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

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

Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness and low vision. This is something that we called attention to a couple of weeks ago. No b-1s, no totally blind athletes selected from Australia. And that's. I think that's a crying shame considering we are blind athletes then. So yeah, if you are listening out there, you're young enough and you feel inspired, then get out there, find yourself a guide runner and you know, give it a red hot go. Welcome to the program. This week we're gearing up for the Paralympics on Talking Vision as I catch up with Sam Rickard, the host of studio One and four time Paralympian to have a chat with me about the upcoming games. That conversation is coming up very shortly, so make sure to stay tuned. Then after you hear from Sam, I'll catch up with Belinda Wilson from the Children and Young People Programs team at Vision Australia to tell us about the Leap program and a bunch of other programs available for children and young people who are blind or have low vision. And then we wrap up with a reader recommended and a little bit of news and information. I hope you enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. Over the next two weeks, from the 28th of August to the 8th of September, the Paralympics will be taking place over in Paris and to have a chat with me all about them. I'm joined today by our resident Paralympian and athletics expert, Sam Rickard, a voice quite familiar to quite a lot of you, as well as one of the hosts of Studio One. Sam, welcome back to Talking Vision. Great to have you again. Oh, nice to be back. Now, we had you earlier in the year around April time with, um, 100 K your way as you were making your way to 100km in your own time and in your own way, running, ambling along. Yes, yes. And now we're back on a bit of an athletic theme as well as the Paralympics are coming up very, very shortly. In fact, as this goes to where it's kicking off overnight, our time. So. Yeah. How are you feeling you bit excited. Bit nervous to see how everyone goes. The funny thing is, I mean because it was a part of my life for so long. I always get this nagging feeling I should be somewhere else when I'm sort of sitting at home, sort of doing all this, even to this day. I mean, I've been retired for longer than I've been competing, but it's still there's this sort of like nagging thing of should I be overseas or something? And that probably, I guess that never goes away. And it's sort of you feel like, oh, I should be out there, I should be running, I should be training, I should be practicing. Then I go and do it. And then I think to myself, no, I shouldn't be out there. Ouch. Yeah. Oh my God. But let's go back to that. Tell us a few of those stories from your time as a Paralympian. There's quite a bit to tell, quite a few achievements in there, but what sort of sticks out for you? What stuck out to me really is for something extraordinary that the Paralympics in general are. It is just full of such ordinary people. You've got people all throughout the time they're there, just like you or me, who have just been, for whatever reason, decided to give this thing a red hot go and train a little bit harder than everybody else. And if you have a disability, it's not necessarily easy to do a lot of things, but I've always noticed that those that do make it in the sport make it in inverted commas. They've just tried a little bit harder. And in terms of perseverance and trying and getting over the line and making those little improvements and hitting that ultimate achievement. You yourself are a Paralympic medallist. So if you don't mind going into a bit of detail, what was that like? That experience in 1992, in Barcelona, in the 800m and all the lead up and the feelings around that and how it all sort of panned out. Well, back then I was sponsored by Cheap Foods, which was a shopping chain in South Australia and the Northern Territory. And they had said, if you get a medal, then we will increase your sponsorship. And it was the last day of competition, pretty much, and I'd made the final of the 800m and that was the one thing that actually finally stuck in my head, as I'd given everything in the first 600m of that race, I'd run the first 400 way too fast. The adrenaline had pumped me up. I'd gone through in 52 seconds, and I'd never run under two minutes before in my life in the 800. At that stage, and, well, I'm a low B3, so I couldn't actually see what the time was when I went past, but the guy that was on my shoulder had and he'd sort of dropped way off. So by the time I got around to the 600m, I was absolutely spent completely and utterly exhausted. And so Christophe, the Frenchman, the Panamanian guy and the English guy all passed me in short succession. And I was thinking, oh, that's it, fourth. But then, yes, seeking extra sponsorship came into my head and I thought, no, no, I'm not going to this is not going to happen. So I don't think I looked particularly good as I was going in the next 200m or so. But I pushed through it. And because the poor Englishman had been stupid enough to follow me in the first lap, he was just that little bit more spent. So I actually went past him and I was that exhausted. I actually gave him a mouthful of abuse as I went past him, but still managed to continue on and hold on for that bronze medal. And as it was, there was a new Australian record by a lot. And yeah, and it was good enough for a bronze medal. And as far as I'm aware, to this day, I'm still the only blind athlete in this country to have broken two minutes. So I'm sure it's been done outside competition or outside the official competition, as it were. But I still hold that Australian record, which I want someone to break, that it's been sitting there for God knows how long now. Well, it might happen in 2024. Well, I'll have to wait and see. Is that your pet event? The one you sort of gear up to watching every four years when it comes around, or every two years in the Commonwealth Games in that respect as well. But is that the event you're sort of really looking forward to, or there's others that peak your interest as well over the years? Well, unfortunately, the 800m is not included for blind athletes at the moment. Oh, that's a shame. I think I think it's a B1 event, but the vagaries of international sports rules state that if there are less than six qualifiers in the event, then the event gets scrapped. So this means that modern Paralympians can't specialise in a single event because their event may disappear. And this is exactly what happened to me in 1996. I was all geared up to absolutely blitz the 800m, and the 800m just suddenly disappeared, owing to a whole bunch of athletes being injured back in 1990s, which had this sort of rock on thing to the 1996 Paralympics. So that's something that you've got to bear in mind is sometimes you've got athletes competing in events that they haven't trained for all their lives, and you've got to be flexible. And that's why you're having this exodus to triathlon, for example, by certain other athletes. And that's why my friend Sam Harding is switched over to triathlon, because at least it's going to be there. At least you can train for it and it won't suddenly disappear on you. That's also an interesting sort of dynamics there for people who are totally blind, swimming and riding and how they'd get guided through and training and all that sort of thing. And that added element to it for people out there who might be wondering, how would that sort of work in a Paralympic context? Do people still have guides or tandems alongside them if they are 100% B1? Absolutely no vision at all. What's your understanding there? Uh, guide riding has not changed since the year dot. One thing that has changed. So back in my day. God, I sound old when I'm saying that. But prior to the 1996 Paralympics. B1 runners in the 100m actually ran them in time trials. You'd have someone standing at the end of the 100 meter straight and yelling out four four as they were running in lane four, and if they veered off to either side, they'd either yell out 3 or 5, and that would allow the runner to correct themselves. In the 1990s, that changed to the same as everything else, with a with a guide runner actually running the event and having to synchronize block starts and all that sort of stuff. So it still exists. And you do see B1 events, alas. And this is something that we called attention to a couple of weeks ago. No B1, no totally blind athletes selected it from Australia. And that's I think that's a crying shame considering we are blind athletes. And so yeah, if you are listening out there, you're young enough and you feel inspired, then get out there, find yourself a guide runner and, you know, give it a red hot go. There is a future for all of that as well, obviously. So we do want to say a lot of people getting involved. So that's super important. And you know, what's the best way for people out there to get involved and join a running club or perhaps an Achilles branch, or join an athletics club that's accessible for them? Well, Blind Sports Australia still exists out there, and it's their job to look after athletes with a vision impairment. So you can go onto their website. They will give you a potted guide onto to what things are available. But in theory all athletics clubs, all sports clubs nowadays should be accessible. So if it's up to you, if you want, if you feel confident enough to get out there and say, hey, I'd like to run. And yes, you have Achilles branches now. And Achilles is a I've only just recently learned about this. We're trying to open up one in in Adelaide as well. Uh, it works at developing able bodied athletes into guide runners. So if you feel like getting out and going for a run or something like that, you can contact your local Achilles branch. They can find you someone who can run with you. And I mean, the whole point is, well, is that person has to be just that little bit faster, a little bit fitter, so that all you need to do is sit back and run. They're the ones, they're your eyes. That's the whole general principle of it. Finally, Sam, we'll get in a little bit of an opportunity for some cross promotion. You've got a special coming up on Studio One shortly, all about the Paralympics. I'll let you fill the listeners in with as many of the details as you like. But yeah, that's coming up soon. We were actually considering just ignoring the things altogether, but the opportunity came up to actually present a slightly different spin on things. So what we are looking at are the athletes that came through the system over the years, might have competed at one Paralympics and then sort of disappeared again. So we are talking to three blind athletes who, yes, three blind athletes, three blind mice who started out at the well. One of them started out at the Seoul Paralympics and then went on to bigger and better things, as it were, as in marriage and a life which is all good for him. My friend Shane, who competed in the Sydney Paralympics and that was as a thrower and again went on to life and marriage and things like that. And yes, my friend Ed, who went on to be quite a successful public servant, so we're looking at how sport has actually treated them over the years and how it's actually influenced their choices and what went on afterwards, As I said, it's a slightly different, different approach because it's easy to look at elite athletes as some sort of superman, but, well, none of them are. We are we? We have the same issues and sometimes it doesn't quite work out. So I thought this would be like a twist on on things that would give the listener out there an idea that of what makes us actually tick properly. Yeah, all of this sort of thing isn't necessarily a guaranteed income, as you've mentioned. It's, you know, not 100% guaranteed. You can sort of make a living off sport. Unfortunately, there's a lot of people out there and all that blood, sweat and tears and hard work behind the scenes that some a lot of the stuff, all the, you know, people don't really see on TV. So it's great to, you know, get those stories. Not only do times change, but people change as well. So, um, it's not an easy thing to qualify for international competition, let alone for, for a Paralympic Games. Certainly not. Okay. Well, I've been speaking today with Sam Rickard, host of studio one and four time Paralympian. Here to chat to me all about the upcoming Paralympics taking place in Paris over the next couple of weeks. Sam. Great to catch up with you again. Thanks so much for your time and hope you enjoy the Paralympics. I'll be watching. On Sam, Cully and Joe listening to Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio, associated stations of the Radio Reading Network and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation there with Sam Rickard, four time Olympian and host of Studio One alongside Lizzie Eastham. If you missed any part of that conversation with Sam or you'd love to hear it again. Talking vision will be available on the Vision Australia Radio website at VA radio.org. That's VA radio.org. You can also find the program and interview highlights from the shows on the podcast app of your choice, or through the Vision Australia library as we head into the month of September. The Children and Young People team at Vision Australia have a range of programs which are just opening for expressions of interest in 2025. But there's also quite a few other initiatives going on and to tell us all about them. I'm joined by Belinda Wilson, coordinator of the programs for children and young people at Vision Australia. Belinda, welcome back to Talking vision. Thanks for your time.

Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And for the next half hour we talk matters of blindness and low vision. This is something that we called attention to a couple of weeks ago. No b-1s, no totally blind athletes selected from Australia. And that's. I think that's a crying shame considering we are blind athletes then. So yeah, if you are listening out there, you're young enough and you feel inspired, then get out there, find yourself a guide runner and you know, give it a red hot go. Welcome to the program. This week we're gearing up for the Paralympics on Talking Vision as I catch up with Sam Rickard, the host of studio One and four time Paralympian to have a chat with me about the upcoming games. That conversation is coming up very shortly, so make sure to stay tuned. Then after you hear from Sam, I'll catch up with Belinda Wilson from the Children and Young People Programs team at Vision Australia to tell us about the Leap program and a bunch of other programs available for children and young people who are blind or have low vision. And then we wrap up with a reader recommended and a little bit of news and information. I hope you enjoy this week's episode of Talking Vision. Over the next two weeks, from the 28th of August to the 8th of September, the Paralympics will be taking place over in Paris and to have a chat with me all about them. I'm joined today by our resident Paralympian and athletics expert, Sam Rickard, a voice quite familiar to quite a lot of you, as well as one of the hosts of Studio One. Sam, welcome back to Talking Vision. Great to have you again. Oh, nice to be back. Now, we had you earlier in the year around April time with, um, 100 K your way as you were making your way to 100km in your own time and in your own way, running, ambling along. Yes, yes. And now we're back on a bit of an athletic theme as well as the Paralympics are coming up very, very shortly. In fact, as this goes to where it's kicking off overnight, our time. So. Yeah. How are you feeling you bit excited. Bit nervous to see how everyone goes. The funny thing is, I mean because it was a part of my life for so long. I always get this nagging feeling I should be somewhere else when I'm sort of sitting at home, sort of doing all this, even to this day. I mean, I've been retired for longer than I've been competing, but it's still there's this sort of like nagging thing of should I be overseas or something? And that probably, I guess that never goes away. And it's sort of you feel like, oh, I should be out there, I should be running, I should be training, I should be practicing. Then I go and do it. And then I think to myself, no, I shouldn't be out there. Ouch. Yeah. Oh my God. But let's go back to that. Tell us a few of those stories from your time as a Paralympian. There's quite a bit to tell, quite a few achievements in there, but what sort of sticks out for you? What stuck out to me really is for something extraordinary that the Paralympics in general are. It is just full of such ordinary people. You've got people all throughout the time they're there, just like you or me, who have just been, for whatever reason, decided to give this thing a red hot go and train a little bit harder than everybody else. And if you have a disability, it's not necessarily easy to do a lot of things, but I've always noticed that those that do make it in the sport make it in inverted commas. They've just tried a little bit harder. And in terms of perseverance and trying and getting over the line and making those little improvements and hitting that ultimate achievement. You yourself are a Paralympic medallist. So if you don't mind going into a bit of detail, what was that like? That experience in 1992, in Barcelona, in the 800m and all the lead up and the feelings around that and how it all sort of panned out. Well, back then I was sponsored by Cheap Foods, which was a shopping chain in South Australia and the Northern Territory. And they had said, if you get a medal, then we will increase your sponsorship. And it was the last day of competition, pretty much, and I'd made the final of the 800m and that was the one thing that actually finally stuck in my head, as I'd given everything in the first 600m of that race, I'd run the first 400 way too fast. The adrenaline had pumped me up. I'd gone through in 52 seconds, and I'd never run under two minutes before in my life in the 800. At that stage, and, well, I'm a low B3, so I couldn't actually see what the time was when I went past, but the guy that was on my shoulder had and he'd sort of dropped way off. So by the time I got around to the 600m, I was absolutely spent completely and utterly exhausted. And so Christophe, the Frenchman, the Panamanian guy and the English guy all passed me in short succession. And I was thinking, oh, that's it, fourth. But then, yes, seeking extra sponsorship came into my head and I thought, no, no, I'm not going to this is not going to happen. So I don't think I looked particularly good as I was going in the next 200m or so. But I pushed through it. And because the poor Englishman had been stupid enough to follow me in the first lap, he was just that little bit more spent. So I actually went past him and I was that exhausted. I actually gave him a mouthful of abuse as I went past him, but still managed to continue on and hold on for that bronze medal. And as it was, there was a new Australian record by a lot. And yeah, and it was good enough for a bronze medal. And as far as I'm aware, to this day, I'm still the only blind athlete in this country to have broken two minutes. So I'm sure it's been done outside competition or outside the official competition, as it were. But I still hold that Australian record, which I want someone to break, that it's been sitting there for God knows how long now. Well, it might happen in 2024. Well, I'll have to wait and see. Is that your pet event? The one you sort of gear up to watching every four years when it comes around, or every two years in the Commonwealth Games in that respect as well. But is that the event you're sort of really looking forward to, or there's others that peak your interest as well over the years? Well, unfortunately, the 800m is not included for blind athletes at the moment. Oh, that's a shame. I think I think it's a B1 event, but the vagaries of international sports rules state that if there are less than six qualifiers in the event, then the event gets scrapped. So this means that modern Paralympians can't specialise in a single event because their event may disappear. And this is exactly what happened to me in 1996. I was all geared up to absolutely blitz the 800m, and the 800m just suddenly disappeared, owing to a whole bunch of athletes being injured back in 1990s, which had this sort of rock on thing to the 1996 Paralympics. So that's something that you've got to bear in mind is sometimes you've got athletes competing in events that they haven't trained for all their lives, and you've got to be flexible. And that's why you're having this exodus to triathlon, for example, by certain other athletes. And that's why my friend Sam Harding is switched over to triathlon, because at least it's going to be there. At least you can train for it and it won't suddenly disappear on you. That's also an interesting sort of dynamics there for people who are totally blind, swimming and riding and how they'd get guided through and training and all that sort of thing. And that added element to it for people out there who might be wondering, how would that sort of work in a Paralympic context? Do people still have guides or tandems alongside them if they are 100% B1? Absolutely no vision at all. What's your understanding there? Uh, guide riding has not changed since the year dot. One thing that has changed. So back in my day. God, I sound old when I'm saying that. But prior to the 1996 Paralympics. B1 runners in the 100m actually ran them in time trials. You'd have someone standing at the end of the 100 meter straight and yelling out four four as they were running in lane four, and if they veered off to either side, they'd either yell out 3 or 5, and that would allow the runner to correct themselves. In the 1990s, that changed to the same as everything else, with a with a guide runner actually running the event and having to synchronize block starts and all that sort of stuff. So it still exists. And you do see B1 events, alas. And this is something that we called attention to a couple of weeks ago. No B1, no totally blind athletes selected it from Australia. And that's I think that's a crying shame considering we are blind athletes. And so yeah, if you are listening out there, you're young enough and you feel inspired, then get out there, find yourself a guide runner and, you know, give it a red hot go. There is a future for all of that as well, obviously. So we do want to say a lot of people getting involved. So that's super important. And you know, what's the best way for people out there to get involved and join a running club or perhaps an Achilles branch, or join an athletics club that's accessible for them? Well, Blind Sports Australia still exists out there, and it's their job to look after athletes with a vision impairment. So you can go onto their website. They will give you a potted guide onto to what things are available. But in theory all athletics clubs, all sports clubs nowadays should be accessible. So if it's up to you, if you want, if you feel confident enough to get out there and say, hey, I'd like to run. And yes, you have Achilles branches now. And Achilles is a I've only just recently learned about this. We're trying to open up one in in Adelaide as well. Uh, it works at developing able bodied athletes into guide runners. So if you feel like getting out and going for a run or something like that, you can contact your local Achilles branch. They can find you someone who can run with you. And I mean, the whole point is, well, is that person has to be just that little bit faster, a little bit fitter, so that all you need to do is sit back and run. They're the ones, they're your eyes. That's the whole general principle of it. Finally, Sam, we'll get in a little bit of an opportunity for some cross promotion. You've got a special coming up on Studio One shortly, all about the Paralympics. I'll let you fill the listeners in with as many of the details as you like. But yeah, that's coming up soon. We were actually considering just ignoring the things altogether, but the opportunity came up to actually present a slightly different spin on things. So what we are looking at are the athletes that came through the system over the years, might have competed at one Paralympics and then sort of disappeared again. So we are talking to three blind athletes who, yes, three blind athletes, three blind mice who started out at the well. One of them started out at the Seoul Paralympics and then went on to bigger and better things, as it were, as in marriage and a life which is all good for him. My friend Shane, who competed in the Sydney Paralympics and that was as a thrower and again went on to life and marriage and things like that. And yes, my friend Ed, who went on to be quite a successful public servant, so we're looking at how sport has actually treated them over the years and how it's actually influenced their choices and what went on afterwards, As I said, it's a slightly different, different approach because it's easy to look at elite athletes as some sort of superman, but, well, none of them are. We are we? We have the same issues and sometimes it doesn't quite work out. So I thought this would be like a twist on on things that would give the listener out there an idea that of what makes us actually tick properly. Yeah, all of this sort of thing isn't necessarily a guaranteed income, as you've mentioned. It's, you know, not 100% guaranteed. You can sort of make a living off sport. Unfortunately, there's a lot of people out there and all that blood, sweat and tears and hard work behind the scenes that some a lot of the stuff, all the, you know, people don't really see on TV. So it's great to, you know, get those stories. Not only do times change, but people change as well. So, um, it's not an easy thing to qualify for international competition, let alone for, for a Paralympic Games. Certainly not. Okay. Well, I've been speaking today with Sam Rickard, host of studio one and four time Paralympian. Here to chat to me all about the upcoming Paralympics taking place in Paris over the next couple of weeks. Sam. Great to catch up with you again. Thanks so much for your time and hope you enjoy the Paralympics. I'll be watching. On Sam, Cully and Joe listening to Talking Vision on Vision Australia Radio, associated stations of the Radio Reading Network and the Community Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed that conversation there with Sam Rickard, four time Olympian and host of Studio One alongside Lizzie Eastham. If you missed any part of that conversation with Sam or you'd love to hear it again. Talking vision will be available on the Vision Australia Radio website at VA radio.org. That's VA radio.org. You can also find the program and interview highlights from the shows on the podcast app of your choice, or through the Vision Australia library as we head into the month of September. The Children and Young People team at Vision Australia have a range of programs which are just opening for expressions of interest in 2025. But there's also quite a few other initiatives going on and to tell us all about them. I'm joined by Belinda Wilson, coordinator of the programs for children and young people at Vision Australia. Belinda, welcome back to Talking vision. Thanks for your time.

Thanks for having.

Thanks for having.

Me. Now we're here to have a little bit of an update on children and young people and what that part of the organization's getting up to. Why don't you give us a bit of an overview of some exciting things that have been going on?

Me. Now we're here to have a little bit of an update on children and young people and what that part of the organization's getting up to. Why don't you give us a bit of an overview of some exciting things that have been going on?

Well, there's a lot of things that have been happening in the children and young people's space over a lot of different things that have been happening in the area over the last, well, couple of years. But more, more recently, there's been some exciting stuff with with young adults and particularly with one of the programs that I run called the Leap program. One of the things that we have, which is wonderful, is the Life Ready Hub. And have you heard about that before, Sam?

Well, there's a lot of things that have been happening in the children and young people's space over a lot of different things that have been happening in the area over the last, well, couple of years. But more, more recently, there's been some exciting stuff with with young adults and particularly with one of the programs that I run called the Leap program. One of the things that we have, which is wonderful, is the Life Ready Hub. And have you heard about that before, Sam?

I have heard about it a little bit, but fill our listeners in on that a bit.

I have heard about it a little bit, but fill our listeners in on that a bit.

So the Life Ready Hub is a wonderful online resources for clients and their parents, and they have a lot of different modules on different areas. So that could be anything from little games that you can play to explore different careers, to podcasts that you can listen to about different subjects. Just all things relating to children and to blindness and low vision. We have recently done a podcast that will be available on it, a mindfulness podcast that will be available on it soon. And it also is the house of a lot of resources and information relating to employment, education, inclusivity, daily skills, all those sorts of things.

So the Life Ready Hub is a wonderful online resources for clients and their parents, and they have a lot of different modules on different areas. So that could be anything from little games that you can play to explore different careers, to podcasts that you can listen to about different subjects. Just all things relating to children and to blindness and low vision. We have recently done a podcast that will be available on it, a mindfulness podcast that will be available on it soon. And it also is the house of a lot of resources and information relating to employment, education, inclusivity, daily skills, all those sorts of things.

Okay, and if people would like to check out Life Ready, what's the best way for them to do that? Where should they.

Okay, and if people would like to check out Life Ready, what's the best way for them to do that? Where should they.

Go? Well, there's a lot of different ways that you can go through and get signed up for the Life Ready Hub. I would recommend if you are already involved with Vision Australia and you have a primary service provider to let them know if you're not already involved with Vision Australia, I would really recommend going through an intake first. In an intake, they discuss what type of goals that you and your child have and how you want to reach those goals, and through that, one of those options may be resources through the Life Ready Hub. And the great thing about the Life Ready Hub is it can be a flat resource, which is something you can read and do on your own time, or it's something you can do in tandem with a service provider.

Go? Well, there's a lot of different ways that you can go through and get signed up for the Life Ready Hub. I would recommend if you are already involved with Vision Australia and you have a primary service provider to let them know if you're not already involved with Vision Australia, I would really recommend going through an intake first. In an intake, they discuss what type of goals that you and your child have and how you want to reach those goals, and through that, one of those options may be resources through the Life Ready Hub. And the great thing about the Life Ready Hub is it can be a flat resource, which is something you can read and do on your own time, or it's something you can do in tandem with a service provider.

And Belinda, you mentioned earlier, they're just a little bit about the Leap program, and this is quite an exciting time of the year as applications have just opened up for 2025. So tell us a bit about leap and all the details there.

And Belinda, you mentioned earlier, they're just a little bit about the Leap program, and this is quite an exciting time of the year as applications have just opened up for 2025. So tell us a bit about leap and all the details there.

Leap is exciting right now for several reasons. There are a lot of things happening in leap all at once, so it's a very busy but very exciting time. So the first thing that's happening is that we have opened applications for Leap 2025, and Leap is a ten month program. It runs from February to November. It's an after school extracurricular program for young people aged 14 to 18 who have low vision or blindness. What I really love about the program is that you can join it from anywhere in Australia. So if you are in a remote area or if you're in an urban area, you join it all by Microsoft Teams and that's where you have all the meetings. The meetings are broken down into different subjects, and I really think it's just about being life ready and about developing those life skills that you need in order to either go into education, employment or even just to live your daily life. So a lot of the focus is on organization, writing emails, technology skills, doing some career exploration, building up your organizational skills through running a fundraiser. There's employability part of it where people look for jobs online and write resumes and attend mock interviews. And then it finishes with a presentation and graduation ceremony in November. The reason why I'm so excited right now is because there are two things that are happening in September, in addition to the applications being open, which are we are running a leap camp, which is when the leap participants can come to our Kensington Seeing Eye dog houses and stay there for three days. And also we are running the mock interviews. So all of the leap participants will be having mock interviews with different members of our leadership team. And this is an experience that I think is so important for young people to have that first mock interview experience, or even if they've had an interview before, to hone their interview skills, to create an application, to tailor their resume and their cover letter to the application, and to get honest feedback on how they're interviewing, their presentation skills, how they approach a job, how they researched a job, how they've learnt about a job. All those sorts of things are so important. And I really love this time of year with leap. It's very busy, but it's very, very fun.

Leap is exciting right now for several reasons. There are a lot of things happening in leap all at once, so it's a very busy but very exciting time. So the first thing that's happening is that we have opened applications for Leap 2025, and Leap is a ten month program. It runs from February to November. It's an after school extracurricular program for young people aged 14 to 18 who have low vision or blindness. What I really love about the program is that you can join it from anywhere in Australia. So if you are in a remote area or if you're in an urban area, you join it all by Microsoft Teams and that's where you have all the meetings. The meetings are broken down into different subjects, and I really think it's just about being life ready and about developing those life skills that you need in order to either go into education, employment or even just to live your daily life. So a lot of the focus is on organization, writing emails, technology skills, doing some career exploration, building up your organizational skills through running a fundraiser. There's employability part of it where people look for jobs online and write resumes and attend mock interviews. And then it finishes with a presentation and graduation ceremony in November. The reason why I'm so excited right now is because there are two things that are happening in September, in addition to the applications being open, which are we are running a leap camp, which is when the leap participants can come to our Kensington Seeing Eye dog houses and stay there for three days. And also we are running the mock interviews. So all of the leap participants will be having mock interviews with different members of our leadership team. And this is an experience that I think is so important for young people to have that first mock interview experience, or even if they've had an interview before, to hone their interview skills, to create an application, to tailor their resume and their cover letter to the application, and to get honest feedback on how they're interviewing, their presentation skills, how they approach a job, how they researched a job, how they've learnt about a job. All those sorts of things are so important. And I really love this time of year with leap. It's very busy, but it's very, very fun.

Well, it certainly sounds fun and if people would love to sign up for leap, they perhaps may have a son or a daughter or niece or nephew who would really greatly benefit from taking part in Leap, what's the best way for them to sign up? Or a few places to just perhaps find out more before they make that final choice?

Well, it certainly sounds fun and if people would love to sign up for leap, they perhaps may have a son or a daughter or niece or nephew who would really greatly benefit from taking part in Leap, what's the best way for them to sign up? Or a few places to just perhaps find out more before they make that final choice?

Yeah, so there's a lot of different ways to learn about Leap. One is to just email me at Leap at Vision Australia. Org that is just the loop mailbox. There's also the loop website, which is if you go to the Vision Australia website and just type in leap. It'll pop up. The website is really detailed. It has everything down to the monthly activities. What happens when the program details the application process, the costing, everything is just outlined there. Also, just so you know, if you do submit an expression of interest on the website, it will also go to me at the leap mailbox. So either way, you're going to get in contact with me and I can always give you a call and just discuss the program and whether the program is a good fit.

Yeah, so there's a lot of different ways to learn about Leap. One is to just email me at Leap at Vision Australia. Org that is just the loop mailbox. There's also the loop website, which is if you go to the Vision Australia website and just type in leap. It'll pop up. The website is really detailed. It has everything down to the monthly activities. What happens when the program details the application process, the costing, everything is just outlined there. Also, just so you know, if you do submit an expression of interest on the website, it will also go to me at the leap mailbox. So either way, you're going to get in contact with me and I can always give you a call and just discuss the program and whether the program is a good fit.

Okay. And that program is open for applications until November. Belinda. Yes. Yep. Earlier the better. But quite a few weeks and months for people to have a look and decide if leap is for them. But sounds like a lot of great things for people to get involved with, so look forward to seeing how that goes and hearing from quite a few people out there.

Okay. And that program is open for applications until November. Belinda. Yes. Yep. Earlier the better. But quite a few weeks and months for people to have a look and decide if leap is for them. But sounds like a lot of great things for people to get involved with, so look forward to seeing how that goes and hearing from quite a few people out there.

Yeah, the reason why we recommend applying early is because we are aware that sometimes there are some steps that need to be done before leap starts. So one of those things may be connecting you with a primary service provider, who will be the person who will coordinate your child's services, and will also be the one to facilitate the program. There may be some discussions around NDIS funding that you need support in. There may be situations where the person may also need additional services outside of Leap. Or maybe leap isn't exactly the right program they're looking for. So the earlier that you get in contact with us, the better and the more that we can go through and answer any of your questions.

Yeah, the reason why we recommend applying early is because we are aware that sometimes there are some steps that need to be done before leap starts. So one of those things may be connecting you with a primary service provider, who will be the person who will coordinate your child's services, and will also be the one to facilitate the program. There may be some discussions around NDIS funding that you need support in. There may be situations where the person may also need additional services outside of Leap. Or maybe leap isn't exactly the right program they're looking for. So the earlier that you get in contact with us, the better and the more that we can go through and answer any of your questions.

Perfect. Well, I've been speaking today with Belinda Wilson from the Children and Young People team at Vision Australia about not only Leap, lip, but a few other things that children and young people can get involved with through Vision Australia and their programs. Belinda, thank you so much for your time today. Great to catch up with you and hear all about what's going on.

Perfect. Well, I've been speaking today with Belinda Wilson from the Children and Young People team at Vision Australia about not only Leap, lip, but a few other things that children and young people can get involved with through Vision Australia and their programs. Belinda, thank you so much for your time today. Great to catch up with you and hear all about what's going on.

Yeah, always a pleasure to see you, Sam.

Yeah, always a pleasure to see you, Sam.

And now here's Frances Kelland with her radar recommended.

And now here's Frances Kelland with her radar recommended.

Thanks, Sam. Today's reader, recommended from the Vision Australia Library is killing for Country by David Marr. David Marr was shocked to discover forebears who served with the brutal native police in the bloodiest years on the frontier. Killing for country is the result of a soul searching Australian history. This is a richly detailed saga of politics and power in the colonial world of land seized, fortunes made and lost, and the violence let loose as squatters and their allies fought for possession of the country. A war still unresolved in today's Australia. Let's hear a sample of killing for Country by David Maher. It's narrated by the author David Maher.

Thanks, Sam. Today's reader, recommended from the Vision Australia Library is killing for Country by David Marr. David Marr was shocked to discover forebears who served with the brutal native police in the bloodiest years on the frontier. Killing for country is the result of a soul searching Australian history. This is a richly detailed saga of politics and power in the colonial world of land seized, fortunes made and lost, and the violence let loose as squatters and their allies fought for possession of the country. A war still unresolved in today's Australia. Let's hear a sample of killing for Country by David Maher. It's narrated by the author David Maher.

It was spring 1835. Is it not a good place? Asked. You're his guide? Agreed. But I should not like to put my sheep on it and drive away the cattle of those who have set down here. Two huts could be seen standing on the far side of the river. You didn't care. They are a set of cattle stealing rascals. And I should have no compunction. His guide agreed that they were rascals. But I should not trouble myself about that. I should go farther and look out for myself. They are here. You was not persuaded. This quarrelsome 21 year old had crossed the range with orders to seize a swathe of the finest land in New South Wales. My sheep, he said, will soon scatter the cattle. The two men rode 12 miles along the mokai, claiming 150,000 acres of the Liverpool Plains for the merchant Richard Jones. The soil was deep and black. This is Kamilaroi country, but neither Jones nor Edmund Ure doubted for a moment the land was theirs for the taking. Jones paid nothing for these acres. His only obligation was to stock them. His young brother in law would soon be running 30,000 sheep along the river. The colony was perfecting a unique form of conquest, invasion by sheep.

It was spring 1835. Is it not a good place? Asked. You're his guide? Agreed. But I should not like to put my sheep on it and drive away the cattle of those who have set down here. Two huts could be seen standing on the far side of the river. You didn't care. They are a set of cattle stealing rascals. And I should have no compunction. His guide agreed that they were rascals. But I should not trouble myself about that. I should go farther and look out for myself. They are here. You was not persuaded. This quarrelsome 21 year old had crossed the range with orders to seize a swathe of the finest land in New South Wales. My sheep, he said, will soon scatter the cattle. The two men rode 12 miles along the mokai, claiming 150,000 acres of the Liverpool Plains for the merchant Richard Jones. The soil was deep and black. This is Kamilaroi country, but neither Jones nor Edmund Ure doubted for a moment the land was theirs for the taking. Jones paid nothing for these acres. His only obligation was to stock them. His young brother in law would soon be running 30,000 sheep along the river. The colony was perfecting a unique form of conquest, invasion by sheep.

And that was a sample of killing for Country by David Marr, available from the Vision Australia Library. To join the library or to find out more about how the library works, there is a phone number 1300 654 656. That's 1300 654 656 or email library at Vision Australia. Org. That's library at Vision Australia. Org.

And that was a sample of killing for Country by David Marr, available from the Vision Australia Library. To join the library or to find out more about how the library works, there is a phone number 1300 654 656. That's 1300 654 656 or email library at Vision Australia. Org. That's library at Vision Australia. Org.

For the 16th consecutive year. The Focus on Ability Short Film Festival is back in action. Over the month of September. There will be a variety of screenings where you can celebrate the remarkable talents and stories of individual filmmakers with disability. Come and experience the power of perseverance, creativity and resilience. Your presence will make these events truly unforgettable. These are free events, but registration is essential. You can find screenings across the country in Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle, Canberra, Sydney, Launceston and Brisbane. To find out more and to register head to focus on ability. Com.au. That's focus on ability. Dot com dot a U. And that's all the time we have for today. You've been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you. So please get in touch any time on our email at Talking Vision. At Vision australia.org. That's talking vision all one word at Vision australia.org. But until next week it's Sam Collins saying bye for now.

For the 16th consecutive year. The Focus on Ability Short Film Festival is back in action. Over the month of September. There will be a variety of screenings where you can celebrate the remarkable talents and stories of individual filmmakers with disability. Come and experience the power of perseverance, creativity and resilience. Your presence will make these events truly unforgettable. These are free events, but registration is essential. You can find screenings across the country in Melbourne, Adelaide, Fremantle, Canberra, Sydney, Launceston and Brisbane. To find out more and to register head to focus on ability. Com.au. That's focus on ability. Dot com dot a U. And that's all the time we have for today. You've been listening to Talking Vision. Talking vision is a Vision Australia radio production. Thanks to all involved with putting the show together every week. And remember, we love hearing from you. So please get in touch any time on our email at Talking Vision. At Vision australia.org. That's talking vision all one word at Vision australia.org. But until next week it's Sam Collins saying bye for now.

You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during business hours on 1300 847 406. That's 1300 847 486 or by visiting Vision australia.org. That's Vision australia.org.

You can contact Vision Australia by phoning us anytime during business hours on 1300 847 406. That's 1300 847 486 or by visiting Vision australia.org. That's Vision australia.org.