This Is What Blind Looks Like

Description: Join Kimberly and Angie as they begin their "Blind Sports" series. Their first guest in this three episode series is Salmaan, a 26 year old Blind Hockey player. Having lost his vision as a teen, he shares how he has kept his love of athleticism and love for hiking and the outdoors.

In this special holiday release Angie and Kimberly share tips and techniques on how the blind and/or visually impaired handle shopping. They offer suggestions based on their own personal experiences with both online shopping and in store shopping.

Angie and Kimberly interview their fourth and final guest for the Guide Dog series. Alex tells her story as both a blind individual and a wheelchair user. She explains her determination to train her own dog and all the challenges of cross training.

Angie and Kimberly had the pleasure to sit with Julie Johnson, a guide dog owner trainer/handler who also owns her own store and makes products for guide dog users. she talks about how she decided to owner train, the process of choosing a service dog prospect, and what goes in to training your own guide dog. She even wrote a book all about it! Links: Volhard Puppy Aptitude Test: https://www.volhard.com/pages/pat.php Julie Johnson's store "On-the-go" for guide dog handlers and service dog handlers: https://www.guide-and-service-dogs.com Courage to Dare: A Blind Woman's quest to train her own guide dog by Julie Johnson: https://www.amazon.com/Courage-Dare-Blind-Womans-Quest-ebook/dp/B00QXZSMOC

For Part 2 of this episode, Angie and Kimberly sit down with Elaine Mara , a guiding eyes graduate living in Florida. She talks about what going away to guide dog school is like, her experience being a handler, and dealing with retiring a dog guide. Links: Guiding eyes for the Blind https://www.guidingeyes.org The International Guide Dog Federation https://www.igdf.org.uk

This Episode was recorded in May. Where we talk all about guide dogs! For Part 1 of this episode, Angie and Kimberly sit down with Kristin Miller from Texas, who went through Fidelco and trained in her home with her guide dog. Other topics of discussion include the history of guide dogs, service dogs and the ADA, the difference between a service animal, an emotional support animal, and a therapy dog. We also cover what makes someone eligible for a guide dog and we throw in a few facts about guide dogs through out this segment. Links: The Americans with Disabilities Act and SERvice Animals: https://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm Guide Dog schools mentioned in part 1 of this episode: Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, Inc. https://www.fidelco.org The Seeing Eye https://www.seeingeye.org Guide Dogs for the Blind https://www.guidedogs.com Mira Canada https://www.mira.ca/en/ Mira USA http://www.mirausa.org

in the second part of this episode, Angie and Kimberly talk to Heather Fritz who is a former Orientation and Mobility Specialist in the school district of the town she lives in. She dicusses COMS methods of teaching o&m, different types of canes and cane techniques, and echolocation. COMS: https://www.acvrep.org/certifications/coms Ambutech canes: https://ambutech.com National Federation of the Blind Free White Cane Program: https://www.nfb.org/programs-services/free-white-cane-program An article on Echolocation: https://www.rnib.org.uk/rnibconnect/blind-echolocation

On the first part of this episode, Angie and Kimberly discuss orientation and mobility. The history behind it and how important it is for a blind person to know how to get around confidently. They are joined by their first guest Rob Hobson, who is a former cane travel instructor who taught travel at Blind Incorporated. They talk about what structured discovery is, the different types of canes that are available for the blind to use, as well as some cane techniques. Links: National Blindness Professional Certification Board: https://www.nbpcb.org/nomc/ History of orientation and mobility article: https://www.afb.org/FOM3V1/book.asp?ch=int

This Episode was recorded on January 23rd, 2019. Angie and Kimberly introduce their very first guest on the show, Carissa Mallman. They discuss the topic of vision loss and the resources that are out thee to help those going through vision loss. Carissa shares her story on how she lost her vision and overcame it. WE also hear Kimberly's story on how she gradually lost vision due to two failed cornea transplants. Kimberly also discusses how blindness adjustment training helped her cope with vision loss and see life differently. information on blindness organizations: United States: National Federation of the Blind nfb.org American Council of the Blind acb.org American Foundation for the Blind afb.org Canada: CNIB Foundation cnib.ca United Kingdom: RNIB rnib.org.uk

Angie and Kimberly discuss assistive technology and the importance of accessibility. We discuss several pieces of assistive technology that is out there to enhance the lives of Blind people such as braille note takers and displays, screen readers, screen magnification software, wearable technology, low vision aids, and more...