Episode Summary
When your vision begins to change, one of the hardest questions can be the simplest: Where do I even start? In the opening episode of a new season of Navigating Life with Vision Loss, host Kim Wardlow sits down with Empish Thomas and Pris Rogers from the APH Connect Center to talk about what comes next when vision loss enters your life.
Empish and Pris walk through the resources available through the APH Connect Center, including VisionAware, CareerConnect, FamilyConnect, and its Getting Started Guide. They discuss practical first steps such as understanding your diagnosis, connecting with vision rehabilitation, finding peer support, learning adaptive technology, and discovering ways to continue doing everyday tasks independently.
The conversation also gets into something deeper: the assumptions people make about blindness. Empish shares her own experience of losing her vision, finding rehabilitation on her own, developing a circle of support, and learning to advocate for herself. Pris emphasizes the importance of family and friends offering support without taking over, allowing a person experiencing vision loss to regain confidence and independence.
The message throughout the episode is practical and hopeful. Vision loss changes things, but it does not mean life is over. You do not have to figure everything out at once. Find good information, connect with people who understand, learn what resources are available, and take the next step one piece at a time.
Contact Information & Resources
APH Connect Center
aphconnectcenter.org
Resources discussed through the Connect Center include:
- VisionAware
- CareerConnect
- FamilyConnect
- APH Getting Started Guide
Aftersight
aftersight.org
The episode also mentions Hadley, Be My Eyes, the American Council of the Blind, the National Federation of the Blind, and vision rehabilitation services. The recording directs listeners specifically to APHConnectCenter.org and Aftersight.org.
Show Credits
Show: Navigating Life with Vision Loss
Host: Kim Wardlow
Guests: Empish Thomas and Pris Rogers
Producer: Jonathan Price
Operational Company: Aftersight
- (00:14) - — A New Season: Where Do I Even Start?
- (01:30) - — Meet Empish Thomas and Pris Rogers
- (03:29) - — What Is the APH Connect Center?
- (05:25) - — What People Need When Vision Begins Changing
- (08:12) - — The Getting Started Guide
- (10:08) - — Finding Resources in Your State
- (11:39) - — Helping Without Taking Over
- (16:56) - — Adaptive Tools and Everyday Independence
- (20:53) - — Finding Peer Support
- (21:27) - — Resources for Every Stage of Life
- (25:19) - — What Vision Rehabilitation Actually Looks Like
- (27:47) - — The Biggest Misconceptions About Blindness
- (32:56) - — Building Support and Becoming Your Own Advocate
- (37:51) - — Take It One Step at a Time
- (40:14) - — Where to Find Help
