Cathy interviews Catarina Rivera, public speaker and disability and education inclusion advocate. Catarina, who has retinitis pigmentosa, has worn hearing aids from a young age and was diagnosed with a progressive vision disability at 17 years old.  Paige, Jenny, and Cathy consider how knowing what is available and having a choice about it is both inclusion and self-care.  They consider the positive impact of considering your strengths and how accidental accessibility makes life easier.  Catarina’s Socials:   Instagram: http://instagram.com/blindishlatina  X: http ..read more

Paige speaks with Sarah, Mom to Max, about caring for herself, for Max, and for her relationship with her husband, Garrett. Max is a young adult who has CHARGE syndrome and is deafblind. Over the years, Sarah and Garrett have grown closer together in their love for one another, and Sarah shares her advice for healthy relationships, including when to say "yes", and when to say "no". Cathy, Paige, and Jenny discuss the encouraging statistics surrounding marriages of parents of children with disabilities, and Jenny shares her own relationship successes. **Intimacy is briefly discussed from 30:00 ..read more

Dr. Cathy interviews Ali Huckins a Developmental Psychology Specialist, Licensed Professional Counselor and Board Certified Behavior Analyst.  Ali and Cathy talk about the importance of self-care in children and adults. Ali encourages listeners to find creative ways to incorporate self-care and celebrate what you achieve, reminding us that your self-care can look different than others. Dr. Cathy shares how she has changed her mind set to incorporate self-care. Cathy, Jenny and Paige reflect on how freeing it is to choose your own self-care.   Please give us your feedback using this s ..read more

Paige interviews Ashley Reynolds and Brian Runyon, both graduates of VIPS. Ashley and Brian share what self-care means to them and their favorite ways to care for themselves. Ashley shares encouraging words for families of young children with vision loss.   Paige, Jenny, and Cathy reflect on how technology skills learned in the classroom can help children with blindness and low vision access activities they like to do.   Ashley and Brian's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@MiracleMarshmallows    Please give us your feedback using this survey link: ⁠https ..read more

Our focus for season 3 is self-care! Give yourself a little self-care by listening with us on the first Monday of the month starting September 5! This season's book club: Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust by Michael Hingson https://a.co/d/1Y6O7q1 Please give us your feedback using this survey link: https://educationutah.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_39OmBvMih6MlgNw    Make a Donation to-  VIPS: https://secure.vips.org/np/clients/vips/donation.jsp?forwardedFromSecureDomain=1&campaign=495  Anchor Center: https://www.ancho ..read more

This season the Feeling This Life team read the book Thunder Dog by Michael Hingson. Thunder Dog is a New York Times bestseller telling the true story of a blind man, his guide dog, and the triumph of trust. The book tells the story of Mr. Hingson’s life and how he and his guide dog, Roselle, escaped the Twin Towers on 9/11. In this episode Paige, Jenny and Dr. Cathy will share their thoughts on the book focusing on what stood out to them the most including how Mr. Hingson was raised and the courageous story he shares. Dr. Cathy discusses research and a brief history of visual impairments and ..read more

Jenny interviews Amy Nichols, Amy is a teacher of the Visually Impaired at VIPS and has been in the field of education for over 30 years. Amy encourages families to concentrate on what their children can do and celebrate those milestones. She reminds us not to compare our child to others. Amy shares her own struggles as a parent and what helped her through the challenging times. Paige, Jenny and Cathy reflect on how encouraging Amy is and how important it is to focus on what we can do.   Amy mentioned CVI Now Perkins School for the blind and recommends it as a resources for families you c ..read more

Jenny interviews Wendy Fagan, director of Envision Blind Sports. Wendy shares her expertise in helping children with blindness and visual impairment to actively participate in sports. Afterward, Jenny, Paige, and Dr. Cathy reflect about building a foundation for a young child to succeed in sports, games, and recreation as they grow and develop. Jenny explains how her daughter uses a “tapper” during swim meets.    Picture of Wendy Fagan: Wendy Pic.jpeg    Envision camp flyer: Envision Camp Flyer- 2023.pdf     What is camp? what is camp.pdf    https ..read more

Jenny interviews Meredith Howell. Meredith is the Director of Development at VIPS and the mom of Lola, a former VIPS student. Meredith tells Lola’s story, sharing how far Lola has come and what her and her family have learned along the way. Paige, Cathy and Jenny reflect on the ways the Howell family has worked to set Lola up for success even when the unknown was scary.  Paige shares her memories of Lola as a toddler.   Meredith discusses creating the NR2F1 Foundation with a group of other mothers. For more information on the NR2F1 Foundation visit their website: https://nr2f1.org ..read more

Have you ever felt confused, overwhelmed, or lost when it comes to the ins and outs of your child’s transition to school? This installment of Feeling This Life is for you!  Through this silly episode, Megan and Sonnie, both moms to preschoolers with visual impairments, go head-to-head to answer as many questions as they can about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  Kathy Mullen, director of education at VIPS and IDEA expert, shares everything a family needs to know to be empowered for the transition from early intervention to school based services. Resources dis ..read more