Grant Hardy introduces us to the Mayday Club’s Amplify: Sound, Voice, and Radio course that took place this fall, in partnership with Disability Alliance BC. The sixteen-week course provided neurodivergent youth with hands-on experience in the fields of voice acting and radio hosting, including the opportunity to create an original radio series.

Nicole Provost, the Founder of Mayday Club, shares what Mayday Club is: a grassroots initiative to empower neurodivergent youth by providing employment, leadership and travel opportunities. She also tells us about the Amplify Course and its impact on participants.

Students Joey Lim and Liam Cooper speak about their experience in the Amplify course, as well as share a sneak-peak of the radio episodes they created.

Jason Simpson with On the Mic Voice Training has over two decades of studio experience spanning commercials, animated series, films, and video games. He was an instructor for the Amplify course, and chats with us about his experience and takeaways.

The students' produced mini-series airs on CIVL Radio this spring; the first episode, an original drama, airs on December 25th.

To keep up with Mayday Club and find out more about the Amplify course, visit https://maydayclub.ca/amplify/.

About AMI

AMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+

Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:

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This past week proposed amendments to the Canada Post Corporation Act surfaced, and free postage for literature for the blind could be removed. Joeita Gupta heard the alarming news and noticed how deeply it was affecting people in her close circles. Joeita is inviting you to listen to this episode of Reflections to find out why these amendments are so concerning, how you can use your voice to support the cause, and the lasting impacts a change like this could have.  

Jeffrey Rainey of Braille Literacy Canada will share his severe concern for the future literacy of blind Canadians if these amendments are made, and Canada Post takes action.  

What is the process for these amendments to be appealed? Brian Klunder of Temple Scott Associates is going to tell us all we need to know about how a bill is read in the House of Commons and the Senate.  

CELA, the Centre for Equitable Library Access is taking these potential amendments incredibly seriously, as it could threaten their ability to serve clients. CELA’s Executive Director Laurie Davidson joins us to share her take on these proposed changes to Bill C-15.  

Diane Bergeron is the CNIB’s Head of International Partnerships, and she will explain how these proposed amendments could also impact Canada’s international obligations in the United Postal Union Convention.  

Plus, we’ll hear from Canada Post and the office of Minister Joel Lightbound, Minister for Government Transformation, Public Works and Procurement through statements provided to Joeita, and read by Reflections Feature Reporter Nisreen Abdel-Majid.  

If you would like to send a letter to your local Member of Parliament, you can use CELA’s template available here.

About AMI

AMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+

Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:

• X /Twitter @AccessibleMedia
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• Facebook at @AccessibleMediaInc
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• Email [email protected]

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You can become a celebrity overnight and make money online, at a price, of course. And what’s that price when you’re a minor? Let’s find out the realities of becoming a kid influencer.

When you’re not yet legally an adult, being a star can bring danger. The Ivey Business School at Western University conducted a study on “kidfluencing,” and we learn what they discovered with Lead Research Professor Daniel Clark, covering rights, consent, exploitation, and the gray areas and pitfalls of parenting kid influencers.

Gabby Mendonca shares how freedom of expression can be compromised, drawing on her own experiences as a social media influencer and a person living with disability.

John Melville, Vice President of Content Development and Operations at AMI, helps us tie together the pieces of online influencing—from making content to making money off content.

About AMI

AMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+

Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:

• X /Twitter @AccessibleMedia
• Instagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audio
• Facebook at @AccessibleMediaInc
• TikTok @AccessibleMediaInc
• Email [email protected]

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Holidays are the perfect time to gather with friends, family, coworkers, and your community. But how do hosts ensure that whether they’re in a grand banquet hall or trying to squeeze a few more chairs around their own dinner table, they’re creating an accessible space for everybody? 

From washrooms to festive attire, holiday lights to food allergies, join Joeita Gupta to find out how you or your organization can host an accessible gathering at any time in the year.

Rosemarie Rosetti provides accessibility consultations through her business Rosetti Enterprises LLC. and has tips for making your home physically accessible ahead of your holiday party. For the corporate holiday gathering, Trish Kelly from Untapped Accessibility explains what organizers can do to create a party with tailored spaces and activities for their attendees. Plus, Rosemarie and Trish will weigh in on how to move things along socially to take some pressure off guests at your event.  

How about the home cook? How can they make their holiday party preparations a little less stressful, and safe for everyone? Renee Rentmeester, Executive Producer of the Cooking Without Looking TV Show and podcast, will share how she prepares cookies, candy, and allergy-safe environments for her friends and family. Plus, Joeita wants to know what do you do if you burn your dessert? 

We hope you have a safe, accessible, and festive holiday season, whatever way you celebrate! Happy Holidays from AMI-audio!

About AMI

AMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+

Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:

• X /Twitter @AccessibleMedia
• Instagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audio
• Facebook at @AccessibleMediaInc
• TikTok @AccessibleMediaInc
• Email [email protected]

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Grant Hardy explores how artists are going beyond the visual, reimagining how we experience art in diverse and multisensory forms.

Violinist Leslie Ting's show, What Brings You In, in partnership with Theatre Passe-Muraille, is centred around the nonvisual experience for the audience, inviting people to participate in unique, auditory ways.

Nonvisual, social practice artist Carmen Papalia shares details on his multisensory art projects, such as the Weather Warlock, which transforms the weather into soothing soundscapes; and describes his accessible navigation experience using a marching band.

We also hear from Gagan Saran, a blind Indo-Canadian emerging artist and Writer, about how her work is challenging assumptions surrounding art and accessibility.

About AMI

AMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+

Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:

• X /Twitter @AccessibleMedia
• Instagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audio
• Facebook at @AccessibleMediaInc
• TikTok @AccessibleMediaInc
• Email [email protected]

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Can martial arts traditions help people with disabilities take on the world more confidently? Let's continue to explore this question, while we learn about martial arts mindsets and philosophies.

Chris James is the Lead Instructor of the self defence workshops ran periodically at Balance for Blind Adults in Toronto. He, along with Kathleen Wilson and Mags Storey, share how they approach teaching blind and low vision participants self-defence techniques.

We hear from Clement Chou, who introduces us to Aikido, a martial arts practice that he took on as a blind person, after some experimenting and exploring to find the right fit for him.

And Johnny Tai, founder of Night Strike Self-Defence in Richmond, BC, is back. He teaches us what he's learned about martial arts through his years of teaching, learning, and appreciating what these practices and traditions has to offer.

About AMI

AMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+

Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:

• X /Twitter @AccessibleMedia
• Instagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audio
• Facebook at @AccessibleMediaInc
• TikTok @AccessibleMediaInc
• Email [email protected]

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In Part 2 of this series, Grant Hardy digs a bit deeper into what is being done to treat chronic pain, and asks how people living with chronic pain can re-train their brains to lessen the impact of pain on their lives.

Kara Stanley and Simon Paradis, authors of the book The Pain Project, are back to recount the tactics they’ve used to distract Simon’s brain in real-time when he's experiencing pain flare ups.

Dr. Andrea Furlan returns to highlight some of the techniques she is using with her patients who live with chronic pain.  She also shares some success stories of people whose lives have completely turned around after treatment.  Dr. Furlan is a Physician at Toronto Rehab Hospital, a Scientist at KITE Research Institute – University Health Network Hospital, and Professor of Medicine at University of Toronto. Her YouTube channel provides awareness and education about chronic pain management

About AMI

AMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+

Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:

• X /Twitter @AccessibleMedia
• Instagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audio
• Facebook at @AccessibleMediaInc
• TikTok @AccessibleMediaInc
• Email [email protected]

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The Zero Project works alongside the UN community to spotlight and scale innovations that advance the goals of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. On December 3, the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, it releases a list of award solutions toward its goal: a world with zero barriers.  The full list is at zeroproject.org

AMI-audio Manager Andy Frank spotlights three of these award recipients on this episode.

Kevin Kelly, tells us about the Wayfinding Centre in Dublin, which empowers people and possibility through experience, mobility & transportation.

David Betts was recently diagnosed with ALS and set to work on creating Talk To Me, Goose. We learn about this text-to-speech and AI-assisted communication approach.

Becca Hume, Founder of TapSOS, shares how this app is making emergency outreach accessible for the Deaf and hard of hearing community, and much more.

About AMI

AMI is a media company that entertains, informs and empowers Canadians with disabilities through three broadcast services — AMI-tv and AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French — and streaming platform AMI+. Our vision is to establish AMI as a leader in the offering of accessible content, providing a voice for Canadians with disabilities through authentic storytelling, representation and positive portrayal. To learn more visit AMI.ca and AMItele.ca.

Find more great AMI Original Content on AMI+

Connect with Accessible Media Inc. online:

• X /Twitter @AccessibleMedia
• Instagram @AccessibleMediaInc / @AMI-audio
• Facebook at @AccessibleMediaInc
• TikTok @AccessibleMediaInc
• Email [email protected]

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