It's a Mother's Day Special episode of Talking Vision this week as we hear from three different mums who are blind or have low vision.

Sam takes a look back at some of the conversations he's had with mums from the blind and low vision community over the years, including Wanda Egerton and Anna Dal as part of the Mother's Day panel, as well as Deena Morgan.

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Sam catches up with community engagement coordinator from the Vision Australia Library, Maureen O'Reilly, to chat about some upcoming events in May as well as some creative writing workshops the library will be running in June.

You'll also hear from William Chen, a researcher from Monash University undertaking a PhD project around accessible public transport for users who are blind or have low vision.

William is running some workshops to get the public's feedback and why they do (or don't) use public transport, and if you're interested in taking part you can send him an email to find out more.

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Sam speaks to Stephanie Amir, spokesperson from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, about the upcoming Australian census which is taking place on August 11, 2026. Steph tells us about the ways in which this year's census has been made accessible and confidential for all residents who are blind or have low vision.

You'll also hear from Jason Gipps who caught up with Ben Waechter, founder of Adelaide-based disability support service Kyd-X, at the recent Adelaide Independent Living Expo, and Frances is back on the show with an Anzac Day Reader Recommended.

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This week Sam is in conversation with Maximiliano Guerra Morales, a Chilean disability rights activist, mechanical engineer and coordinator of Orquesta Filarmonica Antena, a 380 person orchestra featuring people of all abilities from his hometown of La Serena.

The orchestra is coming to Australia for the first time in July and Maxi would like to encourage members of the blind and low vision community to buy a ticket for their concert at the Sydney Opera House on 10 July.

To find out more about the orchestra, including the academy of music it was borne out from, you can visit their Instagram page, or to find out more about the event and raise any questions you may have you can get in touch with Maxi.

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Sam is joined by Peter and Rohan Rickards as well as Kathy Leitch, three of the people involved in Sensaball, an omnidirectional cane tip designed for white cane users to navigate their surroundings with improved sensitivity and feedback from the cane tip.

You'll also hear from the Vision Australia Radio Adelaide team, who recently interviewed Nathan from SANFL at the Adelaide Independent Living Expo about blind footy, how the game works and how people can get involved and play.

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Sam catches up with two regulars on the show this week, starting off with Joanne Cabot whose website, Live Well With Vision Loss, is now available for people to visit to find advice and support for people experiencing vision loss at any stage of life.

You'll also hear from Vision Australia Library manager Sarah Bloedorn, she's back with the latest news about some upcoming events at the library, as well as some information about the new ways people can access their favourite books.

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Sam welcomes back ophthalmologist, remote community outreach worker and First Nations health advocate Dr Kris Rallah-Baker to the show this week.

Kris caught up with us last year to have a chat about his role in the first season of Our Medicine on SBS and NITV, now in its second season, following his work in remote communities of Australia delivering healthcare services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients who are blind or have low vision.

You'll also hear from Cody Butler and Sean Kendrick, two members of the Brisbane-based band Clear Vision. Clear Vision comprises entirely of members who are blind or have low vision, put together in collaboration between Vision Australia, Brisbane City Council and Dotted Beats as part of the Youth Harmony initiative.

They chat with Sam about Clear Vision and Youth Harmony, as well as a gig in June that the Youth Harmony committee (of which they're both members) are putting together.

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

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

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

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

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

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