A few months ago, OCALI launched a new podcast, Inspiring Change. The podcast is designed to take listeners on an audio journey with OCALI through a forum of stories and connections from our ongoing work of inspiring change and promoting access for people with disabilities.

Through candid interviews and conversations with leaders and partners in the field of disability, as well as parents, community members, self-advocates, and others, listeners are discovering and hearing how different ideas, perspectives, and experiences help fuel OCALI’s continued efforts to impact lives in Ohio and beyond.

We recently caught up with Simon Buehrer, the podcast producer, to hear about his journey launching the new podcast. Get the inside scoop on his vision for the podcast, some standout moments and bloopers, and future topics he hopes to dive into.

Why did OCALI decide to do a podcast?

The initial idea was to bring to life some of the things that OCALI does in a different way. A lot of what we do here can be abstract or specialized for a particular audience. We’re trying to bring those things to the forefront and craft them into engaging and interesting conversations. An audio podcast gives us new ways of exploring and explaining all of the amazing things we’re doing at OCALI, our many partnerships and alliances, why our collaborative work is important, and helps showcase new insights and ways of understanding and experiencing our work. There’s a lot that you can do with audio as a storytelling medium. It’s portable and multi-taskable. Is that even a word? In all seriousness, audio is freeing. Driving, washing dishes, doing laundry – you can do so many other things while listening and learning. Listening to information is also a great way to fill in gaps and create your own picture of a story, which provides richer opportunities to tap into your own ideas and imagination.

What do you hope listeners will get out of listening to this podcast?

The human story is a powerful thing. And a good story can do many things. It can touch you emotionally, it can challenge you to think about something in a new way, it can transport you, it can help you view things through a different lens. We all have our own way of seeing and interpreting the world. I hope this podcast offers listeners new information and the opportunity to expand their knowledge and understanding while hearing different perspectives around disabilities. I want the content to inform, engage, and inspire and I hope listeners take away new information, voices, ideas, and events. We’re working to keep the content evergreen so that topics and interviews are relevant for long periods of time.

What have been some standout moments since you’ve launched the podcast? Or, have there been any mishaps or bloopers along the way?

It’s hard for a producer to pick just one standout moment, especially since we’re still in the early stages of getting this podcast up and running, but there are a few things that come to mind. Honestly, I’ve enjoyed all of the interviews I’ve done. The interview with Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities Director Kevin Miller. at the Ohio State Fairgrounds was great. So was chatting with job seekers at an event outside of Cleveland. I love talking with people and hearing their stories and perspectives – that’s a precious gift, especially when they are open to being vulnerable about their feelings and experiences. You have to hold and share those moments honestly with an abundance of care and respect. I’m learning how to approach people and engage them in a real and authentic way.

I recently interviewed a young couple that attended OCALICON. The wife is autistic and he’s neurotypical. The two of them talked about the dynamics of their relationship, the magical and wondrous moments, as well as some of the challenges for them as a married couple, and how they’ve learned to navigate their world together. For example, the wife has sensory sensitivities and mentioned feeling uncomfortable about wearing noise canceling headphones and sunglasses while visiting a bookstore. So her husband also wore headphones and sunglasses so she wouldn’t be alone. That kind of moment is very real and authentic and I think it’s that type of conversation that makes an incredible story that others can relate to. As far as mishaps, while I’m embarrassed to admit, I had a pretty major technical malfunction early on. It was during our first interview for the first episode and I was super excited. We were recording in a private meeting room and I was getting all the equipment set up and ready to go. I was trying to screw in a mic, and all of a sudden, it slipped out of my hand, fell on top of the recorder, and completely cracked the screen. Fortunately, the recorder still works, but, every time I see it, I am reminded of that first day. On another occasion, it was my very last interview of the day, I was going to hit the ‘record’ button at the beginning of the interview. Well, I was so into the conversation that I completely forgot to hit ‘record’ and didn’t capture the most powerful part of the interview. Fortunately, the interviewee was gracious enough to redo the interview, but, it was certainly a lesson learned.

Podcast Host Simon Buehrer interviews Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities Director Kevin Miller

What topics can people expect in future episodes?

An essential part of the content is to surface stories related to our work, innovative ideas, and our mission of promoting access and inspiring change for people with disabilities. We also want to highlight some of the incredible partnerships we have with other organizations in Ohio and across the country who are doing some really impactful work. We don’t want this content to be vanilla. We want to explore some topics that may push the envelope a bit. We’re not trying to be controversial or sensational – there’s enough of that going on in our modern world – but we really want to get people talking and thinking about important issues in a new way. While we have a lot of our own ideas, we’re always open to new suggestions and recommendations for stories people should hear. If listeners have ideas for future episodes, we’d love to hear from them, too. Drop me a line at simon_buehrer@ocali.org.

If you haven’t taken a listen, here’s a quick rundown on the current episodes:

Episode 1: Shifting Expectations: Reflections on Ohio’s Continued Transition Toward Community Employment and Individual Choice

Episode 2: A Day at the Fair: The First Sensory Friendly Morning at the Ohio State Fair

Episode 3: An Inspiring Conversation with Kevin Miller

Although it is still winter and Groundhog’s Day revealed an early spring, we are already thinking about summer.

The picnics, vacations, swimming pools, camps, and, of course, the Fair!

Yes, it’s time to think about the summer fairs and the endless fun provided to individuals across the state as they experience the rides, games, shows, competitions, and the food – mouth-watering funnels cakes, elephant ears and deep fried, well, just about anything.

And for those involved in organizing these annual community gatherings, planning for the 2020 season began months ago. In fact, fair staff from across Ohio gathered in early January to network with old friends, connect with new members, learn about the latest attractions, and share experiences. And, this year, OCALI was able to join in on their early planning by providing information on creating a sensory friendly environment.

“This was a tremendous opportunity for OCALI to connect with communities across the state to advance our mission of inspiring change and promoting access,” shares Jen Bavry, Program Director Family and Community Outreach Center at OCALI. “As the Ohio State Fair General Manager Virgil Strickler stated last year ‘the Ohio State Fair isn’t just about the food and rides – it is about the community’ and I couldn’t agree more. When we all come together, we create greater access to meaningful experiences and social opportunities for all individuals in their communities.”

Jen, along with Alicia Shoults, Marketing & Public Relations Director, Ohio Expo Center and State Fair presented to managers and staff at the 95th Ohio Fair Managers Association Convention on January 3, 2020. The session provided an opportunity for participants to learn about the experiences from the first Sensory Friendly Morning at the Ohio State Fair, gain a better understanding of sensory processing and how to provide an environment that accommodates sensory differences, and discuss tools to support hosting a sensory friendly morning. 

“It was wonderful to be able to join this group,” explains Bavry. “There was such great energy and interest in the room as we shared our experience, as well as tips to support them in making their community event more accessible. For many, it was just a matter of taking a different approach to the great things they are already doing.”

Session participants were able to walk away with resources to help them in creating sensory friendly environments in their communities, including a checklist of things to consider when planning for their summer fair. 

“Ohio’s county and independent fairs are incredibly interested in becoming more inclusive, “ shares Alicia Shoults, “Speaking with representatives from these fairs at the Ohio Fair Manager’s Association convention facilitated an open dialogue on how our fairs can become more sensory-friendly statewide. We feel incredibly fortunate for our partnership with the experts at OCALI. Their insights and expertise allowed us to get a great start in 2019, and we are already building on that momentum with expanded plans for the 2020 Ohio State Fair. This is just the beginning of a wonderful partnership.”

That’s right, planning for the 2020 Ohio State Fair is underway. The Ohio State Fair will once again host a Sensory Friendly Morning. The morning will offer a similar experience as last year with the lights lowered and sounds turned down. Fairgoers needing a break can relax in the OCALI Quiet Room or take in the shade and peaceful surroundings offered by the Ohio State Fair’s own eight-acre Natural Resources Park. In addition to the Sensory Friendly morning, the Ohio State Fair will continue to build on its efforts to expand access and ensure inclusivity during the entire length of the Fair, running July 29 through August 9, 2020.

Save the Date!
Sensory Friendly Morning
Ohio State Fair 2020
August 5, 2020
9:00-1:00 p.m.

Stay tuned for more information about the Ohio State Fair Sensory Friendly morning, including a special parking permit, sensory friendly activities, and resources to support your visit.

Rather through books, personal narratives, movies, or theater; stories impact our lives from childhood on. Stories are a way for us to learn, explore new or unfamiliar ideas, and possibly even develop emotions, such as empathy. Personally, one of my favorite ways to enjoy a story is through theater. It energizes me, compels me to think and be reflective. 

But, what if someone has a negative experience because they cannot access the full story? Barriers exist in many ways that stories are told, especially in videos. Important information is often presented in a visual way that is not also available in the auditory track or cannot be deduced from auditory cues. There might be text on the screen that someone with a reading disability may have difficulty reading. Someone with a visual impairment may hear the noise of an object dropping, but be unsure of what is happening in the video because they did not see the object fall and hit the ground.

A way to remove this barrier is to provide audio description for videos. Audio description (AD) is a recorded narrative or audio track that is added when a video contains visual information that is not naturally included in the audio or explicitly stated by the host or narrator.

The Training

As an organization that works to remove barriers, OCALI is constantly investing in professional development for staff to address barriers and work to implement best practices. In July 2018, a team of three of us were given the opportunity to go to St. Louis to attend the Audio Describer Training provided by the American Council of the Blind. 

With much excitement and anticipation, we boarded the plane to St. Louis and spent three days fully immersed in audio description with a diverse group (from voice actors to stenographers), totaling 18 trainees. It was energizing to see a range of people with a passion to break down barriers and work to increase access for so many.

After valuable instruction, collaborative work, and a final practicum, the three of us returned home with a certificate in audio description and so became OCALI’s very own #DescriberSquad.

Early Process

When you study something new, a field or a topic, it opens you up to a whole new set of ideas, thoughts, and contemplations. After our training and taking a week or so to reflect, the #DescriberSquad quickly realized we had a lot of work to do; work that was not necessarily clear. We also realized we had a lot of questions; questions that were not easily answered with a Google search.

We started by developing a spreadsheet to organize our existing and upcoming video content. During this initial phase, it became apparent just how many people would need to be involved in the audio description process. We needed to work with our colleagues who are creating the content, video producers and editors, the web development team, and most importantly, we had to work collaboratively and consistently among ourselves.

The spreadsheet helped to organize our work and set priorities on which videos would be completed first. But we still needed more. We were constantly asking questions:  How would you describe this? Where do we send the videos when we are done? Is the quality of my audio recording meeting OCALI standards?

As a result of our questions, our next document was the Audio Description Workflow, which delineates the 11 steps from start to finish. It has been shared throughout the organization and serves to help structure our workflow and also answer common questions from colleagues.

All of our early audio description work culminated in what is now the OCALI Guidelines for Audio Description. The document serves as a ‘go-to’ resource; providing definitions, what to describe and how to describe it, and other general information. 

Where We are Now

We have learned so much over the past 18 months. We have made mistakes, realized some inconsistencies, and have also had many successes. Our web development team has recently added the ability to access audio-described videos on our website with ease of access. The #DescriberSquad has provided trainings, both internally and at conferences. Our IT and Media Specialist has an efficient system for audio recordings and video editing. After 38 videos and counting, we have realized both the uniqueness and complexities of our video work as an organization.

If I had to pick one thing that mattered the most in our start with AD, it would be the constant willingness and collaboration. We were never met with “we can’t do that with videos” or “that’s not possible for our websites.” Our colleagues always met us with a willingness to find a solution and an excitement to talk together. We are proud of our work and excited about moving forward and making even more progress.