Living Blind Living Blind

In this episode of the Living Blind Podcast, Naomi sat down not once but twice with the amazing and accomplished Kim Kilpatrick. While many blind tech users in Canada know Kim as the co-founder and leader of the Get Together with Technology Program of the Canadian Council of the Blind, in fact, Kim has a rich and varied career path, starting with Music Therapy and moving through technology coaching all the way through to a writer and storytelling performance artist! She began her career as a music therapist working with people with dementia and in palliative care. She has served on many boards and committees including Braille Literacy Canada where she is currently the vice president. Kim shares all the fascinating little stories from a lifetime devoted to the welfare of others and the sharing of knowledge, and what shines through in this conversation is how much she has loved every aspect of her multiple career experiences. As Naomi says: “Kim’s natural ability to connect with people of all ages and abilities through the arts struck me as we talked. It is clear that this, along with her passion for technology and Braille, are what enables her to connect with others to inspire change.”



Organizations with which Kim is affiliated:


MASC offers schools and communities arts experiences led by professional artists
Ottawa StoryTellers promotes the art of storytelling in Ottawa.
Radical Connections transforms healthcare with all kinds of artists.

Get in touch with Kim: kimstoryteller@icloud.com

If you would like to weigh in on this topic, send us an email at livingblindpodcast@balancefba.org or in the Living Blind Listeners Group on Facebook.

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In this first episode Season 4 of Living Blind, we delve just a little bit into the complex gender area of masculinity and how it intersects with the lived experience of blindness. Wikipedia defines “masculinity” as “a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles associated with men and boys. Masculinity can be theoretically understood as socially constructed, and there is also evidence that some behaviors considered masculine are influenced by both cultural factors and biological factors. To what extent masculinity is biologically or socially influenced is subject to debate. It is distinct from the definition of the biological male sex, as anyone can exhibit masculine traits.” While our society (and many cultures) stereotypically emphasizes the attributes of strength, capability and the role of “provider” with being “manly”, it (our society, and many cultures of the world) also stereotypically associates disability (even in the use of the word) with weakness or frailty, and dependence or lack of capacity (hence often the use of the word “handicapped”). In this episode, Paul Mack, Life Coach, and Jeffrey Rainey, former podcast producer, two men of different ages who are blind, discuss what it has meant to them to grow up and become men, and how their masculinity, and the expectations that go with it, both external and internal, intersect with their experiences as men who live with sight loss. Yes, blindness exists in a sighted world where it is associated with a lack of capacity, but Paul argues that his blindness doesn’t keep him from being a reliable partner or parent. And Jeff points out the challenges inherent in important life experiences such as dating. The following is a link to a research article about the subject of Masculinity and Disability, available online.

If you would like to weigh in on this topic, send us an email at livingblindpodcast@balancefba.org or in the Living Blind Listeners Group on Facebook. We realize we have only just scratched the
surface of this challenging and important subject.

During our Because of BALANCE campaign, our Grand Prize
included the opportunity to be a podcast episode curator, selecting a past
episode to discuss “on air.” Our top fundraiser, Elizabeth Mohler joins us for
a special Throwback Thursday episode. Elizabeth chose to discuss her favorite
episode, "Mental Health Matters with Lisa Derencinovic," where Lisa
delved into the crucial topics of mental health, overcoming stigma, and
prioritizing self-care. With mental health always a major challenge for so many,
we couldn’t think of a better way to complete our season and start the summer
break. Our producer Jeffrey Rainey enjoyed chatting with Elizabeth, and her
insights add a fresh perspective to this important conversation. It's the
perfect way to wrap up the season on a high note! 

 

Links:

 

Elizabeth C. Mohler – Creating a Culture of Accessibility in
the Sciences: https://elizabethmohler.ca/.

 

All about her book: Creating a Culture of Accessibility
in the Sciences.

 

All about Lisa Derencinovic: https://www.healingcollective.ca/collective-members/lisa-derencinovic/

 

 

What did you think
of this episode? Get in touch with the podcast by joining our Listeners Facebook
group, or by sending us
an email at LivingBlindPodcast@BalanceFBA.org.

Follow BALANCE For Blind Adults on Facebook,

Twitter,


Instagram,
and

Youtube.

 

The show notes and transcription for this podcast can be
found at
BalanceFBA.org/Podcast.

 

Donate to BALANCE: BalanceFBA.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this episode, Alexis Fabricius introduces us to the world of self-defense tailored specifically for
the visually impaired and individuals with vision loss. Join us as we cover a wealth of knowledge and techniques that will empower individuals to navigate their surroundings with confidence and safety. From specialized training methods to assistive technologies, we explore the innovative approaches that equip and empower the visually impaired community to defend themselves effectively. Tune in to gain invaluable insights and embark on a transformative journey of empowerment and self-defense mastery.

 

Links:

 

Study: Navigating violence and risk: A critical discourse
analysis of blind women's portrayals of self-protective measures.

 

Email Alexis at alexis.fabricius@gmail.com.

 

What did you think of this episode? Get in touch with the podcast by joining our Listeners Facebook group, or by sending us an email at
LivingBlindPodcast@BalanceFBA.org.

Follow BALANCE For Blind Adults on Facebook,

Twitter,

Instagram, and

Youtube.

 

The show notes and transcription for this podcast can be found at BalanceFBA.org/Podcast.

 

Donate to BALANCE: BalanceFBA.org

 

 

Ever
wonder about getting more physically active or participating in a team sport?
This episode aims to answer all your questions about sports participation for
people who are blind.  Our guest is Glen Wade, President of the Ontario Blind Sports Association. Glen established his
love of sports as a young boy, and it was at the Ontario School for the Blind
(now W. Ross MacDonald School) where he was able to try out and compete in many
sports such as hockey, baseball, football, wrestling and goalball. He would go
on to pursue goalball professionally, representing Ontario 12 times at the
national championships, and was named to the Canadian team 4 times with 2 trips
to the Paralympics in 1984 and 1992.

After several decades as an amateur athlete, he decided to
turn his attention over to sports administration. He began assisting with
events run by the Ontario Blind Sports Association (OBSA) in 2011, and was elected president in 2012. He attributes his success and quality of life largely to the lessons he has learned through sports, including drive,
preparedness, persistence and leadership.

In addition to explaining how the sport of goalball is
played, and learning about his sporting career, Glen gives some helpful advice on
how to make sports like baseball, hockey and running accessible for children
and adults who are blind.

Our guest host for this episode is Madeleine Sommerville.
During her student occupational therapy placement at BALANCE, Madeleine was
given the opportunity to conduct an interview on the topic of her choosing for
the show. As a long-time soccer player and sports fan, she decided to bring these two passions together, and reached out to the Ontario Blind Sports
Association, and before long she found herself sitting down with the President!
Madeleine currently works as an Occupational Therapist in school-based
rehabilitation services in Parry Sound Ontario.

 

Links:

 

Learn more about The Ontario Blind Sports Association by
visiting their nicely designed  Website.

 

Find Madeleine Sommerville on LinkedIn.

 

Email Glen Wade at glenw@rogers.com,
OBSA program manager Richard Amelard at Richard@Blindsports.on.ca, and
Executive Director Randa Gohary at randa@blindsports.on.ca.

 

 

What did you think of this episode? Get in touch with
the podcast by joining our Listeners Facebook
group, or by sending us
an email at LivingBlindPodcast@BalanceFBA.org.

Follow BALANCE For Blind Adults on Facebook,

Twitter,

Instagram,
and

Youtube.

 

The show notes and transcription for this podcast can be
found at
BalanceFBA.org/Podcast.

 

Donate to BALANCE: BalanceFBA.org

 

 

 

 

In light of April being National Volunteer month in North America, we decided to shine the spotlight on three of our wonderful volunteers here at Balance for our next instalment of Living Blind. Or, as we like to call it, The Volunteer’s Voluntell! Join Naomi Hazlett  as she sits down with Myurika Sithamparanathan, Martin Courcelles, and Greg Pickios. These three have very different responsibilities with the organization, with Myurika operating on the front lines with clients, and Martin serving behind the scenes with the board of directors. And Greg, well, has a foot in both camps.

 

Greg Pickios has Worked for a number of years in a marketing capacity for the internet division of various media companies. He recently went back to college to earn a Diploma as a Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy Assistant, and currently works as an OTA and PTA. Volunteering with Balance has allowed him the opportunity to marry these two passions, and improve the lives of the blind and low vision clients he works with. Additionally, He serves as the transcriber of the Living Blind podcast, and we thank him very much for his continued hard work.

 

Myurika Sithamparanathan immigrated to Canada when she was 10 years old, and is a recent graduate from the University of Toronto, with an honours bachelor of science degree. Her passion for helping people with various needs started from a young age, and she has volunteered at BALANCE for 2 years. In that time she has served as a tele-support counselor, a life skills assistant, the facilitator for Coffee Connections, and much more. Her passion for volunteering to help those in the
community stems from the work her father did as a field staff in Sri Lanka, supporting displaced people and their families during the Civil war.

 

Martin courcelles brings over 15 years of expertise in the
realm of screen reading technology, and currently works at CIBC on the accessibility team as a User Experience Accessibility consultant. As a person with lived experience having to use access technology every day, Martin explains how to improve web properties and smartphone apps to ensure accessibility for all. He’s a subject matter expert at using JAWS, NVDA and Narrator on the PC, and Voiceover and Talkback on smartphones.

He became a Balance client back in 1999, when he required orientation and mobility training around the city of Toronto. Wanting to give back to the community and to the organization that was there for him when he needed help, he has enjoyed his time volunteering as a member on our
board of directors so much, he’s come back twice! In his downtime, Martin
enjoys running, hiking, tandem cycling and other outdoor activities.

 

 

Links:

 

Follow Greg on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/greg-pickios-62544315/

 

Follow Myurika on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/myurika-sithamparanathan-hbsc-a67034225/

 

Send her an email: MYURIKAS@gmail.com.

 

Follow Martin on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martin-courcelles-57271915/

 

And on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/martin.courcelles/

 

 

IF you would like to volunteer at Balance, please visit https://www.balancefba.org/volunteer-at-balance/

 

What did you think of The Volunteer’s Voluntell? Get in touch with the podcast by joining our Listeners Facebook
group, or by sending us
an email at LivingBlindPodcast@BalanceFBA.org.

Follow Balance For Blind Adults on Facebook,

Twitter,

Instagram,
and

Youtube.

 

The show notes and transcription for this podcast can be found at
BalanceFBA.org/Podcast.

 

Donate to BALANCE: BalanceFBA.org