On April 8th a solar eclipse will cross North America with totality being visible from Mazatlan to Montreal. Here in Austin we're lucky enough to be in the path of totality and this presents the unique challenge of making the eclipse accessible to our student population. We speak with Allyson Bieryla, an astronomer from Harvard University, along with students and staff at TSBVI to learn how technologies new and old are being utilized to make the eclipse accessible to the blind and visually impaired community. Special thanks to David Schechter and the folks from CBS News for speaking with us an ..read more

Pretty much everyone wants to do their best Peter Pan impersonation and never grow up, but unfortunately growing up is an inevitability for all of us, including our students here at TSBVI. Today we'll show you how Experiences in Transition (EXIT) helps our post-graduation students learn skills for everyday living as well as important job skills to help them contribute to society, and themselves, for years to come.  Click the link for more information on the EXIT Program and be sure to check out Wealthy Bee on Spotify to hear the full versions of her songs included in t ..read more

Students who are deafblind often are paired with an intervener to supply important information about their environment through interaction and communication. Every year, TSBVI Outreach offers an intervener team training on our campus to focus on these important professionals, which we highlighted here. In addition to the training, we spent time in a TSBVI classroom recording conversations from a typical morning with one of our deafblind students.   About the Intervener Team Training: https://www.tsbvi.edu/events/2023-introduction-to-the-intervener-team-model TX Senseabiliti ..read more

Blind Americans Equality Day, or White Cane Day, is coming up on October 15th, and we’ll have our campus event in Austin on Wednesday, October 18th. Over the years, White Cane Day has evolved from a focus on safety to a celebration of the achievements of people who are blind. The white cane is now recognized around the world as a symbol of blindness and a tool of independence. This episode highlights a song from The Spinrockers and the perspectives of students and adults who are white cane users themselves ..read more

From all of us here at A Sense of Texas we'd like to welcome you back from a relaxing summer. To kick off the new season we're trying something different with a fresh new format. Lucky for us, our friends over at the Braille Institute were more than happy to enable our new ideas by letting us capture audio from the Braille Challenge Finals held in Los Angeles this June. Braille Challenge is a great chance for our students and families to learn from each other and compete for a common goal. And hopefully with this episode you can learn a little bit too.  For more information on Braille Cha ..read more

Joe Dlugo is a TSVI, COMS, and Certified Assistive Technology Instructional Specialist (CATIS) at the Washington State School for the Blind. Joe is also the Vision Grant Program Mentor for Washington Sensory Disabilities Services. Always at the forefront of technology in the field of blind, low vision, and deafblind education, he brings us an introduction to ChatGPT and potential implications for our work.    Perkins School for the Blind recently published an article by Joe on this same topic: https://www.perkins.org/resource/generative-artificial-intelligence-impacts-on-professional ..read more

Cody Laplante is an itinerant TSVI in Maryland and co-founder of "eye.t". He aims to create curriculum and professional development rolled into one for busy teachers of students with visual impairment with an emphasis on technology. You can currently find information regarding screen reader instruction on his website and tech tips on his youtube channel.    For more information on eye.t be sure to visit them on YouTube at and the eye.t website.   ..read more

Neva Fairchild is here to tell us all about the American Foundation for the Blind, and what kind of opportunities its Blind Leaders Development Program can offer.   For more information: https://www.afb.org/blind-leaders ..read more

Being a parent is hard enough, and being a parent to an individual with dual sensory loss presents a whole new set of challenges. Luckily, several groups have been created to help families of individuals with dual sensory loss get support as well as advocate for their loved one. Jacqueline Izaguirre and Melanie Knapp join us to talk about The National Family Association for Deaf-Blind (NFADB) and The Deaf-Blind Multihandicapped Association of Texas (DBMAT) and how they have helped them support and advocate for their loved ones with dual sensory loss.    For more information on NFADB ..read more

Our students always benefit from mentors and teachers who can identify with their disability so it's great to have Craig Edgley from TSBVI join us. Losing sight at a young age Craig has earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree so he's well aware of how to navigate the needs of blind and visually impaired students in an educational environment. We're so happy to have him here to share his experience and expertise.  ..read more