Sight Unseen Aotearoa

Kelechi Ogbuehi and Barbara Bucke This show was broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin - oar.org.nz

In this episode Prof Mary talks with Astrid who grew up in East Germany and did her apprenticeship as an ophthalmic optician. She then went on to do her masters in precision engineering, because this was the only choice offered to her in the GDR. At the age of 23, with the support of her family, she managed to leave East Germany and started a new life in the west (in the days before the wall came down). Astrid is very much a free spirit and she eventually chose to come to Aotearoa/NZ, when most people might be thinking about retirement. She now teaches ophthalmology students at the university and volunteers for VICTA in Dunedin. This show was broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin - oar.org.nz

In this episode Karley Parker interviews Professor Mary Butler about the radio show that she has run as part of the Vision Impairment Charitable Trust Aotearoa. The show started during lockdown in 2020, but it has gone on to develop a life of its own. Mary describes the various projects that she has done with VICTA and why she continues to do this work, even through she is now in Australia This show was broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin - oar.org.nz

Becoming a health professional (with VI) - In this episode Prof Mary Butler interviews Jess Charlton in Adelaide. Jess has a rare form of ocular albinism, which means that she can be diagnosed as 'legally blind'. This has not stopped her studying occupational therapy and she has now embarked on her second job as a registered OT. At the same time, she is about to start her PhD. In this episode Jess tells a little about her journey as a student and registered health professional. She also has a few words to say about systems that are not always supportive. This show was broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin - oar.org.nz

In this last interview for the year, Prof Mary Butler talks with Phillippa Pitcher, the founding general manager of Macular Degeneration New Zealand. Phillippa points out how ‘for good’ is a much better description than ‘not for profit’. She talks about the importance of community knowledge about macular degeneration and the work that MDNZ has done to enable this. You can find their work here: https://www.mdnz.org.nz/ This show was broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin - oar.org.nz

This is our last episode in the series about visual impairment and education. In this show Prof Mary Butler talks with Andrew Walker, a ‘nearly’ graduate of occupational therapy. Andrew talks about how supportive other students are, about talking with a supportive registration board, and about how to write about your disability while staying positive. This show was broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin - oar.org.nz

Continuing our series about education and visual impairment, Prof Mary Butler talks with Dr Laura Yvonne Bulk from Vancouver. Laura is the accessibility advisor for students in health programs at the University of British Columbia. She is also an occupational therapist and a PhD student. She has some great messages for educators, such as “remove barriers, not challenges”. She has also some useful tips about disclosure. This show was broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin - oar.org.nz

Rod Carr has had a stellar career. He has been the VC of the University of Canterbury, chairman of the Board of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, and is now the chairman of the climate change commission. So what does he thinks it takes to educate a young person with a significant visual impairment? This is the first of a series of programs about education and visual impairment. Rod talks about his coping mechanisms (‘healthy mind in a healthy body’), about asking what someone can do (not what they can see) and many other things. This interview is a great introduction to a wonderful (and highly educated) mind. This show was broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin - oar.org.nz

Mary Butler talks with Marina Hanger, occupational therapist and director of Ability Adventures where she enables holidays for people with visual impairment (and other kinds of disability). You can find her website here: https://www.abilityadventures.co.nz/ And she also recommends First Port as another good place to start planning an adventure. https://firstport.co.nz/ This show was broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin - oar.org.nz

In this episode, we talk to two of NZ’s foremost authors. Renee and Lynley talk about the intersection between writing and low vision and how writing is still fundamental to how they live, even as they adapt to living with low vision. Renee (b. 1929) is a trailblazing Māori dramatist and fiction writer, whose plays are totally relevant today. And Lynley Hood (b. 1942) is an award-winning author and independent researcher, whose non-fiction and activism has touched on some of the most pivotal issues in New Zealand. This show was broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin - oar.org.nz

Carolyn Tregea - Bringing Visual Impairment to the Conversation - This week Professor Mary Butler interviews Carolyn Tregea from Otago Polytechnic. Carolyn explains about the many adaptations that she has integrated into her work situations. She is also training to be a spiritual director, which gives a whole other perspective on what can be learned from bringing visual impairment to the conversation. This show was broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin - oar.org.nz

Peter Eyley - In this show Lynley Hood talks with Peter Eyley about living with macular degeneration as a very practical and positive person. After a lifetime of being a motor mechanic, Peter is highly organised and competent. He puts his continued quality of life down to patience. He continues to do repair jobs, goes on bike rides and enjoys trips in his campervan. This show was broadcast on OAR 105.4FM Dunedin - oar.org.nz

This week we talk about what can be achieved by low vision groups running radio shows on Access radio. Lynley Hood and Mary Butler review what has been achieved by Sight Unseen Aotearoa during this year. We include Julie Woods (“That Blind Woman”) in the conversation about her experience with Access radio, including the show ‘Cooking without Looking’ and ‘The Braille Biscuit show’.

This week Dr Lynley Hood talks with retired optometrist Denise Preston. Denise describes how being an optometrist does not prepare you for losing your vision to glaucoma, and she also describes how she learned to read music – using braille!

In the show this week Dr Lynley Hood (author and independent researcher, who happens to have a visual impairment) interviews the wonderful Trevor Plumbly (convenor of Focus Auckland and editor of Kaleidoscope).