June 10, 2025 • 27 mins
In the lead-up to International Albinism Awareness Day on June 13th, we speak with Karin Boulton, a third-year physiotherapy student, disability advocate, and member of the Albinism Fellowship of Australia. Karin shares her lived experiences with albinism and her role in creating spaces for community, support, connection, and leadership as a founding member of Emerging Voices of Young Leaders (EVYL). Tune in to learn about the ongoing efforts to raise awareness and foster a stronger, more connected albinism community.
Link to Albinism Fellowship of Australia (AFA): https://albinismaustralia.org
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:11):
Hi I'm Abby.
S2 (00:12):
I'm Simon, and welcome to. In Plain Sight, a program
where we highlight people who are making a positive impact
within their community and the disability sector.
S1 (00:21):
Shining a light on those who might otherwise be hidden
in plain sight.
S2 (00:26):
And we share these stories on a weekly basis with
you here on Vision Australia Radio. Hi Abby, how are
you going?
S1 (00:38):
I'm pretty good. Simon, how are you?
S2 (00:40):
I'm very well, thanks. Things are going well and it's
good to be here.
S1 (00:44):
Yeah, and I have some news for all our listeners.
So I'm not going to be on the show for
the next couple of weeks. I'm going. I know, so sad.
It is sad. Yeah. It's not going to be as good. Um, um,
I'm going to Hobart in Tasmania. So my partner's brother
is getting married and he's the best man. So we're
(01:06):
going to Hobart.
S2 (01:06):
Have you been to Hobart before?
S1 (01:08):
I have, I went actually this time last year, which
is pretty funny. So my partner is from Tasmania, so
all his family's there, so we'll visit them. It's beautiful there.
Very similar to New Zealand, but it's freezing.
S2 (01:20):
So I hope you got a nice woollen coat.
S1 (01:23):
Yeah. Yeah it's going to be I mean the wedding's
indoors which is nice.
S2 (01:26):
But I'd imagine in Tasmania most of the weddings would
be indoors.
S1 (01:31):
Yeah. Um, but it should be good. We're going to
do a bit of traveling. I also have an uncle
in Tasmania, so I'll get to see him as well.
S2 (01:40):
Excellent. I've only been to Hobart once, and that was
when I was a teenager, and I loved it so much.
It was. It's a beautiful, beautiful place. I was hoping
to go there later this year for a community radio conference.
If you follow my Facebook, you might have noticed that
I was nominated by Vision Australia Radio as a volunteer
(02:01):
to try to get a scholarship. A sponsored scholarship to
go to the community radio conference to be held in Hobart.
But unfortunately, I didn't win that scholarship. But I did
was one of the runners up. So that was great.
And thank you to everyone on Facebook who gave me
their thoughts and congratulations, and I much appreciate all your
(02:22):
support and encouragement, as I did for the fundraising event
that we did some time ago. And I do appreciate
the people who listen to the program and those of
you who support the program. And we do encourage you
to get in touch with the program. What's our email address? Abby.
S1 (02:38):
Yeah. So it's in plain sight at Vision Australia. Org.
S2 (02:42):
Yeah. Please get in touch anytime you like and give
us any feedback. Give us any ideas. Give us any
suggestions about who you would like to see on the program.
S1 (02:51):
Yeah. And you can also, um, say how much you
miss me.
S2 (02:54):
Indeed. And talk about our program. A few weeks ago,
we had a really fun and lively chat with the
wonderful Caitlyn Hannon. Williams who was going over to Europe
for a couple of gold ball tournaments as part of
the Australian team. For Gold Ball. She was going to
Finland and now she is in Sweden. The whole team.
(03:17):
And how did they go over there for the club championships? Abby.
S1 (03:20):
Yeah. So the Aussie team is the Aussie Belles and
they finished up the Gold Ball Clubs World Cup at
eighth place, which is pretty awesome.
S2 (03:29):
Pretty awesome indeed considering how strong some of those European
teams are.
S1 (03:33):
Yeah, exactly. And they are now in. I'm probably going
to pronounce it wrong, but they are now in Malmo,
Sweden for the Malmö Lady Inter Cup.
S2 (03:43):
Mhm. And that's an international tournament with great representation from
many countries around the world playing the amazing sport of goalball.
S1 (03:52):
Yeah. So we wish them all the best. And congratulations
on eighth place. That's awesome.
S2 (03:58):
Now our guest coming up Corrine that we were having
an interview with shortly. She she tried goalball as a youngster,
and that's kind of how I was made aware of her,
because she is part of the blindness and low vision
community here in Perth. She is a dynamic, highly impressive
young woman, and she's got a lot to tell us
(04:19):
all about albinism because it's Albinism Awareness Day coming up
June 13th. And, um, as we'll find out in this interview,
Corrine Boulton has a lot to do with organising events
for that and a very active member of that community,
and we look forward to hearing all about that.
S1 (04:38):
Thank you. We hope you enjoy it.
S2 (04:45):
Hi, Corrine, thanks for joining us.
S3 (04:47):
Hi, Simon. Thank you for having me.
S2 (04:49):
It's a pleasure. Now, I've read a lot about you.
Over the time someone recommended you to come in and
speak with us. And it's really great that you could
fit us into your busy schedule, and there's so much
to talk to you about, and I'm really looking forward
to an interesting and lively conversation.
S3 (05:06):
Me too.
S2 (05:07):
I just mentioned that you're a physiotherapy student. Tell us
where you are in your physiotherapy journey.
S3 (05:14):
Yeah, so I'm currently in my third year of physiotherapy
at Curtin University and it's a four year course, so
I've got about a year and a half left, which
is very exciting.
S2 (05:27):
And why? Why did you choose physiotherapy?
S3 (05:30):
I chose physiotherapy, I think I knew that I definitely
wanted to do something that involved working directly with people.
I knew that I didn't want to be kind of
stuck at a desk in an office all day, behind
a screen. I knew that I wanted to be up
and interacting and with and meeting people from all different
walks of life. And I've spent my whole life growing
(05:53):
up dancing and being really interested in movement and the body.
And when I was at school, I really enjoyed subjects
like human biology, where you learnt a lot about human
anatomy and the body, and I did dance at school.
And so I thought, why not combine those two, those
(06:13):
two passions of helping people and interest in the body
and movement and study physio?
S2 (06:20):
Excellent. Now, I saw that you are a star in calisthenics.
Is that right?
S3 (06:27):
I don't know about a star, but.
S2 (06:29):
But you love.
S3 (06:30):
Calisthenics. I do love it. Yes, I've been doing it
since I was three, so a long time now.
S1 (06:35):
What is that?
S3 (06:36):
So calisthenics is a sport that is just in Australia.
It's the way I describe it to people is it's
a bit of a mix of all the different styles
of dance and a bit of gymnastics as well. So
there's different. We do six different routines that are all
a different styles. Some of them use different apparatus as well.
(06:59):
And you get dressed up in different costumes and you
perform in a team, on stage, in competitions. And yeah,
it's a lot of fun.
S2 (07:08):
It was really popular when I was young, which was
a long time ago. So the closest thing I can
relate to is rhythmic gymnastics, like you see in the
Olympics where they yeah, the girls do the routine on
the floor with the ribbons and the bows and the
hoops and whatnot.
S3 (07:27):
Yeah. You're right. Yeah, it's a little bit like that. Yeah. It's, um. Yeah.
We wear similar costumes and perform different routines to pieces
of music and, yeah, use different pieces of equipment as
well to make the routines more interesting and exciting. So yeah.
S2 (07:45):
So it's quite a competitive sport. Is that right?
S3 (07:47):
It is. Yeah. So it's primarily a team sport, but
you can compete individually as well. Um, and yeah we
trained very hard working towards our are competitions throughout the year.
So that keeps me busy.
S1 (08:00):
And is it all over Australia?
S3 (08:02):
Yes it is, yeah.
S2 (08:04):
And only Australia.
S3 (08:05):
Yeah, only in Australia. At the moment I think there
might be one team in New Zealand but yeah, just
just in Australia.
S1 (08:13):
New Zealand.
S3 (08:14):
Yeah. Sometimes people get it mixed up with the calisthenics
that they have in America, which is like the bodybuilding
and the, the weightlifting. So sometimes when I tell people
I do calisthenics, they're a bit like, oh, because yeah,
it's very different outside of Australia.
S2 (08:30):
And you've got a big competition for that coming up
in July. Is it?
S3 (08:34):
We do. Yeah. So that's coming up quite quickly actually
in July our team, because we've won our state championships
here in WA the past two years in a row.
Our team was invited to compete at the national competition
that will be held in Adelaide in July this year,
which we're very excited about and have been training very
(08:58):
hard for. So.
S2 (09:00):
So your club team is representing WA?
S3 (09:03):
Yes, our club team is. Yeah. Representing wa wa in
our senior age group section. And yeah, we're really looking
forward to it.
S2 (09:13):
Now I mentioned at the start that you have albinism.
And can you tell us a little bit about that.
And firstly can you tell our audience what albinism is.
And then if you could tell us how that affects you.
S3 (09:26):
Yeah sure. So albinism is a rare genetic condition. That
basically means that you've got a lack of melanin, which
is the pigment that gives colour in the skin, hair
and eyes. So people with albinism have usually fair skin,
a fair hair, and the lack of pigment in the
eyes results in people having a vision impairment and being
(09:49):
quite sensitive to glare and light. Um, so it only
affects about 1300 people in Australia, and about one in
17 to 20,000 people in the world. So yeah, it's quite,
quite rare. Um, and like I was saying, it does
mean that I have a a vision impairment. Um, yeah.
(10:10):
People with albinism have varying levels of visual impairment. Some
have quite good vision and some are fall into the
legally blind category. So yeah, it's quite a, um, there's
quite a broad spectrum of the, of the condition.
S2 (10:27):
I was reading it. There's different forms of how the
albinism affects your eyesight and has different terminologies. What what
do they classify your eyesight as?
S3 (10:38):
Um, so my eyesight, I would say I would probably
fall into like a moderate visual impairment category. So the
way I usually describe it to people is what a
person with regular eyesight could see at about 30 35m away.
(11:00):
To see the same thing in the same level of detail,
I would need to be about six meters away. So yeah,
it doesn't quite put me in the legally blind category.
But yeah, in that kind of moderate visual impairment.
S2 (11:14):
In the terms that we use these days, you'd be
considered low vision.
S3 (11:18):
Low vision. Yeah, yeah. That's right.
S1 (11:20):
Is there anyone else in your family that has albinism?
S3 (11:23):
Yeah. So my dad and my younger brother also have
albinism as well.
S2 (11:29):
Do you have other siblings?
S3 (11:31):
Yeah, I've got two other younger sisters that don't have albinism.
S2 (11:35):
So I'm the.
S3 (11:36):
Oldest of four. Yeah.
S2 (11:38):
So are you dad's favorite.
S3 (11:41):
Or.
S2 (11:42):
You share that?
S3 (11:43):
Oh, I think he'd probably say it depends on the day, but.
S2 (11:49):
So with that, do you think your eyesight will deteriorate
over time.
S3 (11:53):
People with albinism generally as as a child, their eyesight
improves as, um, the eyes develop and people get used
to using the vision that they do have. And then
it it stays pretty stable throughout. A person with albinism
is life and it it does. It will deteriorate eventually,
(12:16):
but that's just due to normal age related visual changes.
So as I get older, my dad would probably hate
me for saying this, but he's said that he's noticed,
like in the last year or so, his visions, um,
maybe gotten a little bit worse. But yeah, I guess
it's like everybody, as you get older, you kind of
(12:36):
notice that different things start to change, vision being one
of them. So yeah, but overall it's a pretty stable, um,
condition and my vision doesn't change much day to day.
S2 (12:48):
We had someone come into the studio some time ago,
my friend Rob Mackrill, um, who was a strong advocate
in the world of albinism. And he's much older than you, Corinne.
He's even older than me. So things were a lot
different back then. And he said he found school life
(13:08):
very difficult. How was school life for you with albinism?
S3 (13:11):
Yeah. So school I found was in terms of bullying,
not too bad. I didn't cop any kind of bullying.
That was because of my vision or albinism or anything
like that. I found that kids were pretty understanding. My
peers kind of knew that I had some difficulties seeing,
(13:34):
so that I had to use different bits of equipment
and technology to help me see. Like when I was
in primary school, I had a like a CCTV monitor
that sat on my desk so I could see the board.
And then when I was in high school, I used
things like an iPad or my phone to take pictures
of the board to zoom in, or had a slightly
bigger laptop. So I think people in general are quite
(13:57):
understanding and um, they, you know, sometimes would ask questions.
But yeah, I definitely didn't cop any bullying because of it.
So I think that kind of shows the progression. And yeah,
in society and the more awareness and understanding people have
of of all, all disabilities and, um, people needing different things.
S1 (14:25):
You're currently listening to In Plain Sight on Vision Australia
Radio with Simon Chong and Abbie Green. This week we
are speaking to Corin Bolton, third year physiotherapy student and
disability advocate.
S2 (14:44):
What technologies do you use at the moment when you're
at university and stuff?
S3 (14:49):
Um, so at the moment I'd say that I use
pretty much the same in terms of pieces of technology
that most university students would. So I have a laptop.
I have chosen one that's got a larger screen so
that I can zoom in, but still see everything on
(15:09):
the screen, and I've made sure that I've chosen one
that's got appropriate accessibility, accessibility features. Um, I've got an
iPad as well, so that I can take pictures of
lecture notes or notes tutors have written on the board
and then or annotate documents that they've put up. Um,
and then I've got my phone as well, which I
(15:31):
can use for taking pictures.
S2 (15:33):
Because you're not legally blind. Are you eligible for extra
assistance at university?
S3 (15:39):
Um, yeah. So I'm still eligible for extra assistance. So
I have a, I guess you kind of call them
an advocate slash support person. Um, couldn't have a really
good accessibility service. So if you have anything that needs
(15:59):
maybe adapting or modifying or you need someone to speak
on your behalf to other staff members, you can go
to that person and they will help make sure, advocate
for you and make sure that you're getting all the
accommodations that you need. Yeah.
S2 (16:15):
That's our second endorsement we've had for Curtin University in
the studio a recent weeks. We had a guest in recently. Um.
S1 (16:24):
Caitlyn.
S2 (16:24):
Caitlyn Hannon. Williams, who is in Europe at the moment
playing goalball for Australia.
S1 (16:30):
I'd like to endorse Murdoch University. That's where I go.
Very good. They're quite cool.
S2 (16:39):
That's excellent. When I was, um, reading about you, Corinne,
I found out that you are a very strong advocate
in in the world of albinism, and you have been
since you were young and you're only 20 years old now,
is that right?
S3 (16:51):
That's right. Yeah.
S2 (16:52):
I find it very impressive. Tell me, what is it
that you like to tell the public about albinism? Some
of the misconceptions, the myths that people might have and
what some of the things that you try to advocate for,
for your community.
S3 (17:08):
Yeah. So one of the things that I've done as
part of the advocacy work for albinism community is I
am now a member of the Albinism Fellowship of Australia
National Committee. So I help organise national and state based
(17:28):
gatherings and events for people with albinism to get together
and make connections and meet other people like them and
create that sense of community. So I helped organise a
conference in Melbourne last year. That was a national event. Wow. Yeah,
so that was really good. Um, I also organise an
(17:51):
event based in Perth each year for International Albinism Awareness Day,
which is always a good event and brings everybody together.
And then in terms of young people, I and a
few of the other members of the Albinism Fellowship of Australia,
we started a group for young people aged between 16
(18:15):
and 24, and it's called The Emerging Voices of Young Leaders,
or the acronym for that is Evil Group. Yeah. And
so that's, uh, about just a space for young people
with albinism to connect with other people and to talk about.
(18:35):
I know some people find those years to be quite
challenging in terms of leaving school and figuring out which
direction that you want to go in your life, and
sometimes people are a bit unsure about what opportunities and
possibilities are out there, so it's just a space where
people can yeah. Show everyone what they're doing and that
(18:55):
how different things can be made accessible and all the
potential and possibilities that are out there. And we thought
the name was quite clever because yes, people obviously might
have seen in the media and in Hollywood films that
people with albinism can be portrayed as evil characters. So
we thought that the name is a kind of a
(19:17):
cool spin on that and kind of challenging that stereotype
and that idea.
S2 (19:22):
Yeah, yeah, I remember I've seen a few characters in
movies where to use the term albino was the was
the the evil person who was, you know.
S3 (19:33):
I think we're quite lucky here that, um, like we
were saying earlier about how progressive we are because some cultures,
people with albinism are, yeah, quite ostracized and seen as evil,
or in the opposite, seen as being, having these special
powers and having, yeah, um, having horrible things happen to
(19:54):
them because of those incorrect and ineffectual beliefs. Yeah.
S2 (19:58):
You just mentioned International Albinism Awareness Day, which is coming
up on the 13th of June, and you're running a
special event at visibility.
S3 (20:07):
Yes. So. So on the 7th of June at Visibility,
I've organised the International Albinism Awareness Day event for Perth again.
So that's a day where people with albinism of all
ages and their friends and family can come together for
the morning over quite a casual morning tea style event
(20:32):
and meet new people and catch up with old friends
and just share their highs and their lows and their
Experiences and ask any questions and just create that sense
of community and belonging across the albinism community in Perth.
S2 (20:52):
AB you've got it there. What's the theme for this
year's International Albinism Awareness Day on June 13th?
S1 (21:00):
Yeah, so it's demanding our rights, protect our skin, preserve
our lives.
S3 (21:05):
Mhm.
S2 (21:06):
That's great.
S1 (21:06):
Very catchy for.
S3 (21:07):
Sure. Yeah. Very cool.
S2 (21:09):
I must say, um, you have a strong sense of
leadership and strength about your career, and I admire that. Um,
do you have any idea how that was instilled in you?
Was it from your family? Was it from your school,
or you were just born that way?
S3 (21:25):
Um, I think part of it probably comes from my
family and at home. And being the oldest sibling, I
feel like when you're the oldest sibling, you sort of
naturally take on kind of leadership role and you're getting
people organized. Um, but also when I was at school,
I took on leadership roles when the opportunity came up.
(21:48):
So in year 12, I was the wellbeing captain for
our school. So I was part of a leadership team
as a part of that role. So yeah, and that
role involved advocating for people and talking to people and
hearing their experiences and then sharing that with a group
of other leaders to talk about different ways and initiatives
(22:12):
that we could make our school community better for different people.
S2 (22:17):
Yeah. Great. And you sounds like you have quite a
few different, um, interests. And I think that's that helps
as well. Like, you have your albinism community, you obviously
mix with people at uni and you have your sports.
And it's great to have that broad ranging community involvement.
S3 (22:38):
Yes. That's something that I think is really important is
being a part of different communities and finding different circles
of people that you can relate to and connect with
over shared interests and feel like you belong. So yeah,
I'm really lucky to have multiple different communities that I'm
a part of and circles of people that are around
(22:59):
and that can support me because, yeah, I think that's
something that's really important to have.
S2 (23:04):
Abby just read out the theme for this year's Awareness Day.
Is there anything specific you'd like to sort of address
about that type of theme?
S3 (23:13):
So if we look at the kind of three parts
of this year's theme, the demand our rights. So I
think that's something that people with albinism are constantly wanting
to make the general public aware of is that we're
just like anyone else, really, and that we should be
entitled to the same rights as anyone else. Uh, to
(23:36):
protect our skin bit, I think is educating people on
the people with albinism, having fair skin and so needing
to be aware of sun protection, which I think is
something that we could all really do better at, especially
living in Australia. And the I think the last part
is preserve our lives. Yes. So I think, yeah, that's
(23:58):
just about making sure that people with albinism are feeling
like they're seen and that they're heard and that they're
able to get the most out of life, so able
to take up opportunities that maybe people might not necessarily
think they can. And yeah, live, continue to live the
fulfilling lives that many people with albinism do live.
S2 (24:19):
I was I was intrigued when I found out that
you're a swimming coach as well. And I thought, hang on,
someone with albinism, being a swimming coach outside in the
bright sun near all that water. Tell me about that.
How did how does that work for you?
S3 (24:35):
Yeah. So I am a swimming teacher as that I
do for my part time job, and I've been doing
that for probably the last three or so years now. Um,
and I really enjoy that. I teach at indoor pools only,
so that eliminates that aspect, the glare and the light.
And yeah, I find that job that I'm able to
(24:58):
do that quite well. Um, obviously when you're teaching classes
of people, they're kind of up close to you, and
a lot of the work is quite hands on, and
you're giving a lot of, yeah, verbal instruction and hands
on instruction. So, yeah, I found that to be quite
a suitable job for me to do.
S2 (25:17):
So that's with young children.
S3 (25:19):
Yeah. Or all different ages really. So I teach babies
and children and adults as well.
S2 (25:25):
Excellent.
S3 (25:26):
Yeah.
S2 (25:26):
How do people find out about the albinism fellowship that
you're involved with the National Albinism Fellowship?
S3 (25:33):
Yeah. So if they're wanting to look up the Albinism
Fellowship of Australia, they can Google exactly that. Albinism Fellowship
of Australia online. And if they're on Facebook, they can
look up Albinism Fellowship of Australia on there as well.
And if you're a person with albinism out there as well,
or family member or a friend and you're wanting to
(25:56):
join a support group, um, we do have a private
Facebook group as well called AFA Community Connections on Facebook.
S2 (26:05):
So you can AFA.
S3 (26:07):
Yep, AFA Community Connections.
S2 (26:10):
Well, thanks for joining us today, Corin. It's been a
really interesting and fun conversation. It went really quickly and I,
I must say, it's been great to hear all the
things that you're involved in, and I'm really great to
see that passion and dedication that you put into your community.
S3 (26:28):
Thank you very much, Simon, for having having me. I've
really enjoyed it.
S2 (26:32):
Oh, also, good luck for your upcoming calisthenics competition in July.
And that's in Adelaide. Is that right?
S3 (26:40):
Yes, that's right, Adelaide in July. Thank you very much.
S2 (26:43):
Well done. Good on you. Thanks very much, Corinne.
S1 (26:46):
That concludes in Plain Sight for this week. Join us,
Abby Greene and Simon Chong at the same time next
week on Vision Australia radio VA radio digital and online
at VA radio. You can also listen on demand by
searching for In Plain Sight wherever you get your podcasts,
or ask your smart device to play in Plain sight
(27:08):
by Vision Australia Radio. Thanks for listening.
Hi I'm Abby.
S2 (00:12):
I'm Simon, and welcome to. In Plain Sight, a program
where we highlight people who are making a positive impact
within their community and the disability sector.
S1 (00:21):
Shining a light on those who might otherwise be hidden
in plain sight.
S2 (00:26):
And we share these stories on a weekly basis with
you here on Vision Australia Radio. Hi Abby, how are
you going?
S1 (00:38):
I'm pretty good. Simon, how are you?
S2 (00:40):
I'm very well, thanks. Things are going well and it's
good to be here.
S1 (00:44):
Yeah, and I have some news for all our listeners.
So I'm not going to be on the show for
the next couple of weeks. I'm going. I know, so sad.
It is sad. Yeah. It's not going to be as good. Um, um,
I'm going to Hobart in Tasmania. So my partner's brother
is getting married and he's the best man. So we're
(01:06):
going to Hobart.
S2 (01:06):
Have you been to Hobart before?
S1 (01:08):
I have, I went actually this time last year, which
is pretty funny. So my partner is from Tasmania, so
all his family's there, so we'll visit them. It's beautiful there.
Very similar to New Zealand, but it's freezing.
S2 (01:20):
So I hope you got a nice woollen coat.
S1 (01:23):
Yeah. Yeah it's going to be I mean the wedding's
indoors which is nice.
S2 (01:26):
But I'd imagine in Tasmania most of the weddings would
be indoors.
S1 (01:31):
Yeah. Um, but it should be good. We're going to
do a bit of traveling. I also have an uncle
in Tasmania, so I'll get to see him as well.
S2 (01:40):
Excellent. I've only been to Hobart once, and that was
when I was a teenager, and I loved it so much.
It was. It's a beautiful, beautiful place. I was hoping
to go there later this year for a community radio conference.
If you follow my Facebook, you might have noticed that
I was nominated by Vision Australia Radio as a volunteer
(02:01):
to try to get a scholarship. A sponsored scholarship to
go to the community radio conference to be held in Hobart.
But unfortunately, I didn't win that scholarship. But I did
was one of the runners up. So that was great.
And thank you to everyone on Facebook who gave me
their thoughts and congratulations, and I much appreciate all your
(02:22):
support and encouragement, as I did for the fundraising event
that we did some time ago. And I do appreciate
the people who listen to the program and those of
you who support the program. And we do encourage you
to get in touch with the program. What's our email address? Abby.
S1 (02:38):
Yeah. So it's in plain sight at Vision Australia. Org.
S2 (02:42):
Yeah. Please get in touch anytime you like and give
us any feedback. Give us any ideas. Give us any
suggestions about who you would like to see on the program.
S1 (02:51):
Yeah. And you can also, um, say how much you
miss me.
S2 (02:54):
Indeed. And talk about our program. A few weeks ago,
we had a really fun and lively chat with the
wonderful Caitlyn Hannon. Williams who was going over to Europe
for a couple of gold ball tournaments as part of
the Australian team. For Gold Ball. She was going to
Finland and now she is in Sweden. The whole team.
(03:17):
And how did they go over there for the club championships? Abby.
S1 (03:20):
Yeah. So the Aussie team is the Aussie Belles and
they finished up the Gold Ball Clubs World Cup at
eighth place, which is pretty awesome.
S2 (03:29):
Pretty awesome indeed considering how strong some of those European
teams are.
S1 (03:33):
Yeah, exactly. And they are now in. I'm probably going
to pronounce it wrong, but they are now in Malmo,
Sweden for the Malmö Lady Inter Cup.
S2 (03:43):
Mhm. And that's an international tournament with great representation from
many countries around the world playing the amazing sport of goalball.
S1 (03:52):
Yeah. So we wish them all the best. And congratulations
on eighth place. That's awesome.
S2 (03:58):
Now our guest coming up Corrine that we were having
an interview with shortly. She she tried goalball as a youngster,
and that's kind of how I was made aware of her,
because she is part of the blindness and low vision
community here in Perth. She is a dynamic, highly impressive
young woman, and she's got a lot to tell us
(04:19):
all about albinism because it's Albinism Awareness Day coming up
June 13th. And, um, as we'll find out in this interview,
Corrine Boulton has a lot to do with organising events
for that and a very active member of that community,
and we look forward to hearing all about that.
S1 (04:38):
Thank you. We hope you enjoy it.
S2 (04:45):
Hi, Corrine, thanks for joining us.
S3 (04:47):
Hi, Simon. Thank you for having me.
S2 (04:49):
It's a pleasure. Now, I've read a lot about you.
Over the time someone recommended you to come in and
speak with us. And it's really great that you could
fit us into your busy schedule, and there's so much
to talk to you about, and I'm really looking forward
to an interesting and lively conversation.
S3 (05:06):
Me too.
S2 (05:07):
I just mentioned that you're a physiotherapy student. Tell us
where you are in your physiotherapy journey.
S3 (05:14):
Yeah, so I'm currently in my third year of physiotherapy
at Curtin University and it's a four year course, so
I've got about a year and a half left, which
is very exciting.
S2 (05:27):
And why? Why did you choose physiotherapy?
S3 (05:30):
I chose physiotherapy, I think I knew that I definitely
wanted to do something that involved working directly with people.
I knew that I didn't want to be kind of
stuck at a desk in an office all day, behind
a screen. I knew that I wanted to be up
and interacting and with and meeting people from all different
walks of life. And I've spent my whole life growing
(05:53):
up dancing and being really interested in movement and the body.
And when I was at school, I really enjoyed subjects
like human biology, where you learnt a lot about human
anatomy and the body, and I did dance at school.
And so I thought, why not combine those two, those
(06:13):
two passions of helping people and interest in the body
and movement and study physio?
S2 (06:20):
Excellent. Now, I saw that you are a star in calisthenics.
Is that right?
S3 (06:27):
I don't know about a star, but.
S2 (06:29):
But you love.
S3 (06:30):
Calisthenics. I do love it. Yes, I've been doing it
since I was three, so a long time now.
S1 (06:35):
What is that?
S3 (06:36):
So calisthenics is a sport that is just in Australia.
It's the way I describe it to people is it's
a bit of a mix of all the different styles
of dance and a bit of gymnastics as well. So
there's different. We do six different routines that are all
a different styles. Some of them use different apparatus as well.
(06:59):
And you get dressed up in different costumes and you
perform in a team, on stage, in competitions. And yeah,
it's a lot of fun.
S2 (07:08):
It was really popular when I was young, which was
a long time ago. So the closest thing I can
relate to is rhythmic gymnastics, like you see in the
Olympics where they yeah, the girls do the routine on
the floor with the ribbons and the bows and the
hoops and whatnot.
S3 (07:27):
Yeah. You're right. Yeah, it's a little bit like that. Yeah. It's, um. Yeah.
We wear similar costumes and perform different routines to pieces
of music and, yeah, use different pieces of equipment as
well to make the routines more interesting and exciting. So yeah.
S2 (07:45):
So it's quite a competitive sport. Is that right?
S3 (07:47):
It is. Yeah. So it's primarily a team sport, but
you can compete individually as well. Um, and yeah we
trained very hard working towards our are competitions throughout the year.
So that keeps me busy.
S1 (08:00):
And is it all over Australia?
S3 (08:02):
Yes it is, yeah.
S2 (08:04):
And only Australia.
S3 (08:05):
Yeah, only in Australia. At the moment I think there
might be one team in New Zealand but yeah, just
just in Australia.
S1 (08:13):
New Zealand.
S3 (08:14):
Yeah. Sometimes people get it mixed up with the calisthenics
that they have in America, which is like the bodybuilding
and the, the weightlifting. So sometimes when I tell people
I do calisthenics, they're a bit like, oh, because yeah,
it's very different outside of Australia.
S2 (08:30):
And you've got a big competition for that coming up
in July. Is it?
S3 (08:34):
We do. Yeah. So that's coming up quite quickly actually
in July our team, because we've won our state championships
here in WA the past two years in a row.
Our team was invited to compete at the national competition
that will be held in Adelaide in July this year,
which we're very excited about and have been training very
(08:58):
hard for. So.
S2 (09:00):
So your club team is representing WA?
S3 (09:03):
Yes, our club team is. Yeah. Representing wa wa in
our senior age group section. And yeah, we're really looking
forward to it.
S2 (09:13):
Now I mentioned at the start that you have albinism.
And can you tell us a little bit about that.
And firstly can you tell our audience what albinism is.
And then if you could tell us how that affects you.
S3 (09:26):
Yeah sure. So albinism is a rare genetic condition. That
basically means that you've got a lack of melanin, which
is the pigment that gives colour in the skin, hair
and eyes. So people with albinism have usually fair skin,
a fair hair, and the lack of pigment in the
eyes results in people having a vision impairment and being
(09:49):
quite sensitive to glare and light. Um, so it only
affects about 1300 people in Australia, and about one in
17 to 20,000 people in the world. So yeah, it's quite,
quite rare. Um, and like I was saying, it does
mean that I have a a vision impairment. Um, yeah.
(10:10):
People with albinism have varying levels of visual impairment. Some
have quite good vision and some are fall into the
legally blind category. So yeah, it's quite a, um, there's
quite a broad spectrum of the, of the condition.
S2 (10:27):
I was reading it. There's different forms of how the
albinism affects your eyesight and has different terminologies. What what
do they classify your eyesight as?
S3 (10:38):
Um, so my eyesight, I would say I would probably
fall into like a moderate visual impairment category. So the
way I usually describe it to people is what a
person with regular eyesight could see at about 30 35m away.
(11:00):
To see the same thing in the same level of detail,
I would need to be about six meters away. So yeah,
it doesn't quite put me in the legally blind category.
But yeah, in that kind of moderate visual impairment.
S2 (11:14):
In the terms that we use these days, you'd be
considered low vision.
S3 (11:18):
Low vision. Yeah, yeah. That's right.
S1 (11:20):
Is there anyone else in your family that has albinism?
S3 (11:23):
Yeah. So my dad and my younger brother also have
albinism as well.
S2 (11:29):
Do you have other siblings?
S3 (11:31):
Yeah, I've got two other younger sisters that don't have albinism.
S2 (11:35):
So I'm the.
S3 (11:36):
Oldest of four. Yeah.
S2 (11:38):
So are you dad's favorite.
S3 (11:41):
Or.
S2 (11:42):
You share that?
S3 (11:43):
Oh, I think he'd probably say it depends on the day, but.
S2 (11:49):
So with that, do you think your eyesight will deteriorate
over time.
S3 (11:53):
People with albinism generally as as a child, their eyesight
improves as, um, the eyes develop and people get used
to using the vision that they do have. And then
it it stays pretty stable throughout. A person with albinism
is life and it it does. It will deteriorate eventually,
(12:16):
but that's just due to normal age related visual changes.
So as I get older, my dad would probably hate
me for saying this, but he's said that he's noticed,
like in the last year or so, his visions, um,
maybe gotten a little bit worse. But yeah, I guess
it's like everybody, as you get older, you kind of
(12:36):
notice that different things start to change, vision being one
of them. So yeah, but overall it's a pretty stable, um,
condition and my vision doesn't change much day to day.
S2 (12:48):
We had someone come into the studio some time ago,
my friend Rob Mackrill, um, who was a strong advocate
in the world of albinism. And he's much older than you, Corinne.
He's even older than me. So things were a lot
different back then. And he said he found school life
(13:08):
very difficult. How was school life for you with albinism?
S3 (13:11):
Yeah. So school I found was in terms of bullying,
not too bad. I didn't cop any kind of bullying.
That was because of my vision or albinism or anything
like that. I found that kids were pretty understanding. My
peers kind of knew that I had some difficulties seeing,
(13:34):
so that I had to use different bits of equipment
and technology to help me see. Like when I was
in primary school, I had a like a CCTV monitor
that sat on my desk so I could see the board.
And then when I was in high school, I used
things like an iPad or my phone to take pictures
of the board to zoom in, or had a slightly
bigger laptop. So I think people in general are quite
(13:57):
understanding and um, they, you know, sometimes would ask questions.
But yeah, I definitely didn't cop any bullying because of it.
So I think that kind of shows the progression. And yeah,
in society and the more awareness and understanding people have
of of all, all disabilities and, um, people needing different things.
S1 (14:25):
You're currently listening to In Plain Sight on Vision Australia
Radio with Simon Chong and Abbie Green. This week we
are speaking to Corin Bolton, third year physiotherapy student and
disability advocate.
S2 (14:44):
What technologies do you use at the moment when you're
at university and stuff?
S3 (14:49):
Um, so at the moment I'd say that I use
pretty much the same in terms of pieces of technology
that most university students would. So I have a laptop.
I have chosen one that's got a larger screen so
that I can zoom in, but still see everything on
(15:09):
the screen, and I've made sure that I've chosen one
that's got appropriate accessibility, accessibility features. Um, I've got an
iPad as well, so that I can take pictures of
lecture notes or notes tutors have written on the board
and then or annotate documents that they've put up. Um,
and then I've got my phone as well, which I
(15:31):
can use for taking pictures.
S2 (15:33):
Because you're not legally blind. Are you eligible for extra
assistance at university?
S3 (15:39):
Um, yeah. So I'm still eligible for extra assistance. So
I have a, I guess you kind of call them
an advocate slash support person. Um, couldn't have a really
good accessibility service. So if you have anything that needs
(15:59):
maybe adapting or modifying or you need someone to speak
on your behalf to other staff members, you can go
to that person and they will help make sure, advocate
for you and make sure that you're getting all the
accommodations that you need. Yeah.
S2 (16:15):
That's our second endorsement we've had for Curtin University in
the studio a recent weeks. We had a guest in recently. Um.
S1 (16:24):
Caitlyn.
S2 (16:24):
Caitlyn Hannon. Williams, who is in Europe at the moment
playing goalball for Australia.
S1 (16:30):
I'd like to endorse Murdoch University. That's where I go.
Very good. They're quite cool.
S2 (16:39):
That's excellent. When I was, um, reading about you, Corinne,
I found out that you are a very strong advocate
in in the world of albinism, and you have been
since you were young and you're only 20 years old now,
is that right?
S3 (16:51):
That's right. Yeah.
S2 (16:52):
I find it very impressive. Tell me, what is it
that you like to tell the public about albinism? Some
of the misconceptions, the myths that people might have and
what some of the things that you try to advocate for,
for your community.
S3 (17:08):
Yeah. So one of the things that I've done as
part of the advocacy work for albinism community is I
am now a member of the Albinism Fellowship of Australia
National Committee. So I help organise national and state based
(17:28):
gatherings and events for people with albinism to get together
and make connections and meet other people like them and
create that sense of community. So I helped organise a
conference in Melbourne last year. That was a national event. Wow. Yeah,
so that was really good. Um, I also organise an
(17:51):
event based in Perth each year for International Albinism Awareness Day,
which is always a good event and brings everybody together.
And then in terms of young people, I and a
few of the other members of the Albinism Fellowship of Australia,
we started a group for young people aged between 16
(18:15):
and 24, and it's called The Emerging Voices of Young Leaders,
or the acronym for that is Evil Group. Yeah. And
so that's, uh, about just a space for young people
with albinism to connect with other people and to talk about.
(18:35):
I know some people find those years to be quite
challenging in terms of leaving school and figuring out which
direction that you want to go in your life, and
sometimes people are a bit unsure about what opportunities and
possibilities are out there, so it's just a space where
people can yeah. Show everyone what they're doing and that
(18:55):
how different things can be made accessible and all the
potential and possibilities that are out there. And we thought
the name was quite clever because yes, people obviously might
have seen in the media and in Hollywood films that
people with albinism can be portrayed as evil characters. So
we thought that the name is a kind of a
(19:17):
cool spin on that and kind of challenging that stereotype
and that idea.
S2 (19:22):
Yeah, yeah, I remember I've seen a few characters in
movies where to use the term albino was the was
the the evil person who was, you know.
S3 (19:33):
I think we're quite lucky here that, um, like we
were saying earlier about how progressive we are because some cultures,
people with albinism are, yeah, quite ostracized and seen as evil,
or in the opposite, seen as being, having these special
powers and having, yeah, um, having horrible things happen to
(19:54):
them because of those incorrect and ineffectual beliefs. Yeah.
S2 (19:58):
You just mentioned International Albinism Awareness Day, which is coming
up on the 13th of June, and you're running a
special event at visibility.
S3 (20:07):
Yes. So. So on the 7th of June at Visibility,
I've organised the International Albinism Awareness Day event for Perth again.
So that's a day where people with albinism of all
ages and their friends and family can come together for
the morning over quite a casual morning tea style event
(20:32):
and meet new people and catch up with old friends
and just share their highs and their lows and their
Experiences and ask any questions and just create that sense
of community and belonging across the albinism community in Perth.
S2 (20:52):
AB you've got it there. What's the theme for this
year's International Albinism Awareness Day on June 13th?
S1 (21:00):
Yeah, so it's demanding our rights, protect our skin, preserve
our lives.
S3 (21:05):
Mhm.
S2 (21:06):
That's great.
S1 (21:06):
Very catchy for.
S3 (21:07):
Sure. Yeah. Very cool.
S2 (21:09):
I must say, um, you have a strong sense of
leadership and strength about your career, and I admire that. Um,
do you have any idea how that was instilled in you?
Was it from your family? Was it from your school,
or you were just born that way?
S3 (21:25):
Um, I think part of it probably comes from my
family and at home. And being the oldest sibling, I
feel like when you're the oldest sibling, you sort of
naturally take on kind of leadership role and you're getting
people organized. Um, but also when I was at school,
I took on leadership roles when the opportunity came up.
(21:48):
So in year 12, I was the wellbeing captain for
our school. So I was part of a leadership team
as a part of that role. So yeah, and that
role involved advocating for people and talking to people and
hearing their experiences and then sharing that with a group
of other leaders to talk about different ways and initiatives
(22:12):
that we could make our school community better for different people.
S2 (22:17):
Yeah. Great. And you sounds like you have quite a
few different, um, interests. And I think that's that helps
as well. Like, you have your albinism community, you obviously
mix with people at uni and you have your sports.
And it's great to have that broad ranging community involvement.
S3 (22:38):
Yes. That's something that I think is really important is
being a part of different communities and finding different circles
of people that you can relate to and connect with
over shared interests and feel like you belong. So yeah,
I'm really lucky to have multiple different communities that I'm
a part of and circles of people that are around
(22:59):
and that can support me because, yeah, I think that's
something that's really important to have.
S2 (23:04):
Abby just read out the theme for this year's Awareness Day.
Is there anything specific you'd like to sort of address
about that type of theme?
S3 (23:13):
So if we look at the kind of three parts
of this year's theme, the demand our rights. So I
think that's something that people with albinism are constantly wanting
to make the general public aware of is that we're
just like anyone else, really, and that we should be
entitled to the same rights as anyone else. Uh, to
(23:36):
protect our skin bit, I think is educating people on
the people with albinism, having fair skin and so needing
to be aware of sun protection, which I think is
something that we could all really do better at, especially
living in Australia. And the I think the last part
is preserve our lives. Yes. So I think, yeah, that's
(23:58):
just about making sure that people with albinism are feeling
like they're seen and that they're heard and that they're
able to get the most out of life, so able
to take up opportunities that maybe people might not necessarily
think they can. And yeah, live, continue to live the
fulfilling lives that many people with albinism do live.
S2 (24:19):
I was I was intrigued when I found out that
you're a swimming coach as well. And I thought, hang on,
someone with albinism, being a swimming coach outside in the
bright sun near all that water. Tell me about that.
How did how does that work for you?
S3 (24:35):
Yeah. So I am a swimming teacher as that I
do for my part time job, and I've been doing
that for probably the last three or so years now. Um,
and I really enjoy that. I teach at indoor pools only,
so that eliminates that aspect, the glare and the light.
And yeah, I find that job that I'm able to
(24:58):
do that quite well. Um, obviously when you're teaching classes
of people, they're kind of up close to you, and
a lot of the work is quite hands on, and
you're giving a lot of, yeah, verbal instruction and hands
on instruction. So, yeah, I found that to be quite
a suitable job for me to do.
S2 (25:17):
So that's with young children.
S3 (25:19):
Yeah. Or all different ages really. So I teach babies
and children and adults as well.
S2 (25:25):
Excellent.
S3 (25:26):
Yeah.
S2 (25:26):
How do people find out about the albinism fellowship that
you're involved with the National Albinism Fellowship?
S3 (25:33):
Yeah. So if they're wanting to look up the Albinism
Fellowship of Australia, they can Google exactly that. Albinism Fellowship
of Australia online. And if they're on Facebook, they can
look up Albinism Fellowship of Australia on there as well.
And if you're a person with albinism out there as well,
or family member or a friend and you're wanting to
(25:56):
join a support group, um, we do have a private
Facebook group as well called AFA Community Connections on Facebook.
S2 (26:05):
So you can AFA.
S3 (26:07):
Yep, AFA Community Connections.
S2 (26:10):
Well, thanks for joining us today, Corin. It's been a
really interesting and fun conversation. It went really quickly and I,
I must say, it's been great to hear all the
things that you're involved in, and I'm really great to
see that passion and dedication that you put into your community.
S3 (26:28):
Thank you very much, Simon, for having having me. I've
really enjoyed it.
S2 (26:32):
Oh, also, good luck for your upcoming calisthenics competition in July.
And that's in Adelaide. Is that right?
S3 (26:40):
Yes, that's right, Adelaide in July. Thank you very much.
S2 (26:43):
Well done. Good on you. Thanks very much, Corinne.
S1 (26:46):
That concludes in Plain Sight for this week. Join us,
Abby Greene and Simon Chong at the same time next
week on Vision Australia radio VA radio digital and online
at VA radio. You can also listen on demand by
searching for In Plain Sight wherever you get your podcasts,
or ask your smart device to play in Plain sight
(27:08):
by Vision Australia Radio. Thanks for listening.
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