AT Banter Podcast

This week, Rob, Steve, and Lis sit down with Tom Perski, a pioneer in low vision rehabilitation and assistive technology whose lived experience has shaped services for thousands of people with vision loss.
Diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease at 19, He shares candidly about dropping out of college, grief, denial, and the long journey back through rehab, assistive technology, and ultimately a career helping others navigate the same path. We also dive into Tom’s new memoir, “There’s No Vision Like Low Vision,” which chronicles his journey and offers a hopeful, honest roadmap for anyone facing vision loss or any major life change.
If you or someone you know is newly diagnosed with vision loss, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.
Show Transcript https://atbanter.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/podcast-episode-462-tom-perski.pdf
Show Notes
There’s No Vision Like Low Vision on Amazonhttps://www.amazon.ca/Theres-Vision-Like-Low-Degeneration/dp/1998315487
AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providing sales and training in Assistive Technology and Accessibility with over 30 years of knowledge and experience. Visit them online at www.canasstech.com or call toll-free 1-844-795-8324 or visit their Assistive Technology Showroom at 106 – 828 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver.
Need repairs on your device? Chaos Technical Services offers service and support on almost any piece of Assistive Technology, while also providing parts and batteries. Visit them online at www.chaostechnicalservices.com or call 778-847-6840.

This week the gang sits down with guests Diane Dubrovner and Stacy Cervenka, co-authors of the new middle-grade novel Roxie in Color. The book follows Roxie, a shy 12-year-old starting at a new school who’s trying to keep one big secret under wraps: both of her parents are blind. The story explores real issues faced by the blind community, all told through the lens of Stacy’s real-life lived experience. Join us as we learn about the book’s origins, what the long distance co-authoring experience was like, and why representation, lived experience, and not lecturing kids are at the core of their storytelling. 
Show Transcript https://atbanter.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/at-banter-podcast-episode-461-roxie-in-color.pdf
Show Notes
Roxie in Color on Amazonhttps://www.amazon.ca/Roxie-Color-Diane-Debrovner/dp/1536246603Roxie in Color Audiobook on Audiblehttps://www.audible.ca/pd/Roxie-in-Color-Audiobook/B0GNR5DSXF
AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providing sales and training in Assistive Technology and Accessibility with over 30 years of knowledge and experience. Visit them online at www.canasstech.com or call toll-free 1-844-795-8324 or visit their Assistive Technology Showroom at 106 – 828 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver.
Need repairs on your device? Chaos Technical Services offers service and support on almost any piece of Assistive Technology, while also providing parts and batteries. Visit them online at www.chaostechnicalservices.com or call 778-847-6840.

This week Rob, Ryan, and Lis kick things off with failed catchphrases, and Lis’ mysterious “voodoo diet” before welcoming guest Shanell Matos, community manager at Right Hear. Shanell explains why Right Hear is an orientation app rather than a navigation app, how Bluetooth beacons and powerful markers give blind and low-vision users rich information about their surroundings without bossy turn-by-turn directions, and how the system is being used in places like stadiums, hospitals, museums, universities, restaurants, and more. 
Show Transcript https://atbanter.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/at-banter-podcast-episode-460-shanell-matos.pdf
Show Notes
Right Hearhttps://www.right-hear.com/
AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providing sales and training in Assistive Technology and Accessibility with over 30 years of knowledge and experience. Visit them online at www.canasstech.com or call toll-free 1-844-795-8324 or visit their Assistive Technology Showroom at 106 – 828 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver.
Need repairs on your device? Chaos Technical Services offers service and support on almost any piece of Assistive Technology, while also providing parts and batteries. Visit them online at www.chaostechnicalservices.com or call 778-847-6840.

This week, the AT Banter crew is very much in the house – basement, man cave, and all – as we welcome Matthew Reeves, a legally blind psychotherapist, rehab counselor, and host of the Insight Out podcast. Diagnosed with Stargardt’s Disease at 12, Matthew is a a therapist focused on helping people live well with vision loss, disability, chronic illness, and chronic pain. Now he’s using both his training and his lived experience to support a community that often feels isolated and underserved. If you or someone you love is navigating vision loss, this conversation is honest, validating, and quietly hopeful. It doesn’t sugarcoat the hard parts, but it also makes space for the possibility that, like Kintsugi, we can come back together different, but stronger and more valuable than before.
Show Transcript https://atbanter.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/at-banter-podcast-episode-459-matthew-reeves.pdf
Show Notes
Insight Out Podcasthttps://www.insightoutpod.com/
AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providing sales and training in Assistive Technology and Accessibility with over 30 years of knowledge and experience. Visit them online at www.canasstech.com or call toll-free 1-844-795-8324 or visit their Assistive Technology Showroom at 106 – 828 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver.
Need repairs on your device? Chaos Technical Services offers service and support on almost any piece of Assistive Technology, while also providing parts and batteries. Visit them online at www.chaostechnicalservices.com or call 778-847-6840.

In this “Generations Part Two” episode of AT Banter, Rob and Ryan welcome back Clement Chou, Albert Ruel, Betty Nobel, and Russell Leung for a lively, thoughtful – and often very funny – conversation about the generation gap in the blindness community. Together they tackle big questions like what can older and younger blind people genuinely learn from each other, and how do we move from talking about intergenerational connection to actually getting people in the same room. From ideas like mixed‑generation potlucks and food‑centric meetups, to honest talk about advocacy burnout, mental health, resilience, and learning to step outside your comfort zone, this episode is both warm and hopeful. By the end, there’s a real sense that something new could emerge – regular in‑person gatherings, new community spaces, maybe even a Part Three in this series.
Show Transcript https://atbanter.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/at-banter-podcast-episode-458-bridging-the-generation-gap-part-2.pdf
 
AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providing sales and training in Assistive Technology and Accessibility with over 30 years of knowledge and experience. Visit them online at www.canasstech.com or call toll-free 1-844-795-8324 or visit their Assistive Technology Showroom at 106 – 828 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver.
Need repairs on your device? Chaos Technical Services offers service and support on almost any piece of Assistive Technology, while also providing parts and batteries. Visit them online at www.chaostechnicalservices.com or call 778-847-6840.

In this episode of AT Banter, Rob, Ryan, and Steve shake off an early-morning, post–long weekend haze (fueled by espresso) to welcome Simon Kitchen, Chief Commercial Officer at Dolphin Computer Access. Dolphin is celebrating 40 years in assistive technology, and Simon joins the crew to dig into how the company has evolved from hardware speech synthesizers in the pre-Windows days to today’s powerful, AI-enhanced software suite.
Show Transcript https://atbanter.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/podcast-episode-457-supernova.pdf
Show Notes
Find out more about Dolphin Computer Accesshttps://yourdolphin.com/
AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providing sales and training in Assistive Technology and Accessibility with over 30 years of knowledge and experience. Visit them online at www.canasstech.com or call toll-free 1-844-795-8324 or visit their Assistive Technology Showroom at 106 – 828 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver.
Need repairs on your device? Chaos Technical Services offers service and support on almost any piece of Assistive Technology, while also providing parts and batteries. Visit them online at www.chaostechnicalservices.com or call 778-847-6840.

In this episode of AT Banter, the gang welcomes Lynn Jensen, Registered Nurse, longtime Certified Vision Rehabilitation Therapist, and author of ‘Best Kept Secrets for Travelers With Sight Loss’. If you’ve ever thought, “Travel is stressful and airports are chaos”—and that’s before adding sight loss into the mix—this episode is packed with concrete tips, great stories, lots of laughs, not to mention a little 80s TV singalong.
Show Transcript https://atbanter.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/at-banter-podcast-episode-456-traveling-with-lynn-jensen.pdf
Show Notes
Lynn’s Book in Multiple Formats at:www.blindtraveltips.com
AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providing sales and training in Assistive Technology and Accessibility with over 30 years of knowledge and experience. Visit them online at www.canasstech.com or call toll-free 1-844-795-8324 or visit their Assistive Technology Showroom at 106 – 828 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver.
Need repairs on your device? Chaos Technical Services offers service and support on almost any piece of Assistive Technology, while also providing parts and batteries. Visit them online at www.chaostechnicalservices.com or call 778-847-6840.

This week Rob, Ryan, and Lis dive into the fast-evolving world of AI and accessibility as they are joined by Andrew Gillies, founder and CEO of Guide, an AI-powered assistant for Windows that helps blind and low-vision users navigate inaccessible apps and interfaces. Instead of replacing screen readers, Guide works alongside them, stepping in when buttons aren’t labeled, controls can’t be reached, or a UI just refuses to cooperate.
Show Transcript https://atbanter.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/at-banter-podcast-episode-455-guide.pdf
Show Notes
Guidehttps://www.guideinteraction.com/
AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providing sales and training in Assistive Technology and Accessibility with over 30 years of knowledge and experience. Visit them online at www.canasstech.com or call toll-free 1-844-795-8324 or visit their Assistive Technology Showroom at 106 – 828 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver.
Need repairs on your device? Chaos Technical Services offers service and support on almost any piece of Assistive Technology, while also providing parts and batteries. Visit them online at www.chaostechnicalservices.com or call 778-847-6840.

In this episode of AT Banter, Rob, Lis, and Steve welcomes back best‑selling author and Meningitis advocate John B. Grimes, whose new memoir Destiny Is Debatable: A Memoir of Meningitis, Losing Sight, and the Love I Didn’t See Coming dives deep into survival, disability, and the messy, beautiful business of building a life afterward. John shares how bacterial meningitis took his sight and nearly his life in just days, the “war” of learning to live again through brutal rehab and invisible disabilities, and much more.
Show Transcript https://atbanter.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/at-banter-podcast-episode-454-from-meningitis-to-beste28091seller-john-grimes-returns.pdf
Show Notes
Destiny is Debatable Websitehttps://destinyisdebatable.com/
Buy It On Amazonhttps://www.amazon.com/Destiny-Debatable-Memoir-Meningitis-Losing/dp/B0GJWV134N
Buy It On Google Bookshttps://books.google.ca/books/about/Destiny_Is_Debatable.html?id=l4HG0QEACAAJ&redir_esc=y
AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providing sales and training in Assistive Technology and Accessibility with over 30 years of knowledge and experience. Visit them online at www.canasstech.com or call toll-free 1-844-795-8324 or visit their Assistive Technology Showroom at 106 – 828 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver.
Need repairs on your device? Chaos Technical Services offers service and support on almost any piece of Assistive Technology, while also providing parts and batteries. Visit them online at www.chaostechnicalservices.com or call 778-847-6840.

This week Rob and Ryan dive into one of the lesser talked about challenges in the blindness and advocacy communities: the growing gap between generations. With guests Betty Nobel, Albert Ruel, Clement Chou, and Russell Leung, they explore how technology can both connect and isolate, why younger blind folks may resist joining organizations or volunteering, and how “back in my day” clashes with “you don’t understand my reality.” From the impact digital communities can have on real world social skills to nonviolent communication and just learning to listen, this honest and sometimes irreverent conversation asks what it will really take for older and younger generations of blind folks to start building community together.
Show Transcript https://atbanter.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/at-banter-podcast-episode-453-bridging-the-generation-gap.pdf
Show Notes
AMI+https://www.amiplus.ca/
Canadian Council of the Blindhttps://ccbnational.net/shaggy/
AEBChttps://www.blindcanadians.ca/
AT Banter is brought to you by Canadian Assistive Technology, providing sales and training in Assistive Technology and Accessibility with over 30 years of knowledge and experience. Visit them online at www.canasstech.com or call toll-free 1-844-795-8324 or visit their Assistive Technology Showroom at 106 – 828 West 8th Avenue, Vancouver.
Need repairs on your device? Chaos Technical Services offers service and support on almost any piece of Assistive Technology, while also providing parts and batteries. Visit them online at www.chaostechnicalservices.com or call 778-847-6840.