On episode 9, we are joined by FASD advocate Alicia Munn. Alicia is an LPN, a mother, and the operations Manager/Coordinator for the Fredericton Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disabilities Support Group.

In this information-packed episode, we learn all about FASD and the struggles that these individuals and their families face. Then, we explore some real-life scenarios and make specific AT recommendations! So if you’ve been wondering about to apps to recommend to persons with FASD, you won’t want to miss this one!

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Today we observe the second annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

On September 30^th of each year, we honour the Survivors of residential schools and remember the children who did not return, as well as their families and communities. We take this day as a day of reflection to recognize and commemorate the harmful legacy of the residential school system in Canada.

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Our Hearing Solutions Grand Opening on September 15^th was an amazing success! We were blown away by the support from our community, with 80 people joining us to learn all about Hearing Solutions and to celebrate our newest social enterprise. Thank you to everyone who joined us!

We also want to give a big thanks to our sponsors: Starkey Canada, Starbucks Gilmore, and ALDS Canada. And of course, a big shoutout to our guest speakers: Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley, Burnaby Board of Trade CEO and President Paul Holden, Neil Squire Executive Director Gary Birch, Starkey Canada National Sales Manager Marco Coletta, and former professional baseball player and Hearing Solutions client Tyson Gillies.

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For persons with visual disabilities, accessing the outside world often requires accommodations, strategies, and technology. And while strategies and accommodations can be relatively easily put in place, lack of access to vision-correcting technology is still an issue for many individuals. The reason for this is simple: cost. For example, there are wearable devices for blind users that provide real time color and product information, face recognition, and more. This device, called the OrCam MyEye is an incredible piece of technology, but with a price tag of around $5,000, this technology is not affordable for everyone. So then that begs the question, what’s out there that is actually affordable for persons with visual disabilities?

NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA) is a free, open-source screen reader for Windows that has been in development since 2006. If you are not aware, a screen reader is a piece of technology that helps individuals with visual impairments access and interact with digital content like websites or applications via audio or touch prompts. Users control what is read by moving the cursor to the relevant area of text with a mouse or by using the arrows on a keyboard.

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On episode 8, we are joined once again by AT researcher and life-long assistive technology user Nakia Singh. In this episode, we talk about some of our favorite back to school apps, making friends with AI, apps for math, and Seaver’s recent experiences in joining the partially sighted community.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Anchor, Spotify, or Google Podcasts.

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We’ve looked at a couple math calculator and equation breakdown apps in the past, but today we are going to look at a math app that instead focuses on building mathematical foundations. Montessori Numbers is a visual math app designed for children aged 3-7, and it offers a wide range of guided math activities that are designed to conform to common core standards.

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Text-to-speech apps allow users to quickly absorb articles, documents, emails, and virtually anything else found online. Of course, students and professionals aren’t the only ones who benefit from text-to-speech applications. Persons with disabilities including those with dyslexia, dysgraphia, visual impairments, and more, can all benefit from this alternative approach to reading.

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Imagine you’re a highly visual learner, and your math instructor’s teaching style isn’t working for you. You’ve gone for extra help, but you just can’t wrap your brain around these new concepts. Many of us have been there, but the good news is there are now plenty of apps available that are designed to provide alternative means of instruction.

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You’re invited to our Neil Squire Hearing Solutions Grand Opening event on Thursday, September 15^th from 2pm to 6pm. Delayed for the past two years due to COVID-19, we are pleased to be finally opening our doors to showcase our newest social enterprise. Join us for a ribbon cutting ceremony, speeches, food, and drinks, and find out what sets us apart from other hearing labs in the area.

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