Guest host Adam Mock joins Joy Thomas and Jenelle Landgraf for a special 15th anniversary celebration of DoubleVision, the blog they started in 2011 while learning to navigate life with Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Together, they reflect on what they thought DoubleVisionBlog might become, what it actually led to, and the unexpected ways fifteen years of storytelling shaped not only their own lives, but the lives of thousands of readers.

From favorite blog posts and behind-the-scenes writing stories to surprising analytics, lessons learned from one another, and wisdom rediscovered in essays written nearly fifteen years ago, this conversation is both a celebration and a reflection on a journey that is still unfolding.

Posts referenced in this episode:

• "Eight Things I Wish People Knew About Going Blind from a Degenerative Eye Condition"
• "An Open Letter to…"
• "Grief Gone Wild"
• "Reclaiming Our Lives"
• "Midwinter Break: Musings on Badassery, Vulnerability, and Strength"
• "Why We Hide"

Want more? Browse our full library of 327 blog posts spanning over a decade of stories on vision loss, resilience, and everything in between.

Special thanks to our dear friend, Adam Mock, for his skillful and human hosting of this special episode. For more info about Adam's work as a Leadership Coaching Specialist and author of "Rescue Your Dreams: A Guidebook to Save the Life You Forgot You Wanted", visit adammock.com.

In honor of Disability Pride Month, Joy and Jenelle welcome Lachi, 2024 USA Today Woman of the Year, award-winning recording artist, Recording Academy National Trustee, CEO of RAMPD, and author of I Identify as Blind.

This is a conversation that challenged the way Joy and Jenelle think about disability. Days after recording, they were still processing Lachi’s invitation to consider disability joy.

One story Lachi shares from speaking to a room full of disability advocates sparked both internal and external conversations long after the recording ended. In the days that followed, Joy and Jenelle found themselves rethinking daily experiences through the lens of disability joy and even began planning a future episode dedicated to sharing those examples.

Lachi invites listeners to rethink disability, not simply as something to accommodate or overcome, but as a culture, an identity, and even a source of joy. She also challenges listeners to explore their own disability identity, arguing that disability is a far broader umbrella than most people realize.

Along the way, Lachi breaks down the different ways society understands disability through funny, memorable, and surprisingly easy-to-understand examples, shares her journey from masking her blindness to embracing it publicly, and explains why confidence can transform the way the world responds to disability.

Whether you already consider yourself part of the disability community or not, this conversation invites you to explore your own disability identity, rethink what disability pride can mean, and consider where joy fits within your story.

In this episode:

• What disability joy really means and why Lachi calls it an act of resistance
• Why Lachi believes disability is a much broader umbrella than many people realize
• A funny, easy-to-understand framework for understanding disability
• How masking, identity, and self-acceptance shaped Lachi’s journey
• Why community is often the first step toward disability pride and disability joy
• Resources for continuing to learn about disability culture

Resources mentioned:

• I Identify as Blind by Lachi
• RAMPD (Recording Artists and Music Professionals with Disabilities)
• Glam Canes
• Magnificent, Lachi’s children’s album
• Being Human by Judy Heumann
• The Anti-Ableist Manifesto by Tiffany Yu

This is Part 2 of our conversation with Krishna Washburn, founder and artistic director of Dark Room Ballet. What begins as a conversation about dance becomes a much deeper exploration of memory, identity, belonging, and what it means to be fully seen.

Joy and Jenelle talk with Krishna about the importance of trusting our own experiences and perceptions, especially when they don’t fit other people’s assumptions. Along the way, Krishna shares fascinating insights into the world of blind dance education, the rich oral traditions that have preserved knowledge across generations, and the ways art can help us heal, connect, and better understand ourselves.

The conversation also takes an honest look at inclusion, challenging listeners to consider who gets welcomed into our communities, workplaces, and cultural spaces, and who is too often left on the margins. Whether you’re interested in dance or not, this episode offers a powerful reflection on the universal human desire to belong, to have our stories honored, and to contribute our gifts to the world.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

• Reflections on memory, self-trust, and honoring our lived experiences

• The connection between identity, belonging, and the stories we tell ourselves

• How blind educators have preserved knowledge through oral tradition and innovative teaching methods

• Why dance can be a powerful tool for healing, self-expression, and personal transformation

• The emotional impact of being excluded from spaces where you know you belong

• What true inclusion looks like, and practical ways we can all help create it

• Why accessibility is about more than accommodation and is ultimately a matter of human dignity

Guest: Krishna Washburn

Krishna Washburn is a ballet educator, audio description specialist, and blind professional dancer. Through Dark Room Ballet, she has trained more than 1,500 dancers and developed tuition-free collegiate and pre-professional arts training opportunities for blind and visually impaired adults. She is also a contributor to the upcoming Oxford Handbook of Ballet Pedagogy.

Links & Resources

Dark Room Ballet
https://darkroomballet.com

Double Vision Podcast
https://www.doublevisionblog.com

Voicemail Line
949-414-8336

This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation recorded in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. Joy and Jenelle sit down with Krishna Washburn, founder and artistic director of Dark Room Ballet, for a fascinating deep dive into the world of audio description, blind-led arts, and what true accessibility in the performing arts really looks like.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode

• What audio description is, and why even sighted audience members often end up loving it

• Krishna’s story of attending a live performance with audio description and realizing something fundamental was missing

• Why audio description designed for television often fails when applied to live dance, and what needs to change

• How Pacific Northwest Ballet is doing it right by integrating audio describers as full members of the production team

• What to look for, and what to avoid, when buying tickets to an audio described performance

• Krishna’s upcoming free 5-week Audio Description course beginning May 30th, open to everyone with no dance background required

Guest: Krishna Washburn

Krishna is a ballet educator, audio description specialist, and blind professional dancer. Through Dark Room Ballet, she has trained more than 1,500 dancers and developed tuition-free collegiate and pre-professional arts training for blind and visually impaired adults. She is also a contributor to the upcoming Oxford Handbook of Ballet Pedagogy.

Links & Resources

Dark Room Ballet
https://darkroomballet.com

Email Dark Room Ballet

[email protected]

Free 5-Week Audio Description Course
https://darkroomballet.com

Joy’s “Blind Dance Mom” post

Pacific Northwest Ballet
https://www.pnb.org

Double Vision Blog
https://www.doublevisionblog.com

Voicemail Line
949-414-8336

Expanding on a conversation Joy and Jenelle began in an earlier episode, “How to Handle Over-Helpers”, they are joined by one of their favorite authors, Rebekah Taussig, for her first appearance on the podcast.

Together, they dig into surprisingly similar stories, from growing up with internalized shame around disability to the awkwardness of being prayed for in public to delicately navigating well-meaning people and organizations. Along the way, they unpack the layers inside stories that are sometimes uncomfortable, sometimes funny, and always deeply human.

Rebekah Taussig is a writer, speaker, and author of the bestselling memoir Sitting Pretty and We Are the Scrappy Ones.

Connect with Rebekah Taussig:

• Instagram
• Substack
• Website

Join us as Dr. Kierstyn Napier-Dovorany, an optometrist specializing in low vision rehabilitation, shares her journey into eye care, her work supporting individuals with vision impairment, and her insights into emerging treatments and clinical trials.

With over 20 years of experience, Kierstyn brings a unique perspective as both a practitioner and a clinical researcher. She helps us explore the intersection of lived experience, mobility, and the evolving science of vision care, while also offering practical guidance for navigating resources and opportunities in the field.

In this conversation, we dive into topics such as:

* Why many people are not hearing about clinical trials from their eye doctors
* How to find and evaluate clinical trials
* The role of low vision rehabilitation in supporting independence and quality of life
* The balance between identity, self-acceptance, and advancements in treatment
* How Dr. Kierstyn approaches conversations with individuals who feel strongly connected to their blind identity and may not wish to pursue treatment
* What’s on the horizon in research for genetic retinal conditions

This episode weaves together science, accessibility, and real-world insight in a way that is both informative and deeply human.

Resources Mentioned:

* ClinicalTrials.gov: https://clinicaltrials.gov
* Foundation Fighting Blindness: https://www.fightingblindness.org
* Ray Therapeutics: https://raytherapeutics.com

Guest:
Dr. Kierstyn Napier-Dovorany is an optometrist who has practiced low vision rehabilitation for twenty years. She is a vision scientist specializing in vision impairment and mobility and currently works as a clinical researcher at Ray Therapeutics, a company developing treatments for genetic retinal diseases.

Join us as Dr. Kierstyn Napier-Dovorany, an optometrist specializing in low vision rehabilitation, shares her journey into eye care, her work supporting individuals with vision impairment, and her insights into emerging treatments and clinical trials.

With over 20 years of experience, Kierstyn brings a unique perspective as both a practitioner and a clinical researcher. She helps us explore the intersection of lived experience, mobility, and the evolving science of vision care, while also offering practical guidance for navigating resources and opportunities in the field.

In this conversation, we dive into topics such as:

* Why many people are not hearing about clinical trials from their eye doctors
* How to find and evaluate clinical trials
* The role of low vision rehabilitation in supporting independence and quality of life
* The balance between identity, self-acceptance, and advancements in treatment
* How Dr. Kierstyn approaches conversations with individuals who feel strongly connected to their blind identity and may not wish to pursue treatment
* What’s on the horizon in research for genetic retinal conditions

This episode weaves together science, accessibility, and real-world insight in a way that is both informative and deeply human.

Resources Mentioned:

* ClinicalTrials.gov: https://clinicaltrials.gov
* Foundation Fighting Blindness: https://www.fightingblindness.org
* Ray Therapeutics: https://raytherapeutics.com

Guest:
Dr. Kierstyn Napier-Dovorany is an optometrist who has practiced low vision rehabilitation for twenty years. She is a vision scientist specializing in vision impairment and mobility and currently works as a clinical researcher at Ray Therapeutics, a company developing treatments for genetic retinal diseases.

What would you do if someone offered you a cure tomorrow? For Joy and Jenelle, that question is anything but simple. In this episode, they explore the deeply personal tension between accepting who you are and wanting something more, unpacking cure culture, disability identity, and the vulnerability that comes with allowing yourself to hope. Plus, a sneak peek at their upcoming conversation with Dr. Kirstyn Dovorany.

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.