From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's your host, Sam Collins.

From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's your host, Sam Collins.

Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness and low vision.

Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness and low vision.

Don't be afraid to discuss your disability, whether you're blind in a wheelchair, whether you're deaf, whether you have any sort of other ability out there. You can still get a tattoo. It is very accessible. Studies.

Don't be afraid to discuss your disability, whether you're blind in a wheelchair, whether you're deaf, whether you have any sort of other ability out there. You can still get a tattoo. It is very accessible. Studies.

Welcome to the program. The voice you just heard there was tattoo enthusiast Brittany Watson with some advice for people with disabilities looking to get tattoos of their own, but perhaps feeling a little bit unsure about how to navigate the experience. Brittany caught up with Bethany Cody for a chat recently. Both Brittney and Bethany have tattoos and share lived experience with low vision, and you can hear their conversation later in the program. Before we hear from Bethany and Brittney, though, still like Lori had the chance to speak with Cassandra Chu and Andrew Chu, chair and board member of Canine Assistance based in Singapore, an organization which launched in 2020 to provide assistance dogs for people with disabilities throughout Singapore. They recently visited Vision Australia to gain knowledge and expertise from the seeing eye dog branch of the organization. And you can hear from Cassandra and Andrew very shortly. I hope you enjoyed this week's episode of Talking Vision. And now his Stella with Cassandra and Andrew. Stella began by asking Andrew a little bit more about canine assistance and what the organization represented.

Welcome to the program. The voice you just heard there was tattoo enthusiast Brittany Watson with some advice for people with disabilities looking to get tattoos of their own, but perhaps feeling a little bit unsure about how to navigate the experience. Brittany caught up with Bethany Cody for a chat recently. Both Brittney and Bethany have tattoos and share lived experience with low vision, and you can hear their conversation later in the program. Before we hear from Bethany and Brittney, though, still like Lori had the chance to speak with Cassandra Chu and Andrew Chu, chair and board member of Canine Assistance based in Singapore, an organization which launched in 2020 to provide assistance dogs for people with disabilities throughout Singapore. They recently visited Vision Australia to gain knowledge and expertise from the seeing eye dog branch of the organization. And you can hear from Cassandra and Andrew very shortly. I hope you enjoyed this week's episode of Talking Vision. And now his Stella with Cassandra and Andrew. Stella began by asking Andrew a little bit more about canine assistance and what the organization represented.

Tell us a little bit about K9. Andrew, I understand it's a relatively new organization.

Tell us a little bit about K9. Andrew, I understand it's a relatively new organization.

Yes, it is. We started K-9 assistance way back during the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic. So can I. Assistance was founded in April of 2020. And our main mission is to allow persons with disability to benefit from the use of assistance dogs beyond singing idols. So we thought that other disability, like people who have who are deaf and hard of hearing people have autism and people who have a hearing impairment, I mean, people who have a mobility issue would benefit from the use of assistance dogs. So that's the reason why we started Canine Assistance way back then.

Yes, it is. We started K-9 assistance way back during the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic. So can I. Assistance was founded in April of 2020. And our main mission is to allow persons with disability to benefit from the use of assistance dogs beyond singing idols. So we thought that other disability, like people who have who are deaf and hard of hearing people have autism and people who have a hearing impairment, I mean, people who have a mobility issue would benefit from the use of assistance dogs. So that's the reason why we started Canine Assistance way back then.

Which actually wasn't that long ago and seems like a funny time to start it during the pandemic. And it's not that long ago. So what was happening in Singapore with assistance dogs before the evolution of your organization?

Which actually wasn't that long ago and seems like a funny time to start it during the pandemic. And it's not that long ago. So what was happening in Singapore with assistance dogs before the evolution of your organization?

Cassandra I would say not, not that much. So seeing eye dogs have been in well rather Singapore seeing dogs for the last perhaps ten years. I was one of the first and benefited so much independence wise, confidence, mobility. It's just unparalleled compared to anything else for me at least. I do understand and respect that there are blind folks out there who much prefer the white cane. Yeah. And at that point in time, just before I started canine there, there are no other different types of assistance dogs in Singapore, so no mobility support or autism support or hearing dogs yet. And it was also nearing the time of the retirement of my first seeing eye dog as me. And she's she's given me so much. I just didn't want to let that legacy go to waste because I, together with her and through her help, through her her presence with media, with the public and all of that, there's so much education done. And we brought Singapore from a place, a time when when public access was so difficult, even getting onto buses or trains or restaurants was it was a problem to to a time closing to her retirement, where I hear little children on the trains tell their parents, eat, that's a working dog. It's helping that blind lady and it's allowed in here. So I thought, you know, it'll be good that this is also expanded outwards to to different types of disabilities and not just myself and as blind folks who can benefit from this, these amazing dogs. And that's the story.

Cassandra I would say not, not that much. So seeing eye dogs have been in well rather Singapore seeing dogs for the last perhaps ten years. I was one of the first and benefited so much independence wise, confidence, mobility. It's just unparalleled compared to anything else for me at least. I do understand and respect that there are blind folks out there who much prefer the white cane. Yeah. And at that point in time, just before I started canine there, there are no other different types of assistance dogs in Singapore, so no mobility support or autism support or hearing dogs yet. And it was also nearing the time of the retirement of my first seeing eye dog as me. And she's she's given me so much. I just didn't want to let that legacy go to waste because I, together with her and through her help, through her her presence with media, with the public and all of that, there's so much education done. And we brought Singapore from a place, a time when when public access was so difficult, even getting onto buses or trains or restaurants was it was a problem to to a time closing to her retirement, where I hear little children on the trains tell their parents, eat, that's a working dog. It's helping that blind lady and it's allowed in here. So I thought, you know, it'll be good that this is also expanded outwards to to different types of disabilities and not just myself and as blind folks who can benefit from this, these amazing dogs. And that's the story.

Cassandra, you were the first woman to use an assistance dog in Singapore.

Cassandra, you were the first woman to use an assistance dog in Singapore.

Yeah, that's right.

Yeah, that's right.

Tell us about that. Well, where do you start?

Tell us about that. Well, where do you start?

I would say that my first seeing eye dog, she inspired me to be the woman I am today. I wouldn't be here without her. She allowed me to play many different roles. I was just starting professionally as well. I just graduated. I was a young mother that time. My daughter was three four when I first got her. So with the help of my seeing eye dog, I was able to go to playdates, go to the supermarket and do different things, go to school, go to work and really get out into the community. So being able to do that and fulfil all my different roles as a woman, mother, daughter, counsellor, that's, that's my day job. That really empowered me.

I would say that my first seeing eye dog, she inspired me to be the woman I am today. I wouldn't be here without her. She allowed me to play many different roles. I was just starting professionally as well. I just graduated. I was a young mother that time. My daughter was three four when I first got her. So with the help of my seeing eye dog, I was able to go to playdates, go to the supermarket and do different things, go to school, go to work and really get out into the community. So being able to do that and fulfil all my different roles as a woman, mother, daughter, counsellor, that's, that's my day job. That really empowered me.

And I understand also enter. You're a good buddy with our good friend Bill jolly.

And I understand also enter. You're a good buddy with our good friend Bill jolly.

Well Bill let me win back over close to 25 years because the first time when I visited Australia I wanted to visit different blindness organisation and because I understand at the time that Melbourne is the most liveable cities for blind people, and I wanted to visit Melbourne because I had a professor at the time in university who is a professor at the history department at University of Melbourne. So I decided to visit Melbourne and the different blindness organisation, and I contacted Bill and he was very generous and it started the 25 years of friendship when he was then the executive officer of BCA. And also at that time I also had the opportunity of visiting three R.P H and I had the opportunity of meeting up with Steve and Julia as well at the time. So that was the same trip. And so I do have some exposure to your radio station.

Well Bill let me win back over close to 25 years because the first time when I visited Australia I wanted to visit different blindness organisation and because I understand at the time that Melbourne is the most liveable cities for blind people, and I wanted to visit Melbourne because I had a professor at the time in university who is a professor at the history department at University of Melbourne. So I decided to visit Melbourne and the different blindness organisation, and I contacted Bill and he was very generous and it started the 25 years of friendship when he was then the executive officer of BCA. And also at that time I also had the opportunity of visiting three R.P H and I had the opportunity of meeting up with Steve and Julia as well at the time. So that was the same trip. And so I do have some exposure to your radio station.

So Stephen Jolly was the person who actually began talking vision about ten years ago, now talking about cities that are most livable, cities for people who are blind or have low vision. What makes a city livable for people who are blind or have low vision and where to Singapore fit in with that? Cassandra I would say.

So Stephen Jolly was the person who actually began talking vision about ten years ago, now talking about cities that are most livable, cities for people who are blind or have low vision. What makes a city livable for people who are blind or have low vision and where to Singapore fit in with that? Cassandra I would say.

That, yeah, there are two parts to that. One is that the hardware, the infrastructure, the TSD, the audible traffic signals, that kind of stuff in. And in terms of that, Singapore is amazing compared with most parts of the world similar to Melbourne that tactile indicators everywhere, most traffic lights are audible and it's quite easy to get around. No, no stepdown curbs to all rooms very accessible in that way. I think another part which is also much, much bigger is the heart HAARP space hardware off of the city, how people are, how friendly or helpful they are to someone with a disability. And that's been a space that I've been working in quite a fair bit over the last ten, 15 years, because I think that with more improvement, when people have more empathy, when people are more willing to go out of the way to give a helping hand to someone with a disability, it makes a huge amount of difference. If someone's at the traffic light, helping a blind person cross the road with a beeps are not it's not such a big deal.

That, yeah, there are two parts to that. One is that the hardware, the infrastructure, the TSD, the audible traffic signals, that kind of stuff in. And in terms of that, Singapore is amazing compared with most parts of the world similar to Melbourne that tactile indicators everywhere, most traffic lights are audible and it's quite easy to get around. No, no stepdown curbs to all rooms very accessible in that way. I think another part which is also much, much bigger is the heart HAARP space hardware off of the city, how people are, how friendly or helpful they are to someone with a disability. And that's been a space that I've been working in quite a fair bit over the last ten, 15 years, because I think that with more improvement, when people have more empathy, when people are more willing to go out of the way to give a helping hand to someone with a disability, it makes a huge amount of difference. If someone's at the traffic light, helping a blind person cross the road with a beeps are not it's not such a big deal.

So how is Singapore's heart, as you talk about in that way?

So how is Singapore's heart, as you talk about in that way?

I think we're getting there. So Singapore is a very how would I put it? We're a very young country. Socio economically, the probably infants compared to most other developed nations has been around for 1 to 300 years or more. And we're just, you know, fifties still babies. We spent our country spent the first 50 years or so really putting food on the table, just basic stuff, trying to get out out there and and educate ourselves and be better. And now in the last ten, 20 years, I would say we're really growing that space and having a lot more empathy, looking into different social issues and having much, much bigger heart.

I think we're getting there. So Singapore is a very how would I put it? We're a very young country. Socio economically, the probably infants compared to most other developed nations has been around for 1 to 300 years or more. And we're just, you know, fifties still babies. We spent our country spent the first 50 years or so really putting food on the table, just basic stuff, trying to get out out there and and educate ourselves and be better. And now in the last ten, 20 years, I would say we're really growing that space and having a lot more empathy, looking into different social issues and having much, much bigger heart.

And how do you think Australia writes? You can be honest.

And how do you think Australia writes? You can be honest.

Pretty high. Pretty, I would say. Most of the times I would say 90% of the time getting around with my seeing eye dog in Australia, it's not difficult, it's not a problem, it's it's so smooth and easy and people go out of their way to help. Just the other day I was waiting to cross, cross traffic light and I heard that audible signal beeping and I thought, I'll just wait for the next one. And this lady comes along and says, Hey, you know, you can cross now, just come with me. So that that's really nice and gives that bit of reassurance because there's a person, a vision impairment. You don't know how much time there is left to cross the road.

Pretty high. Pretty, I would say. Most of the times I would say 90% of the time getting around with my seeing eye dog in Australia, it's not difficult, it's not a problem, it's it's so smooth and easy and people go out of their way to help. Just the other day I was waiting to cross, cross traffic light and I heard that audible signal beeping and I thought, I'll just wait for the next one. And this lady comes along and says, Hey, you know, you can cross now, just come with me. So that that's really nice and gives that bit of reassurance because there's a person, a vision impairment. You don't know how much time there is left to cross the road.

That's great. Glad to hear that you're over here in Australia visiting to come to Australia, especially to visit between Australia and Turkey.

That's great. Glad to hear that you're over here in Australia visiting to come to Australia, especially to visit between Australia and Turkey.

Well, we visit a couple of cities as well because this is a study trip for us as we are a fledging organisation and we certainly need to learn from all friends in Australia the different types of assistance. Also we previously visit South Australia. We were also in New South Wales and now here we are back to a very familiar city to both Cassandra and myself and here in Melbourne.

Well, we visit a couple of cities as well because this is a study trip for us as we are a fledging organisation and we certainly need to learn from all friends in Australia the different types of assistance. Also we previously visit South Australia. We were also in New South Wales and now here we are back to a very familiar city to both Cassandra and myself and here in Melbourne.

And tell me about your fact finding. What were you out to seek and did it match up with what you found?

And tell me about your fact finding. What were you out to seek and did it match up with what you found?

I would say so, definitely so. We are out to seek for knowledge. We're very, very thirsty for that. I don't personally, I don't believe in reinventing the wheel. Many, many different organisations here in Australia, including Vision Australia, have been giants in the assistant doc space and there's so much processes that we can learn from and adapt into our environment. So definitely have gained so much knowledge and more importantly I would say friendships with, with the different organisations because I think, you know, knowledge is only, only go so far, but it's really the human to human relationships that you built with different organisations to help that knowledge exchange their best practices, exchange that that helps all of us with expertise, that helps all of us in different ways become better versions of ourselves.

I would say so, definitely so. We are out to seek for knowledge. We're very, very thirsty for that. I don't personally, I don't believe in reinventing the wheel. Many, many different organisations here in Australia, including Vision Australia, have been giants in the assistant doc space and there's so much processes that we can learn from and adapt into our environment. So definitely have gained so much knowledge and more importantly I would say friendships with, with the different organisations because I think, you know, knowledge is only, only go so far, but it's really the human to human relationships that you built with different organisations to help that knowledge exchange their best practices, exchange that that helps all of us with expertise, that helps all of us in different ways become better versions of ourselves.

Yeah. So we. We are certainly here to seek support from our friends to do good in Singapore. Yeah.

Yeah. So we. We are certainly here to seek support from our friends to do good in Singapore. Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

And has that been fruitful?

And has that been fruitful?

Very, very well. I think that, uh, as far as the work is concerned, I think we, we certainly is hopeful for the future. I think that the only thing we can say, we are hopeful for the future and we are hopeful that, uh, with our friends in different places, we will certainly be able to reach the goal that we, we set, that we set ourselves to do. I think, you know.

Very, very well. I think that, uh, as far as the work is concerned, I think we, we certainly is hopeful for the future. I think that the only thing we can say, we are hopeful for the future and we are hopeful that, uh, with our friends in different places, we will certainly be able to reach the goal that we, we set, that we set ourselves to do. I think, you know.

I could talk to you all day, but you've actually been here at Vision Australia all day, and I think you're ready for your weekend to begin. You're going to do some little bit of sightseeing and relaxation in Melbourne over the weekend. Yeah. Cassandra Chow, who is the chair of a canine based in Singapore, and Andrew Chow, who is one of the directors from a canine. Thank you so much for your time this afternoon.

I could talk to you all day, but you've actually been here at Vision Australia all day, and I think you're ready for your weekend to begin. You're going to do some little bit of sightseeing and relaxation in Melbourne over the weekend. Yeah. Cassandra Chow, who is the chair of a canine based in Singapore, and Andrew Chow, who is one of the directors from a canine. Thank you so much for your time this afternoon.

Thank you for having us.

Thank you for having us.

I'm Sam. And you're listening to Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio, associated stations of IPH and the Community Radio Network. If you're enjoying the show and you'd love to find out more like where to find local radio frequencies or a good spot to listen to past programs. You can find all this info and more on the Talking Vision web page. Just search talking vision and should come up as the first option. You can also find the program on the podcast app of your choice or through the Vision Australia Library. And now his Bethany Cody with Whitney Watson.

I'm Sam. And you're listening to Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio, associated stations of IPH and the Community Radio Network. If you're enjoying the show and you'd love to find out more like where to find local radio frequencies or a good spot to listen to past programs. You can find all this info and more on the Talking Vision web page. Just search talking vision and should come up as the first option. You can also find the program on the podcast app of your choice or through the Vision Australia Library. And now his Bethany Cody with Whitney Watson.

Thank you, Sam. My name is Bethany Curtis. I have retinitis pigmentosa. It is a degenerative eye disease. And I also have a tattoo. I'm really curious to challenge the misconception that blind people can't get tattoos. And today I'm talking to Brittany Watson about her experiences. Hi, Brittany. Thank you so much for chatting with me today about blindness and tattoos. To start off with, I would love to know how many tattoos you have and what thereof. So how many studies I have is a hard question now because I do tend to forget where they all are. But I'm pretty sure off the top of my head I have very close to 1230 and they're all very varied. So I have my parents birth dates, my collarbone in Roman numerals. I have a big it's kind of like writing piece across my sternum and my ribs. I got two fairies on my back. I got stars on my hips and family on my wrist. And then I go to medical alert as well. Me and my sister both have type one diabetes. So for her 18th birthday, I went and took her to the tattoo parlor and we brisco medical alert for type one diabetes on our wrists and in the back of my neck. I forgot I have a diamond and some stars. And the last piece I got was a big. But they're flying fruit bat on my ribs on my side. Wow. That's incredible. I absolutely love the personal tattoos you have there. That's really beautiful. What do you personally love about tattoos? Yes, for me, it's just having that freedom to represent yourself. I always try to have some sort of symbolism or some sort of meaning towards any sort of tattoo that I did get. So it would always remind me of that meaning on the back of my neck, so to speak. I have a diamond which is meant to symbolize forever and to us very facing each other, it is meant to represent freedom. So for me it's like freedom forever. And it's just like having that representation for me to see you and everybody else to enjoy. Hopefully that's yeah, that's incredibly beautiful. I love that. What's been your experience as a blind person getting tattooed? How would you describe it? I really the first so the one that I got on my side was the only one that I have had vision impaired. And I was very, very lucky that the tattoo artist, her mum was actually I had low vision and had pretty much the same conditions that I had. So I felt, Wow. Yeah, I know. I felt so comfortable like, oh, she's not going to have looks, not going to do like a bad job or she's not going to care. Because I think it was more I had anxiety about are they really going to care? Because they know I'm not going to be able to see it. Absolutely. So what is your vision currently like? How would you describe what you can see? So like vision at the moment, it is quite stable. So I have macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy as well as macular ischemia just to put on the top. And so I have absolutely no central vision. I rely primarily on my peripheral, but the diabetic retinopathy, when that plays up, that actually blocks out all my vision. So I do have periods of time where I am totally blind, but the rest of the time I'm low vision, but only my peripheral, so I can't see any detail. Have you ever experienced discrimination online or in person when you show off your tattoos? I guess would be borderline discrimination in the sense of it's more or less they're more like, Oh, at least you don't have to see those things on you. Or they're like, Why would you want to get any more? Thank God you can't see the ones you have. And it kind of makes you feel a little bit not wanting to show off because I don't want to like rub it in their face to be like how? Well, look, I still have them anyway. So for. Me discrimination is not more or less about the tattoos, but just how in general they make me feel about them. Yeah, that sounds really awful. I'm so sorry that that's been people's reactions. And how has people's criticism and discrimination affected you? For me, kind of. Unfortunately, it does build on top of a lot of other like borderline discrimination. You face being low vision as it is save on walking with McCain or even with my seeing eye dog. If we avoid obstacles or if I look her in the eye of where I could read a trans song, it's like I get these, like, overwhelming feeling that people are looking at me like, Oh, she's lying. So I already have that sort of pressure. So funny enough, I find that when they do kind of talk about she like my appearance because I do have like tattoos, you might also be like extra large egos. And I do have a lot of tattoos and I do dress a little bit, you know, unusual. I kind of use that as my my shield, as my defense is, like, you know, they can't get to my they can't get to my well-being about being low vision because they've got to get through all these other layers of, like, craziness I have. I really love that, Britney, how, you know, just because we're blind or low vision doesn't mean we have to water ourselves down to make other people feel comfortable. You know, we can express our personality and individuality in these ways, just the same as fully sighted people. It's amazing. Yeah, no, definitely. What? How do you express yourself then? So I also have a tattoo. I have a Braille tattoo. It's two words infinite vision in black Braille dots on my outer forearm, just as a kind of way to encourage myself and remind myself that, you know, this journey isn't linear. There's ups and downs and it's life long. But the most important thing is having a vision for a life. Even as I say, it fades. I'll say it's awesome. Two tours in a couple of years, you hit your arm hard enough. The terrible rays. Oh, I can look forward to that then. Is it healing? So I got my tattoo in October 2021. So it's fully healed. Yep. Beautiful. My. But how do you do that? I got was all shaded in with dots. Some like dots so painful. Luckily I didn't feel mine too bad. It was pretty painless. But yeah, I was going to say I think it's funny you mentioned being able to feel the tattoo, you feel the dots, because if I run my fingers along the dots, I can actually kind of feel them as if it were Braille. Yet it's usually like a subtle a bull. Or if my stepson will come up and like, I'd do something silly and then like I grab my ribs and I'm like, Ooh, I see my tattoo. So that's really awesome. So I guess I'd also like to ask, do you have any tips and tricks for people who are blind or low vision, who want to get a tattoo but worried about the process or unsure how to discuss their blindness or access needs with the tattoo artist? Yes, you do have to. Honestly, the tattoo artists, if they're a really good tattoo artist, they would take pride in their work no matter what. So don't go to some dodgy backyard somewhere. They do not take pride, even if you can see. So make sure you do go to a professional pala and always know that you don't have to be scared about what you like. If you look at the images, even if you have some vision, come in with heaps of options, get a trusted friend, get a trusted support worker. Somebody your age, do not take your mother. They will give you bad ideas and just don't be afraid. You don't need to discuss your disability, whether you're blind in a wheelchair, whether you're deaf, whether you have any sort of other ability out there, you can still get a tattoo. It is very accessible studies. Absolutely. I fully agree with that. You know, people who are blind or low vision, we don't necessarily all just see black. Some people have some remaining vision left. And it's really important that these spaces are fully accessible to everyone no matter what disability you have. If you want to get like really crazy into the body modification side of it, the is always scarification where they purposely give you scars on your body that are raised so you can feel. I personally don't like the look of it from what I remember, but it is like racist. The scars and whatever pattern you put on your body if you want to get really into it. I have heard of that it. Seems interesting for the tactile ness of it. I imagine it would be very easy to feel. Yeah, it definitely. I was just going to quickly mention I also really love what you said about tattoo artists and their professionalism, because my tattoo artist, I think his name was Angus at Wolf and Wren here in Adelaide when I went in on the day to get my tattoo done. He asked me, Oh, you know, are you blind or is someone in your family blind? Like, who are you getting this tattoo for? And you know, I mentioned I have retinitis pigmentosa, and he actually offered up the fact that a family member of his also has an eye disease different to mine. But it was a really serendipitous moment that actually sort of gave me confidence to talk about it because he was really, really friendly and approachable and willing to talk about it to you can find some really great ones I mentioned before my my tell you what a city my latest one. Her mum had macular degeneration so it was she knew all of it and like she would laugh about her mom like she said that her sister would like try to map things behind her mum's back, but her mum always knew. And the whole time I'm like crying in pain because going to my room said it. But like, she's making me laugh just about my future. That hadn't come yet because I think it was only maybe six months diagnosed. So they are very great people. When you find the one, you never let him go. Oh, absolutely. And that's so beautiful, isn't it? Because tattoos are such a personal and unique and individual things, you know, to honour our loved ones, express our personalities for cultural reasons, or about our journeys through life, among many others. Definitely. And as you mentioned, they are very professional people. They are going to I remember the one that I had saying that she did tattoo names on someone who was totally blind, had no vision at all. And somebody did make a comment to her actually about, you know, you might see it like, what's the point? And then she turned around. She's like, because he knows it's there. That's what the point is. Absolutely. Thank you so much for chatting with me today. All about blindness and tattoos. Britney, it is been amazing hearing about your experiences and your tattoos as well.

Thank you, Sam. My name is Bethany Curtis. I have retinitis pigmentosa. It is a degenerative eye disease. And I also have a tattoo. I'm really curious to challenge the misconception that blind people can't get tattoos. And today I'm talking to Brittany Watson about her experiences. Hi, Brittany. Thank you so much for chatting with me today about blindness and tattoos. To start off with, I would love to know how many tattoos you have and what thereof. So how many studies I have is a hard question now because I do tend to forget where they all are. But I'm pretty sure off the top of my head I have very close to 1230 and they're all very varied. So I have my parents birth dates, my collarbone in Roman numerals. I have a big it's kind of like writing piece across my sternum and my ribs. I got two fairies on my back. I got stars on my hips and family on my wrist. And then I go to medical alert as well. Me and my sister both have type one diabetes. So for her 18th birthday, I went and took her to the tattoo parlor and we brisco medical alert for type one diabetes on our wrists and in the back of my neck. I forgot I have a diamond and some stars. And the last piece I got was a big. But they're flying fruit bat on my ribs on my side. Wow. That's incredible. I absolutely love the personal tattoos you have there. That's really beautiful. What do you personally love about tattoos? Yes, for me, it's just having that freedom to represent yourself. I always try to have some sort of symbolism or some sort of meaning towards any sort of tattoo that I did get. So it would always remind me of that meaning on the back of my neck, so to speak. I have a diamond which is meant to symbolize forever and to us very facing each other, it is meant to represent freedom. So for me it's like freedom forever. And it's just like having that representation for me to see you and everybody else to enjoy. Hopefully that's yeah, that's incredibly beautiful. I love that. What's been your experience as a blind person getting tattooed? How would you describe it? I really the first so the one that I got on my side was the only one that I have had vision impaired. And I was very, very lucky that the tattoo artist, her mum was actually I had low vision and had pretty much the same conditions that I had. So I felt, Wow. Yeah, I know. I felt so comfortable like, oh, she's not going to have looks, not going to do like a bad job or she's not going to care. Because I think it was more I had anxiety about are they really going to care? Because they know I'm not going to be able to see it. Absolutely. So what is your vision currently like? How would you describe what you can see? So like vision at the moment, it is quite stable. So I have macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy as well as macular ischemia just to put on the top. And so I have absolutely no central vision. I rely primarily on my peripheral, but the diabetic retinopathy, when that plays up, that actually blocks out all my vision. So I do have periods of time where I am totally blind, but the rest of the time I'm low vision, but only my peripheral, so I can't see any detail. Have you ever experienced discrimination online or in person when you show off your tattoos? I guess would be borderline discrimination in the sense of it's more or less they're more like, Oh, at least you don't have to see those things on you. Or they're like, Why would you want to get any more? Thank God you can't see the ones you have. And it kind of makes you feel a little bit not wanting to show off because I don't want to like rub it in their face to be like how? Well, look, I still have them anyway. So for. Me discrimination is not more or less about the tattoos, but just how in general they make me feel about them. Yeah, that sounds really awful. I'm so sorry that that's been people's reactions. And how has people's criticism and discrimination affected you? For me, kind of. Unfortunately, it does build on top of a lot of other like borderline discrimination. You face being low vision as it is save on walking with McCain or even with my seeing eye dog. If we avoid obstacles or if I look her in the eye of where I could read a trans song, it's like I get these, like, overwhelming feeling that people are looking at me like, Oh, she's lying. So I already have that sort of pressure. So funny enough, I find that when they do kind of talk about she like my appearance because I do have like tattoos, you might also be like extra large egos. And I do have a lot of tattoos and I do dress a little bit, you know, unusual. I kind of use that as my my shield, as my defense is, like, you know, they can't get to my they can't get to my well-being about being low vision because they've got to get through all these other layers of, like, craziness I have. I really love that, Britney, how, you know, just because we're blind or low vision doesn't mean we have to water ourselves down to make other people feel comfortable. You know, we can express our personality and individuality in these ways, just the same as fully sighted people. It's amazing. Yeah, no, definitely. What? How do you express yourself then? So I also have a tattoo. I have a Braille tattoo. It's two words infinite vision in black Braille dots on my outer forearm, just as a kind of way to encourage myself and remind myself that, you know, this journey isn't linear. There's ups and downs and it's life long. But the most important thing is having a vision for a life. Even as I say, it fades. I'll say it's awesome. Two tours in a couple of years, you hit your arm hard enough. The terrible rays. Oh, I can look forward to that then. Is it healing? So I got my tattoo in October 2021. So it's fully healed. Yep. Beautiful. My. But how do you do that? I got was all shaded in with dots. Some like dots so painful. Luckily I didn't feel mine too bad. It was pretty painless. But yeah, I was going to say I think it's funny you mentioned being able to feel the tattoo, you feel the dots, because if I run my fingers along the dots, I can actually kind of feel them as if it were Braille. Yet it's usually like a subtle a bull. Or if my stepson will come up and like, I'd do something silly and then like I grab my ribs and I'm like, Ooh, I see my tattoo. So that's really awesome. So I guess I'd also like to ask, do you have any tips and tricks for people who are blind or low vision, who want to get a tattoo but worried about the process or unsure how to discuss their blindness or access needs with the tattoo artist? Yes, you do have to. Honestly, the tattoo artists, if they're a really good tattoo artist, they would take pride in their work no matter what. So don't go to some dodgy backyard somewhere. They do not take pride, even if you can see. So make sure you do go to a professional pala and always know that you don't have to be scared about what you like. If you look at the images, even if you have some vision, come in with heaps of options, get a trusted friend, get a trusted support worker. Somebody your age, do not take your mother. They will give you bad ideas and just don't be afraid. You don't need to discuss your disability, whether you're blind in a wheelchair, whether you're deaf, whether you have any sort of other ability out there, you can still get a tattoo. It is very accessible studies. Absolutely. I fully agree with that. You know, people who are blind or low vision, we don't necessarily all just see black. Some people have some remaining vision left. And it's really important that these spaces are fully accessible to everyone no matter what disability you have. If you want to get like really crazy into the body modification side of it, the is always scarification where they purposely give you scars on your body that are raised so you can feel. I personally don't like the look of it from what I remember, but it is like racist. The scars and whatever pattern you put on your body if you want to get really into it. I have heard of that it. Seems interesting for the tactile ness of it. I imagine it would be very easy to feel. Yeah, it definitely. I was just going to quickly mention I also really love what you said about tattoo artists and their professionalism, because my tattoo artist, I think his name was Angus at Wolf and Wren here in Adelaide when I went in on the day to get my tattoo done. He asked me, Oh, you know, are you blind or is someone in your family blind? Like, who are you getting this tattoo for? And you know, I mentioned I have retinitis pigmentosa, and he actually offered up the fact that a family member of his also has an eye disease different to mine. But it was a really serendipitous moment that actually sort of gave me confidence to talk about it because he was really, really friendly and approachable and willing to talk about it to you can find some really great ones I mentioned before my my tell you what a city my latest one. Her mum had macular degeneration so it was she knew all of it and like she would laugh about her mom like she said that her sister would like try to map things behind her mum's back, but her mum always knew. And the whole time I'm like crying in pain because going to my room said it. But like, she's making me laugh just about my future. That hadn't come yet because I think it was only maybe six months diagnosed. So they are very great people. When you find the one, you never let him go. Oh, absolutely. And that's so beautiful, isn't it? Because tattoos are such a personal and unique and individual things, you know, to honour our loved ones, express our personalities for cultural reasons, or about our journeys through life, among many others. Definitely. And as you mentioned, they are very professional people. They are going to I remember the one that I had saying that she did tattoo names on someone who was totally blind, had no vision at all. And somebody did make a comment to her actually about, you know, you might see it like, what's the point? And then she turned around. She's like, because he knows it's there. That's what the point is. Absolutely. Thank you so much for chatting with me today. All about blindness and tattoos. Britney, it is been amazing hearing about your experiences and your tattoos as well.

And now for some news and information. People with Disabilities Australia has launched a new website to help improve how their members, clients and supporters can access their information and engage with their work activities and events. Launched as part of the 40th anniversary commemorations, the new website has been set up to provide a much more effective and accessible user experience. To have a look at the new website. Head to PWT talk dot aew. That's pay w day dot org dot eu and in other news Vision Australia libraries holding the Write Your Life memoir writing series Running from the 20th of August 2022 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time. The real life series will be held over six weeks on Saturday and Tuesday mornings. You can choose to register for either the Saturday or the Tuesday series to find out more at her register. Head to the Vision Australia Library website at Vision Australia dot org. Slash services slash library. That's Vision Australia dot org. Slash services slash library. And that's all we have time for today. You've been listening to Talking Vision. Talking Vision is a production of Vision Australia right here. Thanks to all involved with putting the program together. And remember, we love your feedback and comments. You can contact us at talking vision. Vision Australia dot org. That's Talking Vision or one word vision Australia dot org. But until next week, it's python.

And now for some news and information. People with Disabilities Australia has launched a new website to help improve how their members, clients and supporters can access their information and engage with their work activities and events. Launched as part of the 40th anniversary commemorations, the new website has been set up to provide a much more effective and accessible user experience. To have a look at the new website. Head to PWT talk dot aew. That's pay w day dot org dot eu and in other news Vision Australia libraries holding the Write Your Life memoir writing series Running from the 20th of August 2022 from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Australian Eastern Standard Time. The real life series will be held over six weeks on Saturday and Tuesday mornings. You can choose to register for either the Saturday or the Tuesday series to find out more at her register. Head to the Vision Australia Library website at Vision Australia dot org. Slash services slash library. That's Vision Australia dot org. Slash services slash library. And that's all we have time for today. You've been listening to Talking Vision. Talking Vision is a production of Vision Australia right here. Thanks to all involved with putting the program together. And remember, we love your feedback and comments. You can contact us at talking vision. Vision Australia dot org. That's Talking Vision or one word vision Australia dot org. But until next week, it's python.

You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us any time during business hours on one 300 84746. That's 13847466 or by visiting Vision Australia dot org. That's Mission Australia dot or.

You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us any time during business hours on one 300 84746. That's 13847466 or by visiting Vision Australia dot org. That's Mission Australia dot or.