ACB Focus: Health and Wellness

The staff from The Seeing Eye were joined by attendees  for a fun and informative discussion on The Seeing Eye’s program, what it’s like to partner with a dog, and an update on what we’ve been up to lately. Mots questions were submitted to; [email protected] in advance. - Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 16

~~Adaptive Sports, an Active Body = A Healthy Mind: BPI partnered with Strive4you to inspire and teach us about such adapted sports as Bowling Bonanza; Star Spangle Goalball and Southern Classic Kickball. Let's all get up and get moving together! Presenters: ♥ Ricky Jones, Co-Executive Director, Strive4you, Nashville, TN ♥ Christy Ray, Co-Executive Director, Strive4you, Nashville, TN

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 20~~

~~BPI Self Defense: BPI partnered with Strive4you to start us on the road of learning self-defense techniques. With their adaptive program, we learned the basics of strengthening our core and using well-honed skills that inspired us to get up and get moving with confidence and the ability to defend ourselves. Presenters: ♥ Ricky Jones, Co-executive Director, Strive4you, Nashville, TN ♥ Christy Ray, Co-Executive Director, Strive4you, Nashville, TN

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 20~~

GDB alumni and anyone was interested in Guide Dogs for the Blind and guide-dog access: Attendees joined GDB for an update on the DOT Air Carriers Access Act Service, animal Ruling with national experts. including: ◘ Mr. Ray Prentice (Alaska Airline Accessibility Director) ◘ Mr. Eric Lipp (CEO of Opendoors Organization)  What is the ‘Ruling’ in brief? How is the implementation going? Who can you give feedback to and how? Plus creative efforts to make the process more usable. This concern has weighed on many Guide Dog handlers. Attendees joined GDB to shape the future of air travel for guide-dog teams. Questions were sent to Rabih Dow, GDB Director of Outreach and Advocacy in advance at: [email protected]. -

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 16

~~Tat’s What Friends are For: Are you having a problem handling low vision? What’s been your journey with low vision? We discussed the journey of low vision, and shared experiences, offered encouragement and strategies. Come join our low vision community as we support one another. Sponsored by CCLVI

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 21~~

~~Navigating the Health Care System as an Adult with Vision Loss: ACB member and author of “Navigating Health Care When All They Can See is That You Can’t” and “When Your Ears Can’t Help You See” Deborah Kendrick and attorney Meredith Weaver discussed the challenges of weaving your way through the health care system. ○ Deborah Kendrick, author, Cincinnati, OH ○ Meredith Weaver, Staff Attorney, Disability Rights Advocates, Berkeley, CA  Co-Sponsored by: AAVL and ACB Advocacy Services Committee

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 19~~

~~Non-Traditional Blind Sports: From skateboarding to darts to hunting and fishing, attendees talked with a panel of sports and recreation enthusiasts about some unique activities not traditionally participated in by the blind and visually impaired. Panel: ♥ Curtis Ruttle, Founder, Alt Route Project, Calgary, Alberta, Canada ♥ Matt Janz, Founder, Skate Bats, Calgary, Alberta, Canada ♥ Tom Fisher, Vice President of North American Association of Blind Sportsmen (NAABS), Gig Harbor, WA ♥ Dr. Andre Watson, PsyD, Clinical Psychologist, Delaware County, PA Sponsored by: ACB Next Gen

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 19~~

~~An Evening With ACB: Panel on Increasing Financial Literacy: Financial issues touch every aspect of our lives. The more we can learn about successfully navigating this whole area of interest, the more successful we can become in handling various financial matters that contribute to our independence. Although we could never hope to fully handle this subject in one panel session, we presented a sampling of topics we believe will be of interest and assistance to convention attendees. Panelists: ♦ Brian Charlson, Watertown, MA, an expert in the area of credit through his work on the Structured Negotiation on Credit Report Accessibility, shared this expertise with us and presented a discussion of the importance of knowing your credit status, and how to obtain and utilize your free and accessible credit reports from the three major credit bureaus. All financial literacy starts with credit, and Brian will tell us just what we need to know about it to make it work for us. ♦ Judy Dixon, Arlington VA, our resident expert in iOS-related photography, stretched our comfort zones by demonstrating the techniques she uses to allow a totally blind person to deposit a check into her bank account using only her iPhone. ♦ Kelly Ford, a brilliant trainer, answer man, and problem solver from Microsoft's Enterprise Disability Answer Desk, Madison, WI, is adept at all things Excel. Kelly shared information on pivot tables and data types, two awesome and exciting features that are accessible and will allow us to track our expenses and get stock-related information using some cool Excel techniques.

• Recorded during the 2021 ACB National Convention on July 21~~