Limitless: Blind Beginnings Podcast

Episode 56 - Let's Meet Dougie

This week we’re making things up as we go, flying by the seat of our pants and talking all about the challenging and very fun art of improv! Shawn and co-hosts Leena and Ishita welcome Dougie, a Blind Beginnings volunteer, actor, and improv comedian to the podcast. They discuss how he got into acting and improv, what it’s like performing and teaching over Zoom during COVID, and what some of the challenges he faced breaking into both.

Dougie Cane Comedy on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqWBQjDdEhqxOLyfbiUVmrQ

Blind Beginnings Virtual Camp 2021
https://www.blindbeginnings.ca/virtual-camp-2021/

Blind Beginnings’ mission is to inspire children and youth who are blind or partially sighted and their families through diverse programs, experiences, counseling and peer support, and opportunities to create fulfilling lives. Visit us online at www.blindbeginnings.ca to find out more!

Episode 55 - Let's Talk About VocalEye

This week Shawn and co-host Kolby are very excited to welcome Steph Kirkland, the Executive Director of VocalEye to the podcast. VocalEye is the first live descriptive arts service for the blind in Canada and they discuss how the process works, the challenges of live description and what it means to be providing greater access to the live theater and the Arts for the Blind community. 

VocalEye
http://www.vocaleye.ca

Blind Beginnings’ mission is to inspire children and youth who are blind or partially sighted and their families through diverse programs, experiences, counseling and peer support, and opportunities to create fulfilling lives. Visit us online at www.blindbeginnings.ca to find out more!

Episode 54 - Let's Talk About Gender

This week Shawn is joined by co-hosts Jinnie, Nika, and John to discuss the topic of gender. They discuss everything from how to navigate the issue of gender in social settings when you are blind or partially sighted to how gender roles are formed, how they have started to change over the years and how disability can impact those roles. It’s an open and honest discussion about a fascinating and very important topic that you won’t want to miss!

Blind Beginnings’ mission is to inspire children and youth who are blind or partially sighted and their families through diverse programs, experiences, counseling and peer support, and opportunities to create fulfilling lives. Visit us online at www.blindbeginnings.ca to find out more!

Episode 53 - Our First Anniversary Show!

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year already! This week Shawn is joined by Nika, Kolby, Ishita and Rob to look back at the entire year’s worth of episodes and discuss some of their favorites! Come join us and see which episodes were favorites to record, the most impactful to listen to, and even the most nerve-wracking to be a part of! It’s a celebration of the Limitless Podcast and a peek behind the scenes you don’t want to miss!  

Blind Beginnings’ mission is to inspire children and youth who are blind or partially sighted and their families through diverse programs, experiences, counseling and peer support, and opportunities to create fulfilling lives. Visit us online at www.blindbeginnings.ca to find out more!

Episode 52 - Let’s Talk About Self Advocacy

Being able to advocate about your needs can be challenging for anybody, but especially draining for those in the blind or partially sighted community. This week Shawn is joined by co-hosts Nika, Kolby, and Clement to discuss some of their own experiences self-advocating, some of the challenges faced, as well as the importance of knowing when and how to speak up about your needs.

Blind Beginnings’ mission is to inspire children and youth who are blind or partially sighted and their families through diverse programs, experiences, counseling and peer support, and opportunities to create fulfilling lives. Visit us online at www.blindbeginnings.ca to find out more!

Episode 51 - Let's Talk About Deafblindness

June is Deafblind Awareness Month and to kick it off, Shawn and co-host Kolby welcome Dr. Linda Mamer to talk about deafblindness. Dr. Mamer is a Deafblind Consultant for the Provincial Outreach Program for Deafblindness and she gives us an overview of the many aspects and gradients of deafblindness as well as helping understand the different deafblind communication and teaching methods. We also learn all about ‘yarn bombing’ and how this tactile art is being used to help raise awareness for deafblindness all over the world during the month of June. 

Canadian Deafblind Association
https://www.cdbanational.com/

More information on Deafblind Awareness Month
https://www.cdbanational.com/deafblind-awareness-month/

Blind Beginnings’ mission is to inspire children and youth who are blind or partially sighted and their families through diverse programs, experiences, counseling and peer support, and opportunities to create fulfilling lives. Visit us online at www.blindbeginnings.ca to find out more!

Episode 50 - Let's Talk About Cricket

This week Shawn and co-host Ishita welcome back Jugaad, one of our youth from last week’s Culture and Disability episode, to discuss his passion for his favorite sport, Cricket!  While Cricket may not have much of a presence here in Canada, it’s huge in other countries around the world and if you were ever curious about how it’s played, it’s cultural impact in India, and even how it is adapted for players who are blind or partially sighted, you don’t want to miss this episode! 

Blind Beginnings’ mission is to inspire children and youth who are blind or partially sighted and their families through diverse programs, experiences, counseling and peer support, and opportunities to create fulfilling lives. Visit us online at www.blindbeginnings.ca to find out more!

Episode 49 - Let's Talk About Culture & Disability

May 21 is World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, and in the spirit of embracing and sharing about different cultures, Shawn welcomes Nika, Jinnie, Jugaad, Clement, and Ishita as co-hosts to discuss their own lived experiences navigating disability from within other cultures.  

Blind Beginnings’ mission is to inspire children and youth who are blind or partially sighted and their families through diverse programs, experiences, counseling and peer support, and opportunities to create fulfilling lives. Visit us online at www.blindbeginnings.ca to find out more!

Episode 48 - Let’s Talk About Moms

This past week saw us celebrate Mother’s Day, so we wanted to do something special to honor Moms in this episode of the podcast. As a Mom herself, Shawn takes the week off as host, turns the show over to Ishita and Jill, and takes a seat in the guest chair. Shawn and special guest Lovette describe their experiences of becoming Moms through the lens of being blind, some of the hurdles they faced, adaptations they needed to make, and the joys that motherhood brings. 

Blind Beginnings’ mission is to inspire children and youth who are blind or partially sighted and their families through diverse programs, experiences, counseling and peer support, and opportunities to create fulfilling lives. Visit us online at www.blindbeginnings.ca to find out more!

Episode 47- Let's Talk About Mental Health

Mental Health Awareness Week is May 3 - 9, 2021 and this year it’s more important than ever to take some time and reflect on the importance of mental health. Over 40% of Canadians have reported that their mental health has deteriorated since the pandemic began, and the feelings of uncertainty, stress, and anxiety felt can be overwhelming. This week Shawn welcomes Nika back to the podcast to talk about the importance of promoting mental health and overcoming the stigma that some people still feel about discussing it openly, sharing personal stories about various struggles as well as offering some strategies on coping and maintaining good mental health.

Blind Beginnings’ mission is to inspire children and youth who are blind or partially sighted and their families through diverse programs, experiences, counseling and peer support, and opportunities to create fulfilling lives. Visit us online at www.blindbeginnings.ca to find out more!