28 Jun 2025

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:16):
It's just gone 5:00 and with Rod Stewart appearing at Glastonbury,
we go sailing. It's a leisurely here on Vision Australia
radio 1190 7 a.m. in Adelaide, online at radio Dot
via Radio Digital and Adelaide and Darwin through the Community
Radio Plus app. Look for Vision Australia, Radio Adelaide. A

(00:36):
big shout out to our friends listening through 103.9 FM
in Esperance in Western Australia, through the Reading Radio Network
as well, and our tremendous support and friends at Disability
Media Australia. Find out much more about them at Powered Media.
Peter Greco saying thank you so much for joining us.

(00:57):
Thank you for making time to listen to us. This
program coming to you from Gatorland, coming to you very shortly.
We'll speak to two times Paralympian Jenna Jones, who has
represented Australia in swimming. How is she going at the moment?
We'll catch up with Kung Johnson's, who will preview the
National Wheelchair Basketball League. The men getting underway this weekend.

(01:18):
The women did a couple of weeks ago. We'll talk
football with Nathan Pepper from the SANFL. Lots to talk
about there. We'll catch up with Chris Edwards from Vision Australia.
An opportunity for you to follow a football game by
touching it. It's called touch and track. It's provided by Telstra.
We'll speak to Chris about that. Alison Davies from Alison

(01:38):
Davies will join us talking about nursery rhyme, helping find
a six year old young lad living with autism. Great
story there. We'll catch up with Doctor Sherry Bellows from
the Disability Advocacy Network Australia. Some really concerning reports regarding
how people with disabilities are being treated in the area

(01:59):
of transport accommodation. We'll chat to Doctor Sherry about that.
We also have yoga from Reva Bryce and Adjunct Professor
Denise Wood will talk about matters, technology and accessibility. What's
cooking at Apple? Well, it's been a very successful time

(02:21):
for our swimmers recently in Adelaide. Let's find out how
they went and more importantly, what's ahead of them. And
speak to one of the stars of the team, Jenna Jones. Jenna,
great to catch up. Thanks for your time.

S2 (02:31):
Yeah. No worries. It's always good to talk to you.
Thank you.

S1 (02:33):
You must love it like it's been a good place
for you to kind of launch the next part of
your international career.

S2 (02:39):
Yeah, Adelaide's probably one of my favorite pools in the world, actually.
Definitely in Australia. And it's such a beautiful place. So
I'm always happy when we get to race there.

S1 (02:49):
What's so good about the pool? What's so different about
the pool? Would you like to take it everywhere with you? Yeah, um.

S2 (02:54):
I think it's just the whole setup is really nice.
I mean, as a visually impaired Athlete. The contrast in
the in the pool in particular is really helpful for me,
but just the whole atmosphere always like the adelaideans get
around the swimming events and always create such an amazing atmosphere.
And yeah, it's just it's just a fast pool.

S1 (03:16):
Okay, well tell us a bit more about the contrast
because that's important, isn't it? I guess because you've got
a little bit of sight and you use it really well,
so you kind of use that and have things there
that make it easy for you to kind of interact with.
It's very important.

S2 (03:29):
Yeah, definitely. So this particular pool isn't actually tiled. I
don't know what the material is, but it's just completely
all one colour like really light blue. And then like
the line is black obviously. So not having the tile
lines is really helpful. It doesn't throw my vision out
and it's just really bright as well. I don't know,

(03:52):
it just makes such a big difference not being tiled.

S1 (03:55):
We probably should ask the authorities, but do you think
that's happened by accident or do you think it's intentional?

S2 (04:00):
Oh, no. I think it's intentional. Every fast pool I've
ever been in is one that isn't tiled. So yeah,
I feel like it's quite intentional.

S1 (04:08):
As I said, you loved Adelaide because 2016. I think
it was. You swam well here and ended up going
to your first international games. Just the first Paralympic Games,
nothing special.

S2 (04:19):
Yeah, my first team was the Paralympics and I did
make it in Adelaide and yeah, it's pretty incredible.

S1 (04:26):
Yeah, just 15 years of age, which is tremendous. And
of course you didn't get to Tokyo and then came
back and second games in Paris.

S2 (04:33):
Exactly. Yep. You know, you win some, you lose some.
It only makes you stronger. So good to come back.

S1 (04:39):
Talk about making you stronger. Of course, you've had to
show a bit of strength because you, um, uh, also,
you know, have moved out of home and moved interstate
to kind of advance your career.

S2 (04:47):
Yeah. So that was a really big call for myself, um,
and my family to make the jump. I think there's
not really much around me in the Blue Mountains in
terms of swimming. So I did have to move by
myself to Queensland. And yeah, that was definitely hard, especially
with the visual impairment as I'm sure a lot of

(05:07):
listeners would understand. But I have built an amazing support
system around me up there, so I'm very grateful for that.

S1 (05:15):
And of course, your results and the performances there kind
of bear fruit.

S2 (05:20):
Yeah, exactly. I honestly, I couldn't have asked for a
better move. It's really accelerated my career and yeah, it's
so good.

S1 (05:28):
What about as far as Adelaide went. So it was
important obviously. For what. What what's coming up.

S2 (05:33):
Yeah. So Adelaide was trials for world championships this year
in Singapore. And for me I was obviously I always
go to race my best. But I have found it
hard coming back after Paris. Last year I was recovering
from a major elbow nerve surgery and that took a

(05:53):
massive mental toll on myself. So getting back in after
such a big high, I guess, and pushing all year
was really hard. And like you said, I made my
first team in 2016, so I've been on the team
for like nine years, so I wasn't particularly, I guess,
focusing on making worlds this year potentially. Um, I think

(06:15):
I need a mental break from racing, but obviously I
still aren't like my goal is LA 2028, so I
want to prolong my career as much as possible as
I get older. So I think a mental break this
year is really, really handy. But obviously if I had
have made the team, that would have been incredible too.
But you know, I love the most is when I
get to go to a trials and I see the

(06:37):
new athletes up and coming, the young kids that they
look up to, everyone on the team and when they
start swimming really good, that's just so exciting. There's a
new vision impaired athlete coming through and she is doing
so incredible. So being able to watch her succeed was
really cool.

S1 (06:54):
To give us her name.

S2 (06:55):
Uh. Me again?

S1 (06:56):
Okay. All right.

S3 (06:58):
I think she's 13 or 14.

S1 (07:00):
All right.

S3 (07:00):
Yeah.

S1 (07:01):
Oh. Does it kind of take you back to your
early days? Because you were kind of 13, 14 when
you were making your, uh, sort of state and national debut?
Just kind of. Yeah. Take you back a bit as well.
And you think, gosh, where's that ten years or so gone?

S2 (07:14):
Oh my gosh. Absolutely. I definitely after I got back,
I was really reflecting on when I was in her
position and, you know, making my first team. So my
first finals at nationals and trials and actually swimming in
the pool with my idols, it was a really exciting time.
And like you said, I literally was thinking like, where
did it all go? Where did the time go?

S1 (07:36):
Yeah, I can only go as quick as the older
you get. I can tell you that with the spirits.
On a serious note, you know, one of the great
things about doing a program like this is getting to
speak to people like you. And, I mean, obviously, it's
great when you're doing well and when the athletes are
winning sort of hand over fist. That's kind of well,
of course they win, but it's good to kind of

(07:58):
know that. Well, I say good to know. It's good
for us to be aware of the other side of
life that you talked about some of the challenges and
the fact that you've pretty much been on the international
scene for nine years. Of course you need a break.
You know, everyone needs a break and kind of a
chance to recharge the batteries.

S2 (08:14):
Yeah, definitely. I think sometimes in elite sport it can
be a bit of a taboo topic. And I really
believe that Covid was mentally really helpful for swimming because
it showed athletes that they can have a break and
still come back. I think for everyone in the world,
being shut down was like, oh my gosh, what do
we do? But, you know, athletes came back and they realized, okay, yeah,

(08:37):
it's hard, but like, it doesn't stop us from still
getting back to where we were. And I think more
and more athletes are realizing that having a break is
important for the longevity of the sport, especially when swimming
is such a grueling sport, like we're training over 30
hours a week and you have to be on pretty

(08:57):
much all the time. So yeah, it is hard. But
when you know it's right for a break, I guess
you know it's right. And it doesn't doesn't mean I
don't love the sport any less. I actually love it
more and I'm super excited to get back into it.

S1 (09:12):
Well, of course, you know, you do train very hard and,
you know, it's very grueling and demanding, as you say,
but also a lot of swimmers in particular, they start
at such a young age.

S3 (09:21):
Yes.

S1 (09:22):
You know, those young bodies, they they can understandably get
worn out and tired really easily.

S3 (09:26):
Yeah.

S2 (09:26):
Yeah, definitely. So I've definitely felt that the last I
feel like two years, it started to hit me that, um,
I definitely don't recover as well as I used to. And, uh,
I actually have to take on board the recovery tips
and do everything right. Otherwise I will feel it the
next day. And it's a lot of mental energy going

(09:47):
into your recovery outside of the pool. It's not just
on a it training. You're on at home as well.
And in between, because you need to make sure that
you're doing all the right steps so that you can
perform when it matters. So it is it is different
from being young.

S1 (10:02):
Well, it's it's a lot different being your average Australian,
if I can put it that way. Those of us
that don't have to think about that too often, so
we probably don't appreciate it. So as I say, it's
great when people like you can point it out and
hopefully we become a little bit more aware and understanding
of the situation.

S3 (10:16):
Yeah, it's.

S2 (10:17):
Definitely a unique position and life that I get to live,
so I'm happy to share it.

S1 (10:21):
What about in terms of, I guess, the support around you?
You talked about a good structure now in Queensland for you,
which is great. I mean, 1516 the support that you
need is probably a bit different now at sort of 2324.

S2 (10:33):
Yeah, definitely. I guess moving out of home was a
big thing for me, not being able to drive to training.
So finding a place that I can get myself to training.
I'm not relying on people, but also in close proximity
to grocery stores, doctors, everything that I need. That was
really important and quite hard to find. But I did

(10:53):
find something that's literally perfect. It's five minutes for training
and a quick little walk to Kohl's. But in terms
of my support system up there, I'm really grateful that NDIS,
you know, allows me to get support workers. And I
built a really good relationship with some of my support workers.
One of them's my age and we're basically best friends,

(11:13):
so I feel super comfortable when we go out and
do things that I need help with. And, um, I
guess I've realised over the years that asking for help
doesn't mean you're not living independent. And something that I'm
really passionate about is like explaining to people that independence
does look different for everyone. And no matter what ability
you have, you're going to have to ask for help

(11:35):
for something in life. And yeah, just I guess not
having the stigma that when you are receiving help, that
doesn't mean you're not independent.

S1 (11:44):
You're such a super powerful message, Jana.

S3 (11:46):
Thank you.

S1 (11:47):
I'm sure a lot of people get a lot from
that because, as you say, just because you ask for
help or just because people offer help from you, you
accept it. It doesn't mean there's. Well, you know, it
doesn't mean that you can't do it all on your
own or you're giving up any independence.

S3 (12:00):
Yeah.

S2 (12:00):
And when I first moved up there, I didn't have
a support system, so I was doing everything on my own.
I was, you know, trying to get to my appointments,
trying to do grocery shopping, keeping the house tidy. And yes,
I could do it, but I wasn't happy in the way.
Like it was a lot of stress on myself. It
was a lot of mental toll, a lot of fatigue.

(12:21):
And it wasn't, you know, up to the standard that
I would like it. And now that I do have
systems in place where I get support through those things,
I just live such an easier life and such a
stress free life. I mean, there's still obviously other stresses,
but when you can receive help where you can it really? Yeah,
I really appreciate it.

S1 (12:42):
Well, we appreciate you speaking to us and speaking openly
about some of those things because, I mean, it's good
of you to be able to speak about them, and
even at your worst, even at your young age, your
young age to be able to do it. It's really,
really empowering for other people who might think, oh, if
I talk about it, maybe it shows I'm weak, or
maybe it shows, you know, I haven't grown up or whatever.

S2 (13:02):
But yeah, and that was honestly a fear that I
had initially. And it is it's such a big stigma,
but it's something I'm really passionate about and I love
to talk about.

S1 (13:11):
Well, long may you continue to do it. We look
forward to following your career, so it's great to catch up.
Thanks for spending just a bit of time with us
and good luck.

S2 (13:20):
Thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

S1 (13:22):
That's Jenna Jones there, one of our fine Paralympic swimmers,
two times two Paralympic Games and of course 2028. It's
too far away so could be third time lucky. And
who knows, maybe even Brisbane in 2032. Well, very exciting
time this weekend with the launch of the Men's National
Wheelchair Basketball League. We had the women's launch a few

(13:44):
weeks ago. Let's speak to an international star who's joining
us here, John Jansen, who's with the, um, manly, uh,
whale Eagles, I should say. Great to meet you. Thanks
for your time.

S4 (13:57):
Thanks, Peter. Thanks for having me. It's, uh. Yeah, it's
exciting times. Um, bit bit nervous for the weekend, but, uh. Yeah. No.
Looking forward to it.

S1 (14:05):
Is that how it's all come about? Because I said
the women had the launch of their league or a
couple of weeks ago. Yeah. Just how this has happened
for the men's.

S4 (14:12):
So wheelchair basketball Australia, um, runs the national leagues for the, uh,
for both the men and the women and the women
started a little bit earlier because we for the men
were we're always dependent on a number of our big
stars coming back from Europe where, where they, where they play.
And then also we had a lot of our players,
the younger players compete in the in the World Championships recently.

(14:35):
So we, uh, we started our league a little bit, uh,
a little bit delayed because of we obviously wanted to
have all the quality players available um in our, in
our league. So, um, yeah, but, uh, we've got a
lot of very exciting players, including some, some, some, some
amazing import players from overseas. Um, come and join us
this year across the, the seven men's teams.

S1 (14:58):
I guess the purpose is to kind of make the, um,
National league strong. So therefore our international team is even stronger.

S4 (15:04):
Yeah. Well, the, the, the ultimate goal is to do
very well in, uh, in, in in Brisbane at the
Paralympic Games in about a year's time. I think it
is now. Um, so yeah, the, the objective of, of
this league is to, to obviously give, uh, give the
elite players and the, and the development players in Australia
the opportunity to compete at home in front of their,

(15:25):
their friends, families and fans, um, so that, uh, that,
that they, they can be the best that, uh, that
they need to be when, uh, when they, when they
compete for Australia at the international level.

S1 (15:37):
I guess a bit of travelling as well.

S4 (15:39):
Yeah. There's that. Well part of international sports or elite
sports is is lots of travel, right. So yeah, the
the guys that that compete guys and girls that compete
uh for Australia, they uh, they tend to, uh, you know,
do a lot of travel. But uh, yeah, unfortunately in our,
in this beautiful country of ours, Peter, uh, even the

(16:01):
National League means a lot of travel. So, uh, we
do have these. We do have teams dispersed, uh, all
over the place, from Darwin to Perth to, uh, to
Melbourne and the women's and and, uh, and up to
Brisbane as well. So it's, uh, yeah, there's a lot of,
there's a lot of travel and a lot of cost involved.

S1 (16:17):
Tell us about your involvement then. How how have you
got involved? You're originally from the Netherlands?

S4 (16:21):
Yeah, I, uh, Dutch originally. Yeah. That's correct. And always
competed for the Dutch in Europe for clubs, but also
for for the Dutch national team at the Paralympic level. And, uh, I,
I was lucky enough to, to run into my, my now, uh,
wife of about 26 years. I need to get that
right because I might get in trouble.

S1 (16:43):
She's listening.

S4 (16:44):
Yeah, yeah, she will be. And and, uh, so she, uh,
she was the captain of the of the Australian, uh,
women's wheelchair basketball team. And in Atlanta in 96, uh, we, uh,
we met and, uh, the romance, um, happened, and I,
I moved here, um, and I moved to Sydney in 97.

(17:06):
I've been here for a long time.

S1 (17:07):
You had much contact with, uh, sort of sport for
people with disabilities back in the Netherlands.

S4 (17:12):
Yeah, yeah, because I, uh, I was born with a disability, so, um,
my career started very early in, in, um, in Paralympic
sports or in wheelchair basketball. So I started as a
junior when I was around ten, 11 years old. So,
you know, that was so yeah, I competed at the
highest level when I was there. Um, it's it's, uh,
Western Europe has got a great community and culture around

(17:35):
Paralympic sports. It's very well developed. There's a lot of
the even even currently, there's a lot of the Australian
players that actually moved to Western Europe, to Spain, to Italy, to, uh,
to Germany to, to compete in, in the leagues there.
It's there's a very competitive, uh, basketball scene, wheelchair basketball
scene in Western Europe that, uh, that a lot of

(17:57):
the Aussies take advantage of as well.

S1 (17:59):
Yeah, we've spoken to a few of the Tom and
of course, the US also has been a bit of
a drawing card as well, going over there and Canada
to play as well for Aussies.

S4 (18:07):
Yeah. The the great thing about the American system is that, um,
it comes uh, combined with education. So we, uh, we
always try and encourage our, uh, our junior, uh, development
players that are talented to go and and start their
international kind of journey in the US because they, uh,
they can they can kind of get great basketball education

(18:28):
on top of their real education, which is very important. So, um, yeah,
if people can, can, can, um, can get a, a
subsidised or a or scholarship at a. At one of
the of the of the great universities in in North
America then that's a huge bonus for for these guys.

S1 (18:45):
We talked about travel here in Australia. I guess the
opposite in the sense is the situation for the teams
in Europe. Uh, you know, uh, you don't have to
go very far to play other countries. And I guess
that international competition is very much, uh, next door to you.

S4 (18:58):
Yeah. I think that's the, the biggest challenge for, for, uh,
any athlete, right? Not just wheelchair basketball, but when you're, uh, when,
when you, uh, when you live in this beautiful country
of ours, you're, you're very remote. So the, uh, there's
definitely not as many, uh, opportunities for, uh, Aussie athletes
in general to, to, uh, it's not as easily accessible

(19:20):
to compete at the highest level. Um, but, um, yeah,
that's what we're here for. And, and, and that's why
it's so important that we've, that we've got an elite league, uh,
both for the men's and the women's in, uh, in Australia.
In order to give that, give those opportunities to, um,
to these fine athletes.

S1 (19:36):
And of course, three by three sort of catching on
a bit as well as far as popularity goes and
opportunities go.

S4 (19:41):
Yeah. The three on three is uh, is something that
we as a league have introduced. Uh, it is it
is very much kind of gaining popularity. It was in
the Olympics. Um, it's not in the Paralympic Games as yet,
but I'm sure that that's on the cards at some stage.
But there's some international competitions happening as well. What we've done, uh, Peter, this, uh,
this season for the first time has launched, uh, a

(20:04):
three on three competition competition that that runs side by
side with the, with the five on five. And, and
that's really to, to drive that game because, um, you know,
we do send teams to the Commonwealth Games and to
World Championships on three on three. So we need to
pay attention to it and develop athletes for it. But
also it's a great opportunity for some of the development

(20:25):
athletes and the younger players to get on court and, and,
and get a decent level of competition as part of
the traveling groups. I suppose that, uh, that we've got
this season.

S1 (20:35):
What about as far as your own career then? Uh,
do you enjoy the kind of administration sort of putting
back into the sport?

S4 (20:41):
Yeah, I love it. I think, um, you know, we've, uh,
Donna and I, my wife and I, we, uh, we had, uh, we,
we've got two beautiful kids, and they're now, uh, hitting
kind of their, their early 20s. So, um, that was
a big focus of both of us, um, you know,
making sure that we drove those, those two around and
got them into, into sports and education and, and, uh,

(21:04):
so the last few years, I've, uh, I've had the
opportunity to, uh, with not having, being that busy with
the kids anymore to give back to my sport, which
I always was planning to do. And, uh, so, um,
becoming involved, uh, both, uh, with Wheelchair Basketball Australia as
a board member and, uh, and with manly wheelchair basketball,
the Manly Wheel Eagles has been, um, has been really exciting. And, uh,

(21:27):
I think launching the league and launching the club in manly,
because we're very young, we're only in our second season.
It's a great opportunity for myself to to try and
give back and and to create opportunities for a lot
of people with, uh, with disabilities, um, young and old, uh,
you know, grassroots to, to elite, um, to enjoy our

(21:47):
sport because it's an amazing sport.

S1 (21:49):
It's a lovely play on words. Your team's name is.
And of course, in the rugby league we know the
Manly Sea Eagles. You're the manly whale Eagles.

S4 (21:56):
Yeah.

S1 (21:56):
We, uh.

S4 (21:58):
We we love the we love the sea. Uh, hope
hopefully we'll do a little bit better Peter than they, they're, they're, uh,
they're struggling. They're struggling at the moment, but, um. Yeah. No, it's, uh,
it's a huge identity on the northern beaches of, uh,
of Sydney. So, um. Yeah, we, uh, we're taking advantage
of that.

S1 (22:16):
I was going to say that that's part of the,
the maybe the the sort of connection as well that
people kind of think, oh, yeah, the Sea Eagles like, uh,
either wheelies or, or um, you know, manly, uh, or
whatever the, the sort of other term is, it's part
of the Sea Eagle sort of, uh, brand, if I
can put it that way.

S4 (22:32):
Well, I think there's a lot of. So if you
look at manly wearing a basketball, um, they're also, um,
called the Sea Eagles. So a lot of the, a
lot of the sporting teams, it doesn't necessarily have it's
not we're not very connected to, to rugby league at all.
But it is a it's a strong sporting brand. That's, that's,
that's super connected to the northern beaches. And uh, and

(22:53):
there's more not just the rugby league that uses the,
the Sea Eagles as the, as their nickname or team name. Um,
so we, uh, we've jumped on that bandwagon.

S1 (23:01):
I don't know if you follow. I'm sure you do
follow other, uh, international Paralympic sports. So we spoke last
week to one of the Aussie players who had just
got beaten by the Netherlands in the wheelchair rugby that
was held in Adelaide. So I guess you still keep across, uh,
other sports as well. And the Netherlands success. They've had
a a wonderful success over a number of years. Have
their different sports.

S4 (23:22):
Yeah. The Dutch, the Dutch Paralympic movement is, is, is
very strong and there's a lot of history there as well.
So um, and I'm, I'm obviously very connected to to both. Right.
Because I am an Aussie. I've got a I've got a,
I've had a passport for a very long time. So
I've got a close, close affinity to uh, to both
the Aussies and the Dutch. Uh, when, when they play

(23:43):
each other, it gets a little bit, uh, a little
bit challenging for me. I do, uh, as a as
a as a true Dutchman. I love my football or
soccer as it's called. Um, and, uh. Yeah. So that's, uh,
that's that's religion. Um, but, uh, yeah, I do follow both, uh,
both the Aussie and the, uh, and the Dutch, um,

(24:05):
teams where whenever I can.

S1 (24:07):
Terrific. I congrat to talk to you. Congratulations on what
you've done so far. And certainly looks like being a
a wonderful season. We'll keep across some of the results,
and I'm sure speak to a few of the players
as the season rolls on. But, uh, thanks for all
launching on this program. Anyway, thank you for doing that.

S4 (24:21):
Appreciate it. Peter, I really appreciate the opportunity to to
promote our league and our game. And yeah, we would
love to, um, to welcome anybody that wants to come
and experience it, uh, on the, on the sidelines. So, yeah, I'm,
you know, the, the our draws and, and uh, and
fixtures are on, on the website. So for anybody that

(24:44):
that wants to come along uh, in any of our locations,
both for the men's and the women's, uh, please go
and check that out and, uh, and, uh, and come
along and experience it. Um, yeah. Really appreciate the opportunity, Peter.

S1 (24:57):
We'll put those details up for their shout outs. All
the best. Thank you. That's the good answers there. A
former international player for the Netherlands married an Aussie girl.
I've got great taste as well. And now helping set
up the National Wheelchair Basketball League for men, which is
launching this weekend.

S5 (25:13):
You're in elite company listening to Leslie here on Vision
Australia Radio, on the radio, digital radio, radio.org and through
the TuneIn radio app.

S1 (25:23):
Always great. Checking in with Nathan Pepper from the SANFL.
What's happening? I'm sure there's happening a lot at the moment.
They said welcome. Good to have you back with us.

S6 (25:32):
Thanks, Peter. Always good to be here and chat with you.

S1 (25:34):
Yeah. Now, uh, well, what about halfway through the APM League?
At the moment we are.

S6 (25:38):
Yeah, pretty much bang on. We've had, uh, yeah, seven rounds,
the eighth currently underway at the moment. So, um, of
the 14 minor rounds. Uh, yeah. So it's. Yeah. Hard
to believe that we're already halfway through and thinking about
finals already for for some of the clubs, which is, yeah,
really exciting.

S1 (25:54):
Who's showing a clean pair of heels? Was it pretty even.
How's it going.

S6 (25:57):
Yeah, yeah. One probably standout is as Kilburn's undefeated so far.
All right. Um, they were runner up last year. Um,
so they've obviously come out of the blocks really strongly. Um,
then we've got actually a three way tie sort of
next with Kenilworth Athelstone and Goodwood Saints sort of all
in the mix for those sort of final spots. And then,
you know, it's still really competitive games even right down

(26:19):
with um, Salisbury Tea Tree Gully, um, and then Christies
Beach and Broadview sort of rounding out the ladder. latter,
but I mentioned, I think Broadview to your last time,
but they are new in the competition this year and
their coach, Phil has done a fantastic job. We were
hoping they might get to sort of 12, 14 players
this year. Well, they've actually got together a full squad
now of 26 players. Oh wow. Yeah it's just outstanding

(26:43):
to see. Yeah. Them them grow and um yeah. Become
a fully sustainable team in the competition. So that's that's
almost my biggest win I think of the whole season
so far.

S1 (26:53):
Now a good point. And I guess due credit to
Phil but also the club as a whole, they've obviously
got on board and being very supportive with that attitude.

S6 (27:00):
Oh yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. President Ashley I met with uh,
halfway through probably this time last year, and they indicated
that they were really keen to, to get involved and, and, um, yeah.
Wanted to know the, the steps and, uh, to getting
a team in the AGM inclusive league and yeah, we're
really happy to work with them on it. And as
I said, yeah, they've far exceeded our expectations in, in,

(27:22):
you know I guess fast tracking. Yeah, to get a
full squad. So it's been fantastic.

S1 (27:26):
Well, I guess those results kind of show that, uh, the,
you know, the campaigning and the the work that went
into it is worthwhile. And, you know, you talked about
maybe 12 or 14 now 26 players. I mean, that's,
you know, ten or more players than might have otherwise
been the case. And they get a chance to play
a sport that they love.

S6 (27:42):
Yeah. And that. Exactly. And that's at the end of
the day we're just trying to create more opportunity. There's
obviously a lot of people out there that, you know,
love their footy and want to have a have a
crack at playing. And um, you know, this gives them
an avenue to, to play that they might not otherwise
have had. So yeah, we're we're absolutely thrilled with that result.
And I think it takes us to around, uh, 210,
11 sort of players in total playing in the league.

(28:04):
So yeah, we're we're absolutely thrilled with it.

S1 (28:06):
Well that's excellent. Well, again, that's an opportunity that those
guys get. The other thing is Nathan, I mean we've
spoken about this before and you can never emphasize enough,
but I mean, it's great just for the broader community
and particularly those clubs, to kind of be aware of
the opportunities and the abilities of people with disabilities, which
is such an important, broader message.

S6 (28:24):
Yeah. And, um, you know, just to have that integration.

S1 (28:27):
Yeah.

S6 (28:28):
And the, the other, the other clubs say that our
games typically get played after a grade matches, um, whether
it's the men or the women. And. Yeah, it just
gives a little bit more, um, awareness, I guess, of,
you know, everyone in the community and, you know, a
footy club should be representative of the, the entire community.
That's that's there. So, um, no, it's we're thrilled Broadview

(28:48):
have done a marvelous job, and so do the other
seven clubs as well.

S1 (28:52):
Well, hats off to you because I'm sure you're a
big part of that. So well done. Now, um, I
believe there's a little bit of news, perhaps regarding a
state team coming up as well.

S6 (29:00):
Yeah. So as you know, many players in the Inclusive
League try to vie for selection for South Australia, um,
to compete at the AFL open at the end of
the year, which will take place in Melbourne in late October.
We've actually just locked in hot off the press. Um,
they will be playing an exhibition game prior to the
Port Adelaide versus Centrals match. On August 10th. So that

(29:22):
was sort of form part of our selection for that
South Australian team. So the plan at this stage will
be to have some open trials, so welcoming anyone with
an intellectual disability to come along and, and, uh, show
their skills off. And then we'll select a couple of
teams to take part in that exhibition game from there.
So yeah, pretty excited. That will be um, yeah, get

(29:43):
to show their skills again on on a Sanford ground
at Alberton Oval. So yeah. Be a great experience.

S1 (29:49):
Well of course central ground also you know where the
AFL club is based as well. So you know, sort of, uh,
very much an elite, uh, surroundings.

S6 (29:58):
Yeah, absolutely. Um, yeah. I'm sure many players, I'm sure
there's many port fans out there as well as.

S1 (30:03):
Just.

S6 (30:04):
Fans of any, any of the teams. Just love that opportunity. Um,
it is on a Sunday and I'm sure many of
them might have played there inclusive league match the night before,
but um, yeah, it'll be. It's still a good fun
hit out nonetheless.

S1 (30:15):
Alright, let's hope that lots of people get out to
watch it. Of course, central started the season Well, Port
Adelaide Magpies last couple of games has been better, so
if both teams are in good form there should be
a big crowd there. So August the 10th is the
date to look out for and that team, when selected,
will play later on in the year in Queensland again.

S6 (30:32):
Uh, no, it'd be in Melbourne this year. Okay. In Melbourne.
So uh, both uh, inclusion and wheelchair divisions played at
the same time at the AFL open and, uh, yeah,
that will be in Melbourne, uh, October the 26th to
the 30th. Off the top of my head.

S1 (30:45):
Alright. Well, that's, um, it might be between about ten
and 15in Melbourne rather than five and ten.

S6 (30:50):
Exactly right. Hopefully the sun's poking through by then.

S1 (30:54):
No, I'm a nasty person. Uh, yeah. What's happening? As
far as AFL wheelchair goes? Uh, that's underway as well.

S6 (31:00):
It is? Yeah. Just started. So we're really excited to
get that competition underway. Um, once again supported by Novita.
So really always fortunate to have, you know, good collaboration
with a lot of partners to get these programs up
and running. Yeah. The wheelchair really exciting. We've got West
Adelaide on board this year, the Mighty Bloods. So they've
come in to replace Stuart. Who? Um. Yeah. Unfortunately, I'm

(31:20):
putting in a team this year, but West Adelaide's, um. Yeah.
Really excited. Got them on board. And again. Uh, yeah.
Many players I think that played previously at Sturt have
have joined Westies and a few have gone to other
clubs as well. So it'll be very interesting to see
how it all pans out this year.

S1 (31:35):
Yeah. They're a Friday night. Is that.

S6 (31:37):
Right? Yeah. Friday night at the At the Lights, the
Lights Community and Sports Centre in Lightsview. And we actually
live stream all those games on our Sanford Now platform.
So yeah, feel free to go on to their Sanford now.
Com.au um, and you'll be able to search for, for
wheelchair footy and catch all of the action on there,
which is really exciting.

S1 (31:55):
Hey, that's pretty good, Nathan. I mean, that'll be a
great thrill for the players. And I guess for those
people who, for whatever reason, can't make it on the night,
you can still follow your team and, you know, feel
like you're part of it, and it'll be a bit
of a buzz for the players to know that they're
being streamed all around the world, literally.

S6 (32:10):
Oh, absolutely. And sometimes I'll get the occasional message afterwards, um,
because they've listened back to the commentary or something. Sometimes
I commentate a game, although I get, um, I get
superseded by young Alex Coots, our 12 year old.

S1 (32:24):
He's a.

S6 (32:25):
Champion. Yeah, he's a 12 year old commentary superstar. Um,
I was lucky enough to do an AFL game. Um, yeah,
last weekend, which is just. Yeah. Incredible for for his TV.

S1 (32:36):
Oh, God. He's a very impressive young lad and very,
very passionate.

S6 (32:39):
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, he loves it. And he's a very
intelligent and, uh, knows all the players, knows all the
everything to do with footy. So yeah, we're very lucky
to have him as an expert around the tracks.

S1 (32:50):
So big shout out his mum Sonya who is a
wonderful support. So we spoke to Alex a couple of
times on the program. Now you've got some more good news.
So it just keeps coming regarding uh, an opportunity for
players who are blind or have low vision.

S6 (33:01):
Yeah. So I think we mentioned last time that we
were going to hold some common tries. Um, and, uh,
we weren't sure where we were going to take the
program after that, after we got some interest. But, um, fortunately,
we've been funded through the office for Export and Racing
through their collaboration grants. And we're going to deliver in
partnership with Blind Sports SA, Guide Dogs SA and AFL Max.
So this will give us, I guess, a really good

(33:22):
platform to be able to develop a program and competition
hopefully later this year. So we'll work with those organisations
and obviously the participants that got involved in our commentaries,
which we had about, oh, almost 20 I think. So, yeah.
Really exciting.

S1 (33:38):
What is it about already? I mean, you know, people
are blind or low vision. They probably follow football and
they've got maybe their favorite team or player, so why
shouldn't they get an opportunity to play as well?

S6 (33:48):
Yeah, absolutely. And um, yeah, it's obviously a bit of
a modified, uh, version of, of the game. You have
to play indoors and we've got the buzzing, the buzzing.
Sharon Footy's, uh, you know, as, as we keep saying,
it's just about, you know, giving opportunity, making sure everyone can,
can connect in with, with a sport that they love.

S1 (34:05):
Oh, it's great when other organisations are so like the
blind sports uh, South Australia also guide dogs get involved
as well. That it's great when organizations work collaboratively together
to give opportunities to the people they're representing.

S6 (34:19):
Yeah, I think especially in this space, like, you know,
we're the footy experts, but not necessarily, um, well, we
need to bring in some other expertise to, to help
us out with it all. So, you know, Kent from
Blind Sports SA has done a, you know, a marvellous
job working with him and, and also just, um, you know,
a bit of a working group we've got, um, you
know Colleen as a, as a parent of, of someone

(34:41):
that has low vision and, um, you know, others that
have been, um, yeah, really important to us in trying
to plan and grow this program.

S1 (34:49):
I reckon Kent to be feeling pretty good. He's a
mad supporter. So they're going all right at the moment
the Double Blue. So Kent would be enjoying that run
to Nathan if people were to find out any more
about the things he's spoken about. Uh, where can we go?

S6 (35:02):
Yeah. Go to our, I think our Facebook page. Uh, Sam,
for disability programs, if you search for for that on Facebook,
it'll be a great starting point. We we certainly promote
all of these programs I've talked about on there. As
I said, for now, we're live stream all of the
wheelchair football. So SANFL and a n o w so
Sam for now com.au and you'll be able to search

(35:24):
for that. And we also I forgot to mention with
the APM inclusive League, we've always live streamed the the
grand final of that which you can find the past
year's grand finals on there on Sam for now. But um,
we're actually starting to stream some of the live the
minor round games as well, so.

S1 (35:38):
Oh, fantastic.

S6 (35:39):
We've done two so far this year. Um, and we're,
we've got another six to go coming up for the
rest of this minor round. So awesome. Just to be
able to highlight all the teams rather than just the
I mean, obviously the grand final is a great spectacle,
but great to be able to highlight all of the
all of the teams in the competition.

S1 (35:56):
Brilliant work Nathan. We'll catch up soon and all those
details up with our show notes. Thanks for speaking to us.

S6 (36:01):
Thank you so much, Peter. Cheers.

S1 (36:02):
We'll catch up again, probably just before the finals get underway.
Nathan Pepper there from the landfill. As I mentioned, all
those things are up in the show notes. And as always,
if you have any difficulties accessing them, get in touch
with here at the radio station. Or you can add
so much to the lives of people on television, and
particularly when things are made more accessible, more inclusive. I

(36:25):
think there's some good news that's happening literally as we speak.
Let's chat about it with the general manager for Australia,
Chris Edwards. Good to catch up always, Chris. It's nice
to be back. Peter. Thanks for having me. Now for
those people who love the AFL, there's some pretty good
things happening there, particularly thanks to Telstra. Oh, absolutely. There's
some amazing technology that's been introduced firstly into our Marvel

(36:48):
Stadium that really has changed the way that people are
blind and low vision will be able to access the game.
And we all know that Australians do love their football and, uh,
it's really part of our national icon. So Chris, what's happened?
Because I think this is kind of been in the
pipeline or uh, you know, maybe in beta version, if

(37:08):
I can put it that way for a little while.
Is it kind of been rolled out and new and improved? Yeah.
So I think the great thing that Telstra has done
has been that they've thought about a new technology to
help support people who are blind and low vision, to
be able to better access and be and find sport
more inclusive. And so instead of just.

S7 (37:30):
Going out and thinking about they know every know the
best and what works for people, they've done a lot
of work over the last couple of years with Vision Australia,
with other people are blind in my vision to develop
some new technology that enables somebody who's blind or low
vision to be able to use a tablet to be

(37:53):
able to actually follow what's happening on the field.

S1 (37:57):
Okay, so you've got a tablet in front of you,
and as the ball is moving, your hands can kind
of follow the ball on your tablet. Yeah.

S7 (38:05):
So last The weekend I went and saw the Bulldogs
Tigers game, which was fantastic. And I had this tablet
and and so it's effectively, uh, it has the lines of,
of the field on it, which you can feel from
a tactile perspective. So the, the 50 yard circle and,

(38:26):
and the squares and the goal areas and all of
those sorts of things and even the goals. And so
what happens is, is that as the ball moves around
the field, there's this little sort of like a puck
or a washer that moves across the the field in
the same area as the ball, and it does it
in real time. So it's pretty amazing.

S1 (38:47):
I was going to ask you about the timing because
sometimes these things are good. But you know, if there's
sort of a, you know, a couple of minutes delay
or whatever it, you know, you kind of literally behind
the play.

S7 (38:56):
Yeah, I know everyone's been there when they've got one
of those, uh, internet radios or something. Where at it, it's, uh,
the goal gets kicked and, in, you know, two minutes later,
you go, you hear it yourself on the radio. No,
this is, um, amazingly good in real time. Yeah. Every
every dad. Again, there's a slight delay, but in most
part it's spot on. And, uh, you know, whilst, you know,

(39:19):
people are blind and low vision, they're used to going
to the game, you know, with, with a headphone in
their ear and, uh, and listen to the crowd to
understand what's happening, you know, in the game. Yeah. This
really does provide an amazing new dimension for people with
blind and low vision, because it was so easy to track,

(39:40):
you know, whether the ball came out of the back
line and went straight down the field to the other end,
or whether it sort of danced around, uh, the wing
or whatever it is. And, and it was only when,
when you use it, you actually realize how much extra
information something like this can give you.

S1 (39:58):
Fantastic. What about in terms of the skill of the
person to kind of, um, access the information? I information.
I mean, you're, you know, above average, I'm sure, as
far as your technical skills goes. But can I, you know,
someone who's just kind of just interested in the sport
more than the technology, make something of it.

S7 (40:14):
It is the simplest thing I've ever used. And I'm
not just saying that, you know, someone turned it on
for me. Yeah, it can remain on for the whole game.
And literally when the ball's bounced, this puck just starts
moving and you follow it. And so when there's a goal,
it makes a certain vibration. And when there's a point,

(40:35):
it makes a different vibration. And over the upcoming period
we're going to see new new types of vibration happening
to say, well, when when it gets marked by a
certain team, it'll have a different vibration when it's the
home or away team, etc. and uh, so yeah, it'll
be really change the way that you can actually follow

(40:57):
football in social.

S1 (40:59):
Yeah, I think there was something like 40 units at
the ground on the weekend are two questions. One is,
is it just for marble or or, you know, Docklands,
whatever you want to call it? Or could this have
applications that, you know, say Optus Oval in Perth or
Adelaide Oval in Adelaide or so on and so forth?

S7 (41:16):
Look at this stage. At this stage it is just
in Marvel. And, you know, obviously it'll be really important
that people utilise it and and make the most of it.
And uh, and demonstrate to Telstra and to the AFL that,
you know, this is a really worthwhile thing to help
change the, the experience for people buying low vision. And

(41:38):
then I'm sure that, you know, with if it continues
to be a great success, you know, there's a great
deal of scope to be able to move it to
some other key grounds or across the organization. I mean,
the reason why it's sort of a not a portable
technology at this stage, because there are some infrastructure that
needs to be installed at the ground that sort of

(41:58):
interprets where the ball is on the ground at that
particular time and sends the signal back to the device.

S1 (42:04):
What about from a sort of more broader picture point
of view, the fact that Telstra kind of, I assume,
investing pretty big money to something like this? I mean,
it's kind of a great message for the broader community
to kind of understand how important inclusion and accessibility is.
It's kind of a bit of a snapshot, if you like,
of those importance of those sort of things.

S7 (42:24):
Oh, it is absolutely fantastic. You know, I think that
Telstra for a long time, you know, have have been
one of the early people to adopt the disability action plan.
So they're they've certainly done a lot with Paralympians and uh,
you know sport for you know, with people with a disability.
And I think that, you know, this is, you know,

(42:44):
they're very committed to try and make Australia a more
inclusive country. And uh, and so, yeah, this is really
demonstrating that, you know, where you can support innovation, you know,
through an inclusive approach by working with the community to
help get it right. You can actually make a significant
difference for, you know, for people with disability and certainly

(43:06):
our community of people who are blind and low vision.

S1 (43:08):
And I guess for our friends listening in non AFL states, Chris,
would this be something that could be worked on for,
you know, other codes?

S7 (43:17):
Oh definitely. I think that, you know, each code has
a unique set of challenges. But you know, I think
that there's no reason why I think that there's some
similar technologies that are being rolled out for soccer and certainly, uh,
you know, the other codes of rugby, etc.. Yeah. It

(43:37):
would be hard not to see that you couldn't tweak
the technology to be able to, to work with a
broader range of codes. I think tennis might be a
bit bit of a challenge because the tennis ball moves
so quickly and, uh, you know, it would be hard
to it'd be like ping pong on the, on the,
on the device. But it is amazingly how well it

(43:58):
moves across the different ground. And it really does give
you this all sorts of information that you just didn't
have as a blind person before. And the other great
thing that I found about it is that, you know,
you can actually talk to the person next to you
instead of like having your earphones in and sort of anti-social,
but still be able to follow the game because your

(44:19):
finger sort of like seeing where the ball is on the,
on the field.

S1 (44:21):
And I guess like again, you know, to the broader picture,
someone's seeing you do something like that. Think, how cool
is that. Oh, of course, you know, you can't see
the game, but you can follow it that way. That's
you know, it's a great way again to get that
message across about inclusivity and and also accessibility.

S7 (44:38):
Uh, absolutely. You know, I think it's really opened up,
you know, parts of sport that weren't weren't as accessible before.

S1 (44:45):
And I'm thinking, well, you know, in years to come,
maybe even for something like ballet or, you know, other, uh, other, uh,
creative performances, who knows whether it's something like this could
lead to. I guess, the kind of prototype is then,
I guess then it's sort of the nuances of how
something like this could be applied is probably only left
to people's imagination to explore.

S7 (45:06):
Yeah, I absolutely agree. So, you know, I think that,
you know, part of this technology is using, you know,
artificial intelligence, the AI component, to be able to track
the ball. And, you know, what you can see is that,
you know, down the future that that AI for live
interpretation of, you know, what's happening on a stage or

(45:28):
what's happening on the screen and not having to rely
on others to produce it. Yeah. It's not hard to
say that that, that that won't happen into the future.

S1 (45:37):
Chris. So there's 40 devices available. Is this each week?
And can people kind of say, hey, listen, I've heard
about it. Can I put my name down? How does
this working.

S7 (45:46):
Yeah. So if they go to the Telstra touch and track.
Uh yeah. Or look up Telstra touch and track on Google. Uh, yeah.
That will provide some more information and but effectively, yeah.
If you're going to the football at Marvel Stadium, uh,
you can book them and even, you know, I'm told
that if you go to gate one, you could, uh,

(46:07):
request one and, you know, be able to, you know,
use it for, for for for free.

S1 (46:12):
Fantastic. Well, we'll put, uh, some of those details up
with our show notes. Chris will track down, uh, the
best way to, to get more information about that and
put up in our show notes, because I guess, like anything, Chris,
you know, be an audio description or, you know, be
it the companion cards that shows or whatever. If there's
a demand for it, then, you know, tell us to
go and think, well, it's worth our putting our resources

(46:32):
into something like this. There's 40 people every week using it.
Maybe next year it might be 100. And, you know,
five years time it could be a thousand. So we
kind of gotta support, uh, ventures like this.

S7 (46:43):
Absolutely agree. And I think that, you know, when people
do use it, it is such exciting. Technology is really
changing the way that you can, uh, The experience, the game.
And I think that, you know, it's such it's such
a great, uh, initiative and uh, really um, commend Telstra,
the AFL and uh, and all the people that supported

(47:05):
making this thing happen.

S1 (47:06):
Well, thanks for your time. Thanks for your description. It's
been excellent. No worries.

S7 (47:09):
Thanks, Peter.

S1 (47:10):
Thanks. Chris Edwards, their general manager from Virgin Australia, talking
about the Telstra touch and track. Sounds great. We'll put
details up with our show notes. But if you're in
Melbourne and going to the footy, even if you're not
going to the footy or if you weren't going to
go to the footy, I reckon it might be worth
your while. Well, the weather might be cold and miserable outside,

(47:33):
but uh, lady, that lights up our life. What was
our hearts and souls? Is Alison Davies from Alison Davies. Com.au. Hello, Ali.

S8 (47:42):
Uh. I'm great. I actually laid in bed last night
listening to the snow on our roof. This is Tasmania.

S7 (47:49):
Yes.

S8 (47:50):
It's cold. Cold here.

S1 (47:51):
Yeah, it's June, but I've been in Tasmania in November
and it's been snowing, so, uh, nothing to write home about. Oh, yeah. Um,
we're kind of going to do a bit of a
rinse and repeat from a segment we did a few
months ago when, um, the young lad then was Lucas,
who was living with autism and found himself lost. And
the searches got to wind of the fact that Bohemian

(48:13):
Rhapsody was his favourite piece of music. So they were
playing it very loudly in all areas to try and
get him to, you know, sort of show up because
that was his favourite piece of music. Since then there's
been another lad, six year old pastor, who also lives
with autism, and his tune has been Hickory Dickory Dock.
I guess the the good news is that that both
stories have finished well, but what about that side of things?

(48:34):
And for those that either missed last time or maybe
need reminding, what's the kind of message behind something like this?

S8 (48:40):
Well, firstly, whether we're autistic or not, I think using
music as a way to feel safe is really, really
impactful and effective. So essentially what they're doing here is
they're finding out these kids favorite songs and using that
as a way of helping them hopefully have a moment
of dopamine or a feeling of safety or a feeling

(49:02):
of enjoyment or just something to not necessarily enjoyment if
they're lost, but like something to just minimize their immediate
fear or pain in that moment, just through the hope
that they're going to hear a song that they love
or connect with. And so it's obviously an incredibly beneficial
strategy for all of us. So firstly, using the song

(49:27):
that they love is really important because all therapeutic benefits
that come from music. Well, for the most part really
benefit when we're using our individual music preferences. So if
they were to play some song that, you know, there
was a six year old, they played Hickory Dickory Dock,
but if they were to play Bohemian Rhapsody to a

(49:48):
six year old who probably has never known that song
or anything like that. Then they could just get confused
or stressed. So using their individual music choices is the
first and most important part of what they're doing there.
And then they're using music that is going to spark
a moment of felt safety. So they can be literally

(50:11):
in not safe situations like they could be. And I
assume that they both were in situations that were not safe,
but they have experience, felt safety, which is a moment
of feeling safe in your body. And that can occur
even when you're in unsafe predicaments. So by playing a
song that is known to them and loved by them,

(50:31):
and remind them of their mom, or might spark an
emotion or a feeling of love or connection to their
parents or something like that. That can that can change
the way they're experiencing their body just momentarily. And that
can be very, very powerful.

S1 (50:50):
One of the things that I thought about when hearing
this story was the fact that these people, these young lads,
maybe if they had someone yelling their name out, you know,
wherever they are, that might be doing the opposite effect.
They might be scared, they might think they're being told
off or they're literally being yelled at. So they might
be more inclined to kind of run away or hide

(51:12):
even more.

S8 (51:12):
I mean, yeah, that could be that could be true
for many people. And it's really hard to know or
to understand the situation that they're in, but especially for
a little kid, I think if they hear a song
that they love, they're probably more likely to respond to
that with curiosity than being yelled at, even if it's
their name and it's personal and stuff like that. Just

(51:34):
using music is such a because what happens when we
experience music, and especially melody more so than rhythm, is
that our limbic system becomes active, which is the part
of the brain. We've talked about this a lot over
the years here. It's the part of the brain in
charge of emotions and feelings and urges and drives and

(51:54):
anxieties as well. So when our brain detects melody, which
hickory Dickory dock is very melodic, the mouse ran up
the clock. Uh, you know, it's it's melodic in nature.
So he and and the brain especially loves simple tunes,
which is exactly what, uh, nursery rhymes are. So when

(52:17):
his little brain would have detected melody in the sensory environment,
it would have integrated that sensory information. The limbic system
would become active. And that that emotion he might feel
in that moment might help him feel safe, but it
also might spur him into action. Sometimes an emotional burst
can lead to like a an urge. He might have

(52:39):
heard something and then just wanted to run exactly in
the direction he heard it coming from. Yeah, all of
the limbic involvement. So if we're not feeling things from
our limbic system, we're often often thinking things with our cognition.
And cognition is not necessarily helpful in a situation when
we're in survival mode or or even accessible, like, you know,

(53:01):
when we're in survival mode, the, the thinking brain just,
you know, largely shuts down.

S6 (53:06):
Yeah.

S1 (53:07):
And of course, in a situation like this, when they're
kind of outside, they're quite a quite normal environment that
that stress would even be higher. I mean, if you're
at home when you're stressed, that's one thing. But if
you're kind of lost or even if you don't know
that you're lost, but if you're not in familiar surroundings,
then that would just heighten the stress even more.

S8 (53:26):
Oh, absolutely. And autistic people often are very, very aware
of our sensations and and sensory situations. So if we're
somewhere where we're not recognizing the sounds or the smells
or it feels different and we're aware of energy, so
we might sense our own fear and that can just
heighten it all.

S1 (53:46):
The bigger picture of things like this. I mean, these
couple of stories, very public, you know, within a few
months of each other. I guess it's a great way.
And speaking to people like you, it's a great way
for the community to kind of understand, you know, in
a sense, what makes people tick or how people can
be tapped into to make them a bit more, uh,
you know, calm as well, which has got to be

(54:07):
a good thing. It's kind of a bit of an
educational tool without necessarily, uh, starting out to be.

S8 (54:12):
Absolutely. And I think certainly for rescue processes, that could
be something that could be start to be embedded in
like dream. And, you know, you can have music playing
through speakers, but something like, uh, Hickory Dickory Dock people
could also just individually sing that themselves. So I think
probably with Bohemian Rhapsody, I mean, everyone knows the words

(54:33):
to that. What am I right? But like, you know,
if there's a song that's lesser known, it can also
be projected through speakers. There's lots of ways that that
can be become embedded in an actual process for that
kind of situation when someone is missing. But yeah, just
for the general public, understanding how music can soothe us
and can help us feel things in our body that, uh,

(54:55):
thinking just can't do. So it's using it's utilizing another
way of knowing how the brain and the nervous system
works to embed a sense of safety in the process. And, uh, hopefully,
and in these two cases, certainly like, increase the chances
of being able to rescue these boys.

S1 (55:13):
I was going to say that, I mean, the outcome
sort of speaks to itself, but in a sense, the
fact that, uh, you know, there's been a successful conclusion
to it kind of affirms the fact that, uh, that,
you know, the nursery rhyme helped or Bohemian Rhapsody helped.
I mean, you know, sometimes you think, well, I don't
care how or why it worked. I mean, you've explained
it really well, but for the rescuers, if they get

(55:34):
their end goal, if you like that, that's kind of
the most important thing.

S8 (55:37):
And only they will know how he responded, like actually
heard the music and he might have, like, actually come
towards it. Like it might have been a very direct impact,
and then it might be that that would have been
the outcome anyway. And there's no way of knowing. But
I think essentially if it hasn't caused any harm, and
it's potentially part of the reason why those, those searches

(55:58):
were successful, then. Yeah, it's I think it's a great idea.
I think music should be used in way more areas
of life than it's used in. I think, um, currently
it should be used in lots and lots of different ways.

S1 (56:10):
Yeah, we don't know the intricacies of the whole story,
but obviously the television news showed the, uh, the, the
parents being, uh, teamed up with the lad, and there
was such a heartwarming and wonderful thing, and I'm kind
of thinking that they were probably tapped into, you know,
things like, you know, what is his favorite tune or
what is something about him that we might be able
to tap into that can help us find him?

S8 (56:31):
Uh, that makes total sense. I'm just so, so thankful
that they're back together. And so thankful for the people
who search.

S1 (56:39):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, we had a day the other day. Uh,
thank you to first responders and the wonderful work they do.
Can't be thanked enough. And in a sense, the the
stress that they go through and the de-stressing afterwards, that's
probably a whole topic for another day.

S8 (56:54):
Yeah. And I think music could be really beautifully used
in the recovery from this as well. For the searchers,
for the rescue team, for the parents, for the little boys.

S1 (57:03):
Yeah. Yeah, that's a great point.

S8 (57:05):
Um, it's it's very soothing and it allows emotion to move.
So after this, they might shut down for a while,
they might dissociate for a while and a way to, uh,
sort of support their emotions to move through them is
with melody and music. And that might be a way

(57:25):
of helping them feel things and recover through this after stage,
you know, this recovery stage, which will be very hard
for them.

S1 (57:32):
Wonderful. That was excellently explained. And certainly, uh, we are
much the better for your wisdom. Thank you for spending
some time with us. We'll catch up again next month.

S8 (57:41):
It's a pleasure. Thanks, Peter.

S1 (57:42):
And if people want to find out more. Alison Davies. Com.au.
Also all the social media channels as well. Lots of
great information. And if you like a topic that, uh,
or if you'd like a topic that Ali can cover,
you'd like to suggest one, get in touch and we'll
ask Ali to do it nicely.

S5 (58:00):
Of course.

S9 (58:02):
Hi, I'm Neil Fuller. Paralympic gold medalist. And you're listening
to Leisure Link on the Vision Australia radio network.

S1 (58:10):
I'm really pleased to welcome the program director for policy
and advocacy at the Disability Advocacy Network Australia, doctor Sherry. Sherry,
lovely to meet you. Thank you for your time.

S10 (58:22):
Thank you for having me.

S1 (58:23):
Now there's been a report released this week with some
really concerning and disturbing findings. I do want to give
us a bit of a thumbnail sketch of how this
has all come about, and then we can talk about
some of the things in the report.

S10 (58:34):
Yeah. Thank you. Um, The report was developed by the
National Center for Disability Advocacy, which is a program that
is delivered by Dana, and the Ncda has yearly forums
with independent advocacy organizations where they meet with them to

(58:55):
understand what's happening on the ground. They also have other
opportunities to do interviews and to speak with them within
their capacity building work. But predominantly, this is informed by
that forum and the conversations that they've had with advocacy organizations.
So from that, they identified some key area of concerns,

(59:18):
which were housing, public transport, guardianship and child protection. And
so within each of those, advocates identified trends that were
occurring across different advocacy organizations, which then point towards more
systemic advocacy issues.

S1 (59:36):
You touch on some of those particular issues. I mean,
some of those stories are quite harrowing. I mean, people
in hospital that kind of get evicted whilst they're in hospital.
So when they get out, they've got no accommodation to
go to.

S10 (59:48):
Yeah, certainly. So we have heard some stories of people
with disability seeking advocacy support after they have been in
hospital and their service provider has evicted them, and it
essentially has left them with no place to live while
they've been in hospital. Other issues we've seen include issues

(01:00:11):
around guardianship, where we are seeing an alarming increase of
service providers applying for applications for guardianship, which places them
into a position where they can make decisions on behalf
of the person with disability. Taking that in the context
of a service provider that it was a is a

(01:00:34):
fee for service model. There are massive concerns around what
that means in terms of the decisions that they're making
that may not serve in the interests of the person
with disability, but rather the interests of the service provider.

S1 (01:00:48):
Yeah, well, I think that could be easily something something
that could be read into it. Is that sort of
guardianship progress, if you like, or, uh, sort of increasing
that activity. Is that happening more in New South in
Queensland and Western Australia? Does that seem to be the case?

S10 (01:01:03):
I think it's a concern that we've seen in states
such as Western Australia and Queensland. I know that New
South Wales are also pushing for, uh, an inquiry to
look into their guardianship legislation as well. Um, bearing in
mind that guardianship is state based jurisdictions as well.

S1 (01:01:25):
Because the main. Yeah, that's kind of taking away the
rights of the individual in a sense, isn't it? I mean,
you know, if you're under the, you know, control, quote unquote,
of the guardianship Board, kind of where does that leave
you as an individual and your rights?

S10 (01:01:38):
Exactly. Yeah. And I should point out that, uh, different
states have different models of how they understand guardianship. So,
you know, some states use a substituted decision making model,
which in my view, is not, uh, centered around human rights.
It's very much assuming that that person has a deficit
and they cannot make decisions, so someone else does it
on their behalf. And then there's a supported decision making model,

(01:02:01):
which we've seen Victoria move towards, where it's about ensuring
that the person with disability has the dignity to make
their own decisions with the right supports in place. And
that can include having the dignity to fail, but at
least having the opportunity to make their own decisions. So
those types of models differ from state to state. And

(01:02:23):
what this report is pushing for is to have a
more nationwide framework and guidelines that to have some consistency. So,
you know, rights are not just situated around guardianship based
on where you live. That should be something that all
people with disability in Australia can have.

S1 (01:02:42):
What happens with something like this? I mean, you know,
it's kind of a systemic problem, isn't it? I mean,
it's not isolated. I'm going to guess, probably rightly, that
a lot more people could have given evidence like this
in situations like this. So this might be, you know,
dare I say that the tip of the iceberg or
perhaps this isn't the full picture being shown.

S7 (01:03:02):
Yeah.

S10 (01:03:03):
That's correct. So to answer your question, what can happen
in instances like this? I've heard from our members some
alarming stories where people with disability are sought after by
service providers, and they frame their offering of services as
a one stop shop. They can do everything for you.

(01:03:25):
But of course, what they're offering are services just solely
provided by them, which means that the person with disability
is not able to exercise autonomy and choice and control
over their own decisions. And that becomes compounded, in particular
when you have a service provider taking the role of

(01:03:46):
a guardianship. It can essentially close down the availability of
supports as well. And then that person can be quite
isolated with no choice or say in the services or.
And sometimes that can lead to, you know, the people
that they can connect with in the community as well.
It's quite alarming.

S1 (01:04:05):
Well, sure. And often it's those people that kind of
need the advocacy and need support most. I mean, you know,
those people who might be in a situation like that,
the kind that can kind of speak out for themselves. Well,
you know, that's great. They can advocate for themselves. So maybe,
you know, work their way around it. But it's the
kind of those who haven't got that support in place

(01:04:27):
to be able to do that, that I really feel
sorry for?

S10 (01:04:29):
Yeah, that's spot on. Peter, we've heard of some issues
where people live in closed settings, such as sdas or
supported in schools, for instance. And sometimes, uh, people can
have their phones taken away from them and it really
decreases their opportunities to reach out to someone else that

(01:04:53):
may be able to provide some assistance for something that
is preventing them from exercising, uh, decision making.

S1 (01:05:00):
Was this go to ministers? Uh, I mean, of course,
we've got a bit of a a change up in
the way that, uh, this now current Labour government is
going to be looking at, uh, NDIS, health, uh, disability services.

S10 (01:05:13):
Uh, will the report or the.

S1 (01:05:15):
Report, I guess. Yeah. Well, the well, the whole kit
and caboodle. I mean, it's kind of all interrelated. Uh,
you know, it's the sort of thing that, uh, you know,
we hope the minister and his advisers would be aware
of things like this.

S10 (01:05:27):
Yeah. So we are certainly making sure that in our
communications we are targeting ministers to highlight the issues that
advocacy organisations have identified. I think advocacy is in a
position to be the canary in the coal mine. They
are able to see what's happening on the ground and

(01:05:47):
what this actually means in terms of policy and systemic
change that needs to happen. And it's often before policymakers
and politicians are aware. So we are certainly making sure
that we amplify the stories from the advocates that we
have heard to bring it to the attention of ministers.

S1 (01:06:06):
I mean, we had the other day an incident in
South Australia which made a lot of publicity regarding a
mother that was trying to get her child to a
medical appointment and had to wait hours for an access cab.
There's been a bit of a change to the system here.
I don't know sure how that will turn out, but um,
I note died in the report, there was someone who
was going to speak at a funeral. And, you know,

(01:06:27):
I missed it because the access cab didn't arrive in time.

S10 (01:06:30):
Yeah. That's right. So there's been a change to legislation where, uh,
there is now very few wheelchair accessible vehicles, uh, which
can make it really difficult for people to book in
a taxi, uh, when they need it as well. There's
been issues, uh, with how those fares are paid. And

(01:06:53):
I think when people don't have access to when their
funding runs out, it runs out. Um, your taxis are
become a little bit more rigid in wanting to make
bookings for people.

S1 (01:07:07):
Yeah. I mean, again, it's the sort of thing that, um,
you know, we haven't sort of got time to explore
all the options here. I don't see the state government
reacted quite quickly. I guess we'll see in the fullness
of time how that turns out. But, you know, this
isn't a problem that has only just surfaced. I mean,
I've been doing this program for a while and. Access
and access to transport, refusal of rides, etc. has been

(01:07:30):
something we've spoken about quite commonly over the time.

S10 (01:07:33):
Yeah. That's right. And it's and it's not just limited
to wheelchair accessible vehicles. It's often related to people with
assistance dogs as well. You know, even though we have
some very stringent laws that clearly state that assistance dogs
are permitted within vehicles, we still have taxi drivers are

(01:07:54):
refusing to take assistance dogs in their vehicles. So it
means that people with disability are unable to get around
in the community.

S1 (01:08:03):
Well, you talked about things like dignity before and choice.
I mean, these are sort of things that are excluded
when things like this happen.

S10 (01:08:09):
That's exactly right. I think when people are making decisions
on behalf of other people that's related to their to
their disability, it drastically impacts on their sense of dignity.

S1 (01:08:19):
It's such an important topic. Jerry, thanks much for speaking
to us. Now, um, if people were to find out more,
I think the report is available on the website der. Org.

S10 (01:08:29):
Uh, that's correct. Yes. The website.

S1 (01:08:32):
Alright. We'll put that up with our show notes. Hopefully
we can speak to you again in the future. I've
really appreciate you speaking to us today.

S10 (01:08:37):
Thank you so much, Peter.

S1 (01:08:38):
That's, uh, Doctor Terry Bellows, who's, uh, policy and advocacy
director for the Disability Advocacy Network of Australia. We'll put
those details up at our show notes. Time for Jager
on the radio with our very own Reeva Brice. Reeva, regret,
have you back with us? Thank you so much for

(01:08:59):
your time.

S11 (01:08:59):
It's all right, Peter.

S1 (01:09:00):
What have you got for us this evening?

S11 (01:09:02):
It's a simple, easy lateral spinal twist. And the precautions
for that is maybe the lower back plus your arms. Now,
the technique, you can call it that is, sit comfortably
on the floor with your legs stretched out in front,
your You're back. Nice and straight and hands flat on
the floor. Now take your left hand across to the

(01:09:26):
outside of your right thigh if you can. Tuck the
fingers in under a little bit on that thigh and
about halfway between the knee and hip, or where you
can reach comfortably with your hand. Or if you can't
do that, just place it on your thigh or just
rest it along the side. Now place the palm of

(01:09:47):
your right hand behind you in line with your spine
fingers facing away, or you can make a fist of
your hand if this is difficult. You can move your
hand back a little or towards the side a bit,
but not too far as you'll start to lean back
and we need to keep the neck trunk spine as
straight as possible. Now, if this is difficult for you,

(01:10:09):
place your arm in any of these positions. Keep it
on any of those positions I mentioned before. Keep it
on top of your thigh or just alongside your head.
So that's the left arm on your right hip or
your thigh. Now make sure you're facing forward nice and tall.
Take a breath in. Breathing out. Turn the trunk of

(01:10:31):
the body to the right. Your head will be turning
at the same time, and that right shoulder will turn
a little bit as you go around. Now hold for
one round of your breathing. Then a breath in, and
on the outgoing breath, return to the front. Now we
change sides. Now just take your posture first that your

(01:10:52):
legs are still straight and your back is upright, and
place the right hand over the left thigh. Then take
your left hand behind, placing it where you comfortably can
in line with your spine. So once you've settled there,
got that right? Take your breath in and as you

(01:11:13):
breathe out, turning to your left. Hold for one round
of your breathing and then return to the front. Now
repeat each side three more times and then hold for
2 to 3 rounds of your breathing. Yeah. Now the benefits. Yeah.
It turns a large number of spinal nerves that arise

(01:11:33):
from the lower back. And also the kidneys strengthens the
back muscles, making them more supple, can assist with mild
lower back conditions, and also strengthens the arm muscles. Reduce
the benefits there. Peter.

S1 (01:11:49):
Yeah, some nice ones.

S11 (01:11:50):
Yeah. Quite a simple one. Mhm. Um you know you're
going to the right side first and then it's changing
to the left. But that arm behind you helps to
keep your spine straight and said before don't take it
too far away. Otherwise the trunk's going to be leaning
back and you know, um it doesn't um, when you

(01:12:13):
try to twist it, it's not quite the same.

S1 (01:12:16):
Yeah, yeah, it makes perfect.

S11 (01:12:18):
Sense. Keeping the trunk of your body straight as you
can and just. You might have to sort of, you know,
fiddle around a little bit, if I can put it
that way, to make sure the best position for your arm.

S1 (01:12:30):
Mhm.

S11 (01:12:31):
Because a lot of people do have shoulder problems and
arm problems, wrist problems. So have to take that into
consideration of course. Um would you.

S1 (01:12:39):
Like to take us through it again?

S11 (01:12:41):
Yes. I was just going to say okay, so sit
comfortably on the floor with your legs stretched out in
front and back straight, hands flat on the floor to
start with. Now take your left hand across to the
outside of your right thigh, tucking the fingers under a
little if you can. If not, just keep it on
the side, or you can place it on top of

(01:13:02):
your thigh or just have it on your thigh. Now
place the palm of your right hand behind you in
line with your spine fingers facing away, Way or make
a fist of your hand. If this is difficult, you
move your hand back a little or towards the side
a bit, not too far as you'll start to lean back,
and we need to keep the trunk spine as straight

(01:13:24):
as possible. If it's difficult for you to place your
arm in any of these positions, keep it on top
of your thigh or just alongside near your hip. Now
make sure you're facing forward and you're nice and tall.
Take a breath in. Breathe out. Turn the trunk of
the body to the right as far as you can,
comfortably keeping the back straight. Your head will turn with

(01:13:45):
you and that right shoulder will be turning around as well.
Hold for one round of your breathing and then a
breath in, and on the outgoing breath, return to the front.
Now we change sides so you're changing your arms across.
Make sure just check your posture first that you're nice
and straight and still comfortable the way you're sitting now,

(01:14:08):
you place your right hand over the thigh or honored,
where you can reach comfortably and then place the left
hand behind, placing it where you comfortably can. As we,
you know, talked about it earlier, when you take a
breath in and as you breathe out, you turn to
that left side and hold for one round of your

(01:14:29):
breathing and then back to the front again on an
outgoing breath. Now you can repeat each side three more
times and hold for 2 to 3 rounds if you're breathing.
Now on the repetition. Um, Peter, people, you can turn.
If you turn to your right side, you can hold
there for 2 to 3 rounds of your breathing, and

(01:14:49):
then you can repeat it. You can come back to
the front and you can repeat going to the right
side again. And you can do, you know, twist around
there or you can do, you know, do the right side,
then change to the left side and then back again
until you've done those 2 to 3 rounds of your breath.
It's up to you which you prefer to do whether

(01:15:10):
you whatever you want to do. The 2 to 3
rounds of of that twist on one side first or
and then then go to the other side.

S1 (01:15:20):
That was wonderful. Now people want to contact you for
some one on one.

S11 (01:15:23):
Yes. Um, my mobile 041286096 forever.

S1 (01:15:29):
Have a great month. We'll catch you up in a
few weeks again.

S11 (01:15:32):
Oh, yes we will. And take care, everyone. Uh, we're
going to be. We're heading towards spring. It's a little
bit away, but we are heading that way.

S1 (01:15:41):
I love your optimism.

S11 (01:15:44):
So we talk to you in a month's time again.

S1 (01:15:46):
Have a good evening.

S11 (01:15:48):
Thank you. Good night.

S1 (01:15:50):
They've got a contact River. 041286096. When it comes to yoga,
there is no one that knows more. To establish, we
count our lucky stars. We get to speak to Denise Wood,
adjunct professor Denise Wood from USC round about this time
each month. Denise. Welcome back.

S12 (01:16:10):
Hello, Peter. Good to be here.

S1 (01:16:12):
An apple, a day.

S12 (01:16:13):
An apple a day, indeed. Yes. Another one? Yes. Well,
as you foreshadowed, in fact, in our last segment together
last month, June is traditionally the month when Apple runs
its Worldwide Developers Conference. So we're up to Apple's 36th worldwide,
or WW, DC. Yes, it took place from June the

(01:16:37):
9th to the 13th. And it's traditionally online, but they
held a special in-person event at Apple Park campus in California.
So that gave the attendees the opportunity to watch the
keynote platforms state of the Union at Apple Park. But also,
I guess a higher point was meeting Apple employees, uh,

(01:17:00):
developer program members, the Apple entrepreneur, camp alumni and uh
members of the public were able to attend via a
random lottery, so it wasn't a free for all you
had in your place. Unless, of course, you were an
engineer or a developer or someone really important. Yeah. So

(01:17:23):
as we come to expect, the conference focused on showcasing
the latest developments of Apple software. And so we had
the opportunity, whether you were participating in person or online,
to hear from Apple experts, look at the new tools
and new features. So they also run on lots of
online sessions and labs for developers so that they can

(01:17:46):
come just up to speed with some of the new
features on the horizon. And they were all available for.
And in fact, you can still catch up on the
conference via the Apple website and YouTube, as well as
the Apple Developer app. So all right, some of the
key features are highlighted. Advancements in iOS 26 we've leapfrogged

(01:18:11):
to 26 and iPad OS 26. Um, Mac OS now
called Tahoe 26. watchOS 26. You see a trend here TV,
OS 26 and OS 26. So this is their new
naming convention, so I guess it will be easier for

(01:18:32):
you to keep up to date with where they're at
with all of the different platforms that Apple supports. One
of the features was a new design language called Liquid
Glass that's been introduced across all of the devices. So
it's not just the iPhone. It's apparently inspired by vision
OS software, which of course is used in Apple's Vision

(01:18:55):
Pro headset. I haven't seen it in operation yet, but
apparently it adds translucency that behaves like glass in the
real world. So on screen elements such as your icons, etc.
are real time rendered. Um, so they react to movements.
So I guess when you press the button, it kind

(01:19:17):
of goes, oh, it's like liquids. It's also Mac. Uh,
iOS 26 across its platforms is improving group message chat.
So you'll be able to customize the background of a
chat to make group decisions, get an opinion. You can
create polls and adding typing indicators to group chats, which

(01:19:38):
will make them feel more lively. It's also adding an
Apple Intelligence powered feature that can translate text on your screen,
and speak back and forth in the middle of a
phone call. So that might have some really interesting, uh,
accessibility implications. And it's building that into messages, FaceTime, the

(01:20:00):
phone app, and it says it's models for live translation run.
And this is a really important point. They run entirely
on your device, which I don't know how they're doing
it because normally, you know, as you know, real time
transcriptions and translations require, you know, really big grunt power
on a server. But obviously, the fact that this can

(01:20:22):
run on your device for privacy is a big one.
And obviously also connectivity. You don't have to be connected.
So a visual intelligence will let you do searches and
take actions on things that you see on the screen.
Apparently if you're into emojis you with Jen emoji, you'll

(01:20:43):
be able to combine two emojis into one and shortcuts
will be able to use Apple Intelligent models to improve workflow.
They've also. And this is a big topic right now,
as you know, around social media and child safety. They've
got a suite of updated child safety features, uh, which
will give parents more control over who their kids can

(01:21:04):
communicate with. Well, obviously parents will be happy about that.
Maybe not their children, but, uh, and again, they'll arrive
with iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and Mac OS 26. Watch
the full works. Apparently they say this fall, which I
guess is spring for us. So children will now have

(01:21:26):
to get parental approval when they want to communicate with
a new phone number or request will appear in the
messages app, and parents tap a button to approve or decline. Um. Mhm.
And it's launching a permission kit that will let developers
include those sorts of features into their apps. That will
be really important for protection child safety. So. So really

(01:21:50):
some good features. Given the concerns are uh, around all
of the problems that are happening with children online and
on their phones and parents not knowing what they're getting
up to. Uh, so it will also automatically enforce protection,
such as web content filters and app restrictions for children

(01:22:10):
under 13, and similar age appropriate protections for children's aged
13 to 17. It's also being updated to intervene when
it detects nudity in FaceTime calls and blur nudity in
shared albums in the photos app. So wow. Really, really big, uh,

(01:22:31):
features there. In terms of accessibility, there's a whole new
suite of accessibility features who could think they can improve,
but eye tracking, music, haptics, vocal shortcuts to improve accessibility
for users with physical hearing and speech differences, accessibility, reader system,

(01:22:52):
wide reading mode, and updates to live listen background sounds
and personal voice. Always have. Were also introduced. So for
people with physical disabilities, you'll be able to control their
the iPhone and iPad with eyes using Gaze to navigate
on iOS and iPadOS. These cues can help reduce, uh,

(01:23:15):
they've got vehicle motion cues, which will help reduce motion
sickness in moving vehicles. I used to have that wonder
if it was assistive access for Apple TV, which will
be a simplified media interface for people with cognitive disabilities.
Users will also be able to temporarily transfer their accessibility

(01:23:37):
settings to another device. And evidently, there's an all new
experience which will turn Apple devices into a Braille note
taker with support for Braille screen input and connected devices.
So some really interesting, uh, developments in the music front.
users who are deaf or hard of hearing will be

(01:23:59):
able to experience music through the Taptic Engine on iPhone.
In terms of vocal shortcuts, users will be able to
create custom sounds to trigger specific actions, and Apple's sound
recognition feature will now recognize when a user's name is spoken.
Available on vision OS. Live captions will transcribe dialogue in

(01:24:24):
real time for conversations and audio from app, and with
the accessibility reader, there will be a mode to make
text easier to read, with customized options for font, color
and spacing, and a whole swag of features that will
let developers improve accessibility on their own platforms in their

(01:24:47):
own apps. Across all of Apple's platforms. So some really
exciting developments there. Peter.

S1 (01:24:53):
Yes, and there was Well, autumn of course. Or fall.
That would be September, perhaps Australian time.

S12 (01:24:59):
Let's hope that that sounds good. Although, as usual, you
might want to wait just a little while to get
some of the kinks ironed out. But, uh, yeah, if
you're a parent, uh, or you have particular accessibility needs,
this is one to watch, I think.

S1 (01:25:16):
I'm not an early adopter, but that probably says more
about me than, uh, the software delays you mentioned. 26
a few times. We will speak to you in July 2025.

S12 (01:25:27):
We will, and hopefully in July 26th as well. Let's
let's wait for that. Otherwise, I look forward to seeing
you in July. And who can believe we're in the
second half of the year?

S1 (01:25:39):
They're flying by. Always great to catch up to me.

S12 (01:25:42):
Good to catch up with you too, Peter. All the best, Joe.

S1 (01:25:45):
Professor Denise Wood, one of our very special and one
of our very valued contributors to this program over many,
many years. Always with the latest and greatest news. And
no one better than Denise to bring it to you.
Some late breaking news from Paralympics Australia. Grant Morrison has

(01:26:07):
been appointed the new president of Paralympics Australia. Hopefully we'll
catch up with Grant. In the past we've spoken to
Grant as an athlete. He's now the president of Paralympics Australia.
Congratulations to Grant on that appointment. A couple of quotes
before we go. One has been sent through here by Mark,
who addresses this to any leader in any field. It

(01:26:29):
says they don't care how much you know until they
know how much you care. Thanks, Mark very much for
sending that through. Rather powerful to think about that. And
a lovely one from Estelita who lives over there in
the UK. A great listener to the programme. Estelita. Thank
you so much for your quote. Your quote is there

(01:26:49):
are two ways of spreading light. You can be the
candle or the mirror that reflects it. Escalator. Thank you
so much for your quote. Some birthdays before we go.
Joe Blessing having a birthday. Former candidate for the Dignity Party.
Very talented artist. Katharine Ross having a birthday. Paralympic rower. Also,

(01:27:10):
Damian Parks having a birthday. Involved with Special Olympics for many,
many years. And Nathan, let's champion goalball. Having a birthday.
And Karen Rogers has been involved with advocacy for many,
many years. Project one for one. Our voice, many other
projects over the years was a regular on Leisure Link
for many, many years. Karen, a very big happy birthday

(01:27:31):
to you. Hope life is going especially well. You deserve
it too. That's it for the programme. Sam, thanks so
much for your help. I'm great. Thanks so much for yours.
Reminding you that link is available on that favourite podcast
platform of yours. If you like the show, can you
tell a friend or two about it, please? Now, if

(01:27:51):
you're listening through 1197 I'm in Adelaide. Coming up Vicki
Cousins is here with Australian Geographic, a program no one
ever misses. If you do, a week just doesn't seem
the same. Be kind to yourselves. Be thoughtful and look
out for others. All being well, let's look back at
the same time next week on Vision Australia Radio and

(01:28:12):
the Reading Radio Network. This is Lesley.

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