We've all been there — someone swoops in to help before you've even asked, grabs something out of your hands, or insists on doing something for you when you were handling it just fine. It's well-meaning. It can also be exhausting.

In this episode, Jenelle and Joy get into the messy, nuanced world of helping — when it's welcome, when it crosses a line, and how to handle it when it does. Drawing from their own lived experiences as people with disabilities, they unpack why our culture tends to put helpers on a pedestal, and what gets lost when the focus shifts from the person being helped to the person doing the helping.

In this episode:

• Why everyone needs help sometimes — and why that's not a disability thing, it's a human thing
• How apps like Be My Eyes flip the script on what "helping" can look like when it's actually mutual
• The difference between helping someone and taking over for them (and why that distinction matters)
• Unsolicited touching, moved belongings, and other "helpful" behaviors that can feel anything but
• Where the fear of being a burden comes from — and why it's worth examining
• The gap between good intentions and real impact, and how to have the repair conversation when harm happens
• Practical ways to set boundaries without feeling like you have to justify yourself
• What it actually means to see someone as a whole person — not just their disability

If you've ever struggled to speak up when help crosses a line, or wondered how to offer support without overstepping, this one's for you.

Resources:

"How to Handle Overhelpers" on DoubleVisionBlog

Blind and unemployed is still the statistical norm in America.

So what actually changes that?

In this episode, we talk about the advocacy skills most blind and low-vision people are never formally taught, and why storytelling often moves policy faster than data ever could. We unpack the persistent employment gap, the power of learning how to speak your lived experience in professional spaces, and how programs like ASPECT are equipping blind advocates to influence real change.

Joined by Janetta Price and Julie Grutzmacher from Prevent Blindness, the conversation explores the history behind the name, the tension between statistics and human stories, and what it takes to shift public perception.

If you care about employment, equity, or learning how to advocate more effectively for yourself or others, this episode gets practical and personal.

We close with a powerful spoken word piece from Janetta Price that reminds us why voice matters.

For more info on the ASPECT program visit the Prevent Blindness website and their YouTube Channel.

Joy revisits a painful middle-school memory and reframes it decades later, while Jenelle explains how trauma lives not just in our minds, but in our bodies - shaping the stories we use to make sense of our lives. This conversation explores meaning-making, shame, resilience, anxiety, and the power of trusted support as we learn how to notice, question, and begin rewriting the stories that no longer serve us.

Resources & Links:

• EMDR Therapy Explanation
• Rising Strong by Brené Brown

In the third and final installment of the DoubleVision identity series, hosts Joy and Jenelle sit down with Sylvia Stinson Perez, a leader and advocate in the blindness field, for a conversation about identity, leadership, and navigating professional spaces as a blind woman. Together, they explore resilience, self-advocacy, burnout, and imposter syndrome, and they dig into the complicated role of the word “inspiration,” including the range of perspectives it can carry within the disability community.

Sylvia's Website (and free download): www.TotalImpactPartners.com

Kindle option (99¢): Treading The Waters Of Life: A Guide To Self-Reflection And Action

At the start of a new year, many of us find ourselves asking questions that feel both simple and unsettling: Who am I now? What still holds when parts of life change?

This episode of the DoubleVison Podcast is Part 2 in a 3-part series exploring identity. If Part 1 focused on how and why we learn to protect parts of ourselves in order to belong and survive, this conversation turns toward what it can look like to integrate those parts when and if we feel ready.

Joy and Jenelle are joined by leadership coach, keynote speaker, and author Adam Mock for a grounded conversation about identity beyond roles, labels, and circumstances. Drawing from Part One of his book Rescue Your Dreams, Adam invites listeners to consider identity not as something we construct through performance or achievement, but as something more durable and rooted beneath what we do.

• Identity beyond roles, labels, and circumstances
• Grief, loss, and readiness to move forward
• Clearing false narratives about ourselves
• Core identity, values, and strengths
• Being versus doing
• A guided identity exercise from Rescue Your Dreams
  

About Adam
Adam Mock is a leadership coaching specialist, keynote speaker, and the author of Rescue Your Dreams. With more than twenty-five years of experience, he has worked with individuals and organizations including Olympic athletes, Nike, PayPal, Jordan Brand, and Converse. His work centers on clarity, courageous conversations, and helping people live and lead from a grounded sense of identity.

Learn more about Adam at adammock.com and buy Rescue Your Dreams here

In this episode, Jenelle and Joy begin a two-part conversation on identity, grounded in their lived experiences of vision loss. Through stories from their childhood, they explore how early reactions from others taught them to protect certain parts of who they are. Those moments shaped instincts around when to explain, when to downplay, and when to keep parts of their identity private in order to feel safe or accepted.

They explore the deeper reason humans learn to protect aspects of identity in the first place. The desire to belong is rooted in our need to survive within a community. When belonging feels uncertain, protection becomes a strategy. This shows up in especially layered ways for disabled people, who often have to assess when it feels safe to disclose parts of their identity, how much to share, and with whom.

The conversation also touches on the medical model of disability and how it frames difference as something to fix, alongside the real and often unspoken paradox of feeling both proud of one’s identity and protective of it at the same time. By naming the moments that shaped these protective patterns, listeners are invited into the work of recognizing their own. This episode focuses on awareness as the first step toward integrating parts of identity that may have been hidden and creating more choice about how to move forward.

• Humans protect parts of their identity as a way to secure belonging and survival.
• Early responses from others often shape what feels safe to reveal or hide.
• Vision loss offers a specific lens, but identity protection is a universal experience.
• Disabled people often navigate ongoing decisions about disclosure and safety.
• Readiness and context matter when sharing personal aspects of identity.
• The medical model of disability can reinforce the idea that difference needs fixing.
• It is common to feel both pride and protectiveness around identity.
• Protection strategies formed early in life often persist without awareness.
• Naming these patterns helps loosen their hold.
• Integration creates space for growth, agency, and forward movement.

This episode is Part 1 of a two-part series on identity. Part 1 focuses on early experiences and the ways we learn to protect parts of who we are. Part 2 will explore what it looks like to integrate those parts and move forward with greater clarity and freedom.

1. Can you remember a moment when you learned to shrink or protect part of your identity based on someone else’s response?
2. Where do you still notice that vulnerable, protective feeling showing up in your life today?

The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland

There Plant Eyes: A Personal and Cultural History of Blindness by M. Leona Godin

What Does Grief Need? (DoubleVision Podcast)

Access Intimacy (DoubleVision Podcast)

As the holidays approach, the kitchen can become a place of belonging uncertainty for people with vision loss, especially when traditions and expectations meet accessibility challenges. In this special Thanksgiving episode, Joy and Jenelle are joined by Chef Debra from The Blind Kitchen. They discuss the importance of creating inclusive kitchen spaces, and the value of universal culinary tools. Chef Deborah shares her journey from being the only blind student in culinary school to building a business that empowers people with vision loss to cook with confidence. The conversation highlights the significance of trust, community, and creativity in the kitchen.

Check out Chef Debra’s work at https://theblindkitchen.com

In this episode, Jenelle and Joy discuss their experiences growing up with retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye condition. They explore the concept of 'belonging uncertainty' and how it affects individuals, especially those with vision loss. The twin sisters share personal stories and insights on creating inclusive environments and the importance of universal design in social gatherings. They also touch on the significance of audio descriptions in media and the impact of thoughtful hosting on fostering a sense of belonging.

RESOURCES:

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37424706-the-art-of-gathering

Blind Dance Mom Blog Post - https://doublevisionblog.com/2023/03/01/blind-dance-mom-accessible-moments-matter/

In this episode of DoubleVision Podcast, hosts Jenelle and Joy explore the complex topic of grief, particularly in the context of progressive vision loss. They discuss the emotional journey of dealing with a degenerative eye condition, sharing personal stories and insights from their blog. The conversation delves into the stages of grief, common misconceptions, and the importance of acknowledging and witnessing grief. They also touch on the role of empathy and community support in navigating these emotions.

Watch the video version of this podcast on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@DoubleVisionBlog

Have an idea for a topic you'd like us to discuss? Leave us a voicemail at 949-414-8336 or send us an email at [email protected].

Resources:

David Kessler - https://grief.com/

Grief Gone Wild - https://doublevisionblog.com/2024/09/17/grief-gone-wild/

The Lenses of Grief - https://doublevisionblog.com/2024/09/14/the-lenses-of-grief/

What does it mean to move forward with courage while still honoring where you are?

This episode explores the balance between bravery and self-compassion as we step into greater visibility.

Episode Description

In this episode, Joy and Jenelle explore the complex emotions that come with vision loss and the layered process of learning to use mobility tools like the white cane. Joined by mental health counselor Melissa Taussig, they discuss the delicate balance between “finding your brave” and honoring where you are in the journey.

Together, they unpack the stigma around cane use, the vulnerability of being seen, and the deep strength that comes from community connection.

This conversation invites listeners to see cane use not as a single act of courage but as an ongoing practice of self-acceptance, growth, and belonging—especially meaningful as we recognize National White Cane Day on October 15th.

Correction

During the episode, we mentioned an incorrect website for Daring Sisters. The correct website is www.daringsisters.org.

Resources in This Episode:

• Daring Sisters – www.daringsisters.org

• The Country of the Blind by Andrew Leland – Find the book here

• Guide Dogs for the Blind O&M Immersion Program – Learn more here

• National Federation of the Blind (NFB) — White Cane Day Free Cane Program – Learn more

• American Council of the Blind (ACB) — White Cane Day – Learn more

If you have an idea for a future episode or a story you’d like to share, please leave us a voice message at 949-414-8336 or email us at [email protected].