S1E5 - Interview with Dr Peter Wheeler

Dr Peter Wheeler worked in the UK nuclear engineering field until loosing his sight at the age of 38. After going blind he went to university and gained a first class honours degree in business and management. He then went on to undertake a Ph.D. at Warwick university. Peter then undertook research projects at both Warwick and Salford universities before finally taking a full time role as senior lecturer at Edge Hill university.

“When first approached to be interviewed for the disability disrupters podcast, my initial instinct was to decline the offer. The reason is that I do not engage in social media which appears particularly toxic and a generally unpleasant environment to be involved with. I held similar views on podcasts not really believing most served any useful purpose other than to provide a boost to the ego of people who really don’t need or deserve their ego’s to be enhanced. However, on reflection I decided to rethink my beliefs. This is because I began to relive the feelings and emotions I went through when I first became blind, and the hopelessness coupled with feelings of uselessness which accompanied my loss of sight. The future appeared bleak with little hope of ever working again. At that time, I did not know of any other blind people or how anybody else had managed the transition between being sighted and blind. Having another person’s description of how they managed to live with and overcome many of the fears and anxieties which accompany sudden loss of sight would have been a significant help in understanding my own situation. Hence, I have agreed to join the disability disrupters podcast in the simple hope that if only one person listens to the episode and it provides them with even a thought of the slightest prospect for a brighter future, then participation would have been worthwhile." Dr Peter Wheeler

Disability Responsiveness New Zealand offers personalised mentoring and workshops - view the content of these at https://drnz.co.nz/about-our-workshops-and-programmes/

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Podcast audio and transcript editor : Britta Offergeld

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