Trek for Vision – Vision Australia Radio
This week I had the opportunity for an interview with Peter Greco on Vision Australia Radio – South Australia. This is my fourth interview now, so I’m feeling like I’m almost a regular!! Peter was keen to hear about Trek for Vision, the 5-day trek to New Zealand to support Vision Australia’s Quality Living Program. […]
International White Cane Day – The Forgotten Awareness Day
Everyone knows about Red Nose Day, right?It’s a fundraiser for Sudden Infant Death Syndrome — and you can buy those cute red clown noses at the supermarket checkout. And there are lots of other fundraising days that people rally behind — like Daffodil Day, Jeans for Genes, you name it! But what about International White […]
NEVE
Nature’s Melodies: Birding by Ear in Melbourne – a lived experience story By: Annette Leishman published in NEVE – https://www.neve-plainenglish.wwda.org.au/story/natures-melodies-birding-by-ear-in-melbourne Nothing can be more challenging than birdwatching for people who are blind or have low vision. But “birding-by-ear” is acompletely different experience. It focuses on the sounds of the birds, rather than the sights. As […]
A Coastal Walk – Brighton Bay Beach to Sandringham
On Wednesday, 5 March, a beautiful early autumn day, a group of vision impaired beach lovers from Blind Sports and Recreation Victoria, along with their support workers and volunteers set off for an invigorating coastal walk. We met at the Brighton Beach Station car park and walked across the road to the beach walking track. […]
When Sound replaces Sight in Dance
I had never considered what training with a dance system designed for blind and vision-impaired people would be like. Recently, I had the opportunity to find out. I was invited by Madhuka De Silva, PhD candidate at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, to be part of a research project involved in co-designing a dance system to support […]
27 Dresses and Two Shards of Teeth
I screamed. Not because of the pain, but because I had obliterated my best feature—my two front teeth. Even in the dark, I didn’t need to see them to know the damage was done. Instinctively, I lifted my finger to my mouth to assess the wreckage: my front teeth were shattered. One was broken halfway […]
From Harpstrings to Birdwings: My ABC Podcast
In July 2024, the ABC launched a call for factual stories from people with disabilities aiming to create a series of features to be played on ABC platforms. This initiative was part of the celebration for the International Day of People with Disabilities (IDoPWD)– a day dedicated to showcasing the achievements and lived experiences of […]
Listening to Nature: My Journey Featured on NEVE
Earlier this year, I responded to a request for stories for NEVE, a website where women and girls with disability can tell their stories. I applied because I wanted to tell my story about ‘Birding by Ear’. My story was accepted and here it is below. September 25, 2024 Nature’s Melodies: Birding by Ear in […]
Is Squinting a Sign your Child needs Glasses – or just Plain Cute?
Did you see that? Or would you have missed it, like my youngest brother did for the first 11 years of his life? Glasses for Kids, is a program currently being tested in schools, to screen kids for the need for glasses. If this initiative had been around back in the day, my youngest brother […]
Show Some Respect, You Rude People
I tried to come up with a clever title for this post but couldn’t. I’m just going to say it as it is, because this isn’t some rare occurrence—it happens most days whenever VIPs (Vision Impaired People) dare to go out. This morning, I headed toward the train station like any other day, weaving my […]