We’re heading into the kitchen for this episode of the podcast as Shawn welcomes co-hosts Keisha and Kolby to the show to discuss their experiences in the kitchen, from experiences of shopping for groceries to the struggles of inaccessible appliances. It’s an episode full of learning that you’ll also be hungry by then end of, so you don’t want to miss it!

This week Shawn and co-host Keisha welcome Dan Mancina, one of the pioneers in blind  skateboarding to the show. They discuss how he got into the sport, how he has adapted it, and his efforts to build the world’s first adaptive skatepark.

Synesthesia is the term for when you experience one of your senses through another. For example, you might hear the name "Alex" and see green, and people who have this ability are called synesthetes. This week Shawn welcomes Jugaad, Keisha, Jinnie, and Monty to the show, all of whom are synesthetes. They discuss the various different types of synesthesia, how it manifests for them and describe what it’s like and the various ways it impacts their daily lives. If you’ve never heard of synesthesia or ever wondered what colour Tuesday is, you won’t want to miss this fascinating episode!

It’s a very spooktacular episode this week as Shawn welcomes Nika, Nolan, and Leena to the show to discuss Halloween, from their favourite memories and how this spooky holiday may or may not have been adapted to how they currently celebrate and plans for this year! 

This week Shawn and co-host Keisha welcome Mark Bentz, entrepreneur, business owner, and member of the blindness community to the show to talk about employment and the benefits of inclusive hiring practices for businesses and discuss some of the qualities that can make an employee who is blind or partially sighted a huge asset to any company.

Our Blindness Awareness Month content continues this week as Shawn is joined by co-host Acacia as they welcome Adam to the show to discuss Albinism. They discuss its definition, de-bunk various myths, and share stories about what it’s like living with Albinism.

It’s Blindness Awareness Month and Shawn and co-host Keisha are kicking off the month by welcoming former Seeing Eye Guide Dog trainer Sarah to the show for a fascinating deep dive into what the process of what training is like. From puppy-hood to handing off the dog to its new handler and owner, we talk about what makes a successful guide dog candidate, some of the challenges of training, and much much more! If you're a dog lover or curious to learn more about the scope of work and care that goes into training each individual dog, this is one episode you won’t want to miss!

You might be surprised at how often those who are blind or partially sighted get approached by people in public and are told that they are brave, just for going about the normal activities of their day. This week Shawn welcomes co-hosts Nika and Keisha to the show to discuss this common occurrence and to have an open and honest conversation about how it makes them feel, how it can play into common misconceptions about what it’s like to be blind or partially sighted, and some of the things that they do that does take bravery.

For some people with vision loss, eye surgeries can be something that they have to deal with at multiple points in their lives. This week Shawn sits down with co-hosts Nika and Jill, both of whom have had Ocular Surgeries both recently and in the past, and talk about their experiences, from their initial emotions and nervousness at their respective procedures and how they prepared, to aftercare and dealing with the results.

It’s back to school this week for many students, and to mark the occasion Shawn and co-hosts Nolan, Ishita and Jugaad discuss what it's like to join clubs and extracurricular activities when you are blind or partially sighted. From Chess Club to Student Council, they discuss some of the barriers and adaptations that they experienced and the importance of extracurricular activities to be inclusive to all students. 

Sending a child who is blind or partially sighted to school for the first time can be a stressful and daunting experience for parents, full of uncertainty and anxiety. This week Shawn is joined by Shawna and Maria, both parents of children who are blind to discuss some of the ways to prepare for this important transition into the school system as well as how to work with educational professionals to try to ensure the best possible experience for both students and parents.

Summertime is the time for Camps, and Camp Hornby (which we featured in our last episode) isn’t the only camp that Blind Beginnings ran over the summer. On October 16, 2022, Blind Beginnings is hosting a Fashion Show featuring blind or partially sighted youth models and in preparation, we held a Fashion Camp that was designed to bring the models participating in this special event together to meet, bond, and learn about modelling and fashion. In this episode we reunite Fashion Campers Nika, Acacia, Nolan, and Aly to talk about their experiences at the camp, what their favourite parts were, and what made them choose to become involved in the Limitless Beauty Fashion Show. 

It’s another very special episode this week as we celebrate one of the most popular and long standing Blind Beginnings programs, Camp Hornby! For the first time in almost three years Blind Beginnings hosted this overnight camp for youth who are blind and partially sighted and their families, running from July 17 - 21 2022 at the Tribune Bay Outdoor Education Centre. Shawn is joined by podcast producer Rob Mineault to talk about Camp Hornby, from its origins and the many different activities held to the impact that it has on the families that attend, complete with clips that we recorded from this year’s Camp! 

What’s it like trying to learn another language when you are blind or partially sighted? This week Shawn and co-hosts Randi, Jinnie, and Clement discuss their own experiences learning other languages and talk about some of the common challenges and hurdles within school systems  when it comes to accessing language learning materials and resources as well as the benefits and opportunities that learning other languages can bring. 

With the summer holidays in full swing and many people traveling again, the podcast is going international this week! Shawn and co-host Alethea talk with guests Aly and Nicholas, both of whom spent parts of their lives growing up in Mexico and Bermuda, respectively. They discuss some of the key differences between Canada and other countries in terms of services and resources available, mobility, transit and accessibility options, and even some of the cultural differences on how disability is viewed. 

It’s an out-of-this-world episode this week as Shawn and co-hosts Jill, Jugaad, and Nolan welcome Dan Oates, coordinator of Space Camp for Interested Visually Impaired Students (SCIVIS) to the show to discuss this long running program which provides youth who are blind or partially sighted all over the world with the opportunity to attend a week long camp at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. They discuss the origins of the program, what kind of activities take place at the camp, and the various sources of funding and scholarships available.