wesley: &#8220;Yeah,&#8221; Jeff: And that&#8217;s important.<\/p>\n<p>Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;It&#8217;s extremely important.<\/p>\n<p>Especially when one wants to be a productive member of society, and take part in education, and it&#8217;s the best way for someone to get out and find their best- and be their best.<\/p>\n<p>Jeff:<br \/>\nWesley, what advice would you give to someone who is in high school and transitioning into college, and looking towards the workplace? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;I would say that there are resources available that can help you make the best choices for yourself.<\/p>\n<p>Where they&#8217;re not too far away.<\/p>\n<p>State Services is a great starting point in finding what works best for you, and no one should be doing this alone.&#8221; Jeff: Well great.<\/p>\n<p>Is there anything else that you would like to tell the listeners on Blind Abilities? Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;Just keep being awesome.&#8221; Jeff: There you go.<\/p>\n<p>Well, Wesley, thank you very much for coming on and sharing a little bit about yourself.<\/p>\n<p>Good luck with your future, your goals, and<br \/>\nall that.<\/p>\n<p>And seems like you&#8217;re on a good path.<\/p>\n<p>Wesley:<br \/>\n&#8220;I appreciate it.<\/p>\n<p>I thank you for letting me come on.&#8221; [Musical Interlude] Jeff:<br \/>\nReally enjoyed talking to Wesley, and it&#8217;s success stories like Wesley&#8217;s that reinforces the collaboration that we&#8217;re building between the teachers of the visually impaired, the agency, the parents and the students; to enhance the opportunities for success.<\/p>\n<p>We hope you enjoyed, and until next time.<\/p>\n<p>Bye-bye.<\/p>\n<p>[Music]  [Transition noise]  -When we share<br \/>\n-What we see<br \/>\n-Through each other&#8217;s eyes&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>[Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence]<\/p>\n<p>&#8230;We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities.<\/p>\n<p>For more podcasts with the blindness perspective:<br \/>\nCheck us out on the web at www.BlindAbilites.com On Twitter @BlindAbilities<br \/>\nDownload our app from the App store: &#8216;Blind Abilities&#8217;; that&#8217;s two words.<\/p>\n<p>Or send us an e-mail at:<br \/>\ninfo@blindabilities.com Thanks for listening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<!--powerpress_player--><div class=\"powerpress_player\" id=\"powerpress_player_7099\"><audio class=\"wp-audio-shortcode\" id=\"audio-3191-3\" preload=\"none\" style=\"width: 100%;\" controls=\"controls\"><source type=\"audio\/mpeg\" src=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/TVIToolbox1.mp3?_=3\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/TVIToolbox1.mp3\">http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/TVIToolbox1.mp3<\/a><\/audio><\/div><p>http:\/\/traffic.libsyn.com\/blindabilities\/TVIToolbox1.mp3Blind Abilities presents the TVI Toolbox. Where the collaboration between Teachers, Counselors, Parents, Agencies and the Students themselves help enhance the opportunities for success. Transitioning from high school to college and the workplace is a major step and the beginning of lifetime goals and aspirations. As Wesley Sissen, the featured Transition Student in the Success [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[373,263,514,512],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3191","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career","category-college","category-transcribed","category-tvitoolbox"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/Blind-Abilities-Logo.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6rcRg-Pt","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3310,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=3310","url_meta":{"origin":3191,"position":0},"title":"TVI Toolbox: Success Stories, Tools for Success &#8211; #BeMyEyes App, Meet Jeff Mihiletch (Transcription Provided)","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"February 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Blind Abilities presents the TVI Toolbox. Where the collaboration between Teachers, Counselors, Parents, Agencies and the Students themselves help enhance the opportunities for success. Transitioning from high school to college and the workplace is a major step and the beginning of lifetime goals and aspirations. As Jeff Mihiletch, this month\u2019s\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;College&quot;","block_context":{"text":"College","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=263"},"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":3774,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=3774","url_meta":{"origin":3191,"position":1},"title":"TVI Toolbox Presents: Science, Technology, Engineering and Math: Carving His Pathway Towards Success, Meet Simon Bonenfant (Transcript Provided)","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"July 24, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0Science, Technology, Engineering and Math: Carving His Pathway Towards Success, Meet Simon Bonenfant \u00a0 Full Transcript Below Blind Abilities presents the TVI Toolbox. Where the collaboration between Teachers, Counselors, Parents, Agencies and the Students themselves help enhance the opportunities for success. 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(Transcription provided)","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"September 4, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Show Summary: (Full Transcript below) Blind Abilities presents the TVI Toolbox. Where the collaboration between Teachers, Counselors, Parents, Agencies and the Students themselves help enhance the opportunities for success. \u00a0 Transitioning from high school to college and the workplace is a major step and the beginning of lifetime goals and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;College&quot;","block_context":{"text":"College","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=263"},"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":3992,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=3992","url_meta":{"origin":3191,"position":3},"title":"Blind Abilities News Letter: The Latest Scoops on Technology, the Most UpToDate Blindness News, and Some Success Stories to Warm Your Soul","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"September 27, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Blind Abilities News Letter July - Sept 2018 The nip of Fall is in the air, quietly chilling your nose in preparation for winters cold embrace. Starbux has brought out the pumpkin spice latte once again. Thanksgiving plans are being laid in advance, perhaps. New technology is making its debut,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog","link":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?cat=239"},"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":6128,"url":"https:\/\/blindabilities.com\/?p=6128","url_meta":{"origin":3191,"position":4},"title":"Opening Doors to Opportunities for Transition Age Students: Meet Career Discovery Project  Program Director and Author, Jon Marin","author":"Blind Abilities Team","date":"August 7, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Full Transcript Show Summary: Program Director Jon Marin joins Jeff Thompson in the Blind Abilities studio to talk about the Career Discovery Project and his upcoming book release of, \u201cSee Us\u201d. 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