Sam speaks to Monash University researcher Claire Dorling about her PhD addressing the need for an education-based functional vision assessment for children and young people who are blind or have low vision.

You'll also hear from Santiago Velasquez, he's back with Sam to announce his public transport app Hailo has now launched for passengers who are blind or have low vision to make their way around the Melbourne bus network.

If you'd like to find out more about Hailo, Santiago has set up a page with all the info about Hailo's Melbourne pilot, or if you would like to download the app it's now available on the Apple Store or Google Play.

You can also find more info about Hailo through the Hailo pages on Facebook and Instagram.

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Sam welcomes back comedian Jeremy Moses to the show, Jeremy lives with low vision and mobility issues and discusses his disability along with many other topics in his show Hard to Work With, taking place between 26 March and 5 April as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

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Sam speaks with musician, disability advocate and writer Skye de Vent, who recently attended ten of the events from the recent Midsumma Festival, Melbourne's premier queer arts and culture festival.

They tell us about what worked and what could be improved in their experience as an audience member living with blindness and mobility restrictions.

You'll also hear from Impact Institute's Kathryn Carey, she's back on the show this week to tell us about an upcoming Disability Expo coming to Cranbourne in late March, and Frances is back with an International Women's Day themed Reader Recommended.

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Sam catches up with Kath Duncan who, among many roles over the years including journalist, researcher, actor, director and more, has more recently became playwright of Specials, a play highlighting real stories of life as a student in Australia's special education system.

Specials will be featuring for one week in late March, between 24 and 29 March at Arts House in North Melbourne, and Kath fills us in on all the details about what people can expect and how they can grab a ticket to head along, including an audio description and tactile tour night on March 27.

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Support this Vision Australia Radio program: https://www.visionaustralia.org/donate?src=radio&type=0&_ga=2.182040610.46191917.1644183916-1718358749.1627963141

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We have a special appearance from Peter Greco this week, as he catches up with Mac Bollella from the South Australian Electoral Commission.

With the SA state election taking place on 21 March we get the latest details on how voters who are blind or have low vision can cast their votes confidentially and accessibly.

You'll also hear from music therapist Emily Shanahan, Sam catches up with her to get a recap 12 months on from the developments in music therapy after questions over its place in the NDIS, and the efforts over the last year to advocate and continue providing music therapies to clients with disabilities.

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We have a very special guest on the show this week as Sam speaks with new Vision Australia CEO, David Williamson.

David began his tenure as CEO in October of last year, and just past the three month mark Sam caught up with him to discuss his first three months as CEO, what he's gotten involved with so far and what he's looking forward to in 2026.

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This week Sam speaks with University of Southern Queensland PhD student Aasha Rose, whose research explores braille literacy and its link to positive life outcomes for braille users who are blind or have very low vision.

We also hear from editor of For Your Information, Liz Dalakouras, as she joins Sam with the latest issue to kick off February, and Frances is back with a Reader Recommended.

Support this Vision Australia Radio program: https://www.visionaustralia.org/donate?src=radio&type=0&_ga=2.182040610.46191917.1644183916-1718358749.1627963141

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.