Claiming Your Space: Lynn Jensen on Self-Advocacy & Everyday Courage

Episode Title & Number: Claiming Your Space: Lynn Jensen on Self-Advocacy & Everyday Courage 6-#5

Summary of the show: This episode of Bold Blind Beauty on A.I.R. features Lynn Jensen, a seasoned vision rehabilitation therapist and author of The Best Kept Secrets for Travelers with Sight Loss. Today's conversation redefines self-advocacy as an everyday practice of quiet courage for the blind and low-vision community. Moving beyond public speaking and policy, Lynn Jensen discusses challenging low societal expectations, standing tall in your autonomy, and using travel as a masterclass for building confidence. 

Key topics & timestamps:
00:00 - Why Self Advocacy Is Essential for Blind and Low Vision Individuals
02:24  - Meet Lynn Jensen: From Nurse to Vision Rehabilitation Specialist
03:25 - Losing Sight Suddenly at 27: Lynn's Personal Journey
05:12 - How Peer Support Builds Confidence After Vision Loss
07:07 - Creating Community Through Vision Rehabilitation and Workshops
09:37 - Learning to Trust Yourself, Others, and Your Mobility Skills
11:52 - Travel, Independence, and the Power of Self Advocacy
13:49 - Hidden Disabilities and the Biggest Barrier to Accessibility
18:03 - Raising Awareness: Why Representation Matters
20:35 - Practical Self Advocacy Strategies You Can Start Using Today
24:30 - Communicating Needs and Setting Boundaries
33:25 - Advocacy, Resources, and Community Connections 

Lynn's Bio: 
Lynn Jensen is a registered nurse, a certified vision rehabilitation therapist, and the author of Best Kept Secrets for Travelers With Sight Loss. She lives in Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada, and enjoys traveling and spending time with her family and her new and retired guide dogs, Quest and Misty. 

Connect with Lynn: 

• Website: blindtraveltips.com
• Email: info@blindtraveltips.com

Connect with Bold Blind Beauty to learn more about our advocacy:

• Join our Instagram community @BoldBlindBeauty
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel @BoldBlindBeauty
• Check out our website www.boldblindbeauty.com

Music Credit: "Ambient Uplifting Harmonic Happy" By Panda-x-music  https://audiojungle.net/item/ambient-uplifting-harmonic-happy/46309958

Thanks for listening!❤️

Transcript

Steph: Welcome to Bold Blind Beauty on A.I.R. Where we elevate voices, share lived experiences, and celebrate resilience in all its forms. Today's conversation centers on a topic that is foundational to everything we stand for: self-advocacy. For the blind and low vision community, advocacy isn't just about policy or public speaking. It is an everyday practice. It is the quiet courage it takes to claim your space in a world that wasn't built with you in mind.

It's about standing tall in your autonomy, communicating your needs clearly, and intentionally challenging the low expectations or misconceptions society often holds. True independence begins when we realize that asking for access is not an imposition; it is our right.

Alice Walker once said, "The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don't have any." Today, we are unpacking what it means to be a self-advocate, how we can move from personal independence to collective empowerment, and why changing the narrative around disability starts with everyday actions.

Joining us today to share her incredible insights and wealth of experience is someone who has dedicated both her personal and professional life to nurturing true independence and self-belief. Lynn Jensen is a seasoned vision rehabilitation therapist who has spent years equipping individuals with the practical tools they need to navigate sight loss.

Beyond her professional work, Lynn is a powerful voice for our community. She is also the author of The Best Kept Secrets for Travelers with Sight Loss, a book that uses the journey of travel as a masterclass in daily problem-solving, confidence, and self-advocacy. Lynn, welcome to Blind Beauty On Air. We are so thrilled to have you here with us today. Thank you for having me.

Lynn: I'm so excited to be here as well.

Steph: Wonderful. What I'm gonna do right now, Lynn, is hand the mic over to Sylvia for our first question. Sylvia. 

Sylvia: Hi everyone, and hi Lynn.

As a vision rehab therapist myself and fellow traveler, super excited to have you with us to chat. So your background as a vision rehab therapist has impacted so many lives, and I know that. To start our conversation today, would you mind sharing a little bit about your own vision loss journey and how that personal experience has shaped your, your passion for helping others build their independence?

Lynn: I lost all of my sight back in 1997. I was just 27 years old. I had graduated from the University of British Columbia School of Nursing 8 months earlier. My sight loss was sudden and totally unexpected. It was the result of a brain injury.

I was in the hospital for an extended period of time and underwent multiple surgeries. My vision rehabilitation journey began a couple of months after discharge. Keep in mind, I was also receiving intensive physiotherapy at that time. I did have to learn how to walk again after my brain injury.

I worked with two fantastic vision rehabilitation therapists and an orientation and mobility specialist. Their names were Walter, Brad, and Rochelle. They're the ones who pointed me in the direction of the vision rehabilitation field, and I am so glad they did. I absolutely love my job. I am very passionate about my job, and it's, it's so powerful being able to help a client build skills, confidence, and return to a life full of enjoyment.

During my rehab journey, I also learned the importance of peer support. About a year and a half after I lost my sight, I was introduced to another young woman who lost all of her vision 9 months after I did. Her name was Courtney. Looking back, Courtney and I didn't have much in common besides our blindness, but we spoke on the phone almost every day, sharing our challenges, our frustrations, and more importantly, our accomplishments.

Courtney and I went on to get guide dogs around the same time. We used to meet at various locations around the city, and we'd continue on to a restaurant where we would exchange a page of braille. We were both learning braille at the same time as well. We would take that page of braille home, read it, and then we were back on the phone comparing notes.

I will never forget the importance of that relationship. You know, being able to share common experiences and goals. We were both very, very determined to return to the workforce. And I am so grateful for Courtney's support and friendship. At that time in particular.

Sylvia: Lynn, it is powerful to have people who are going through that similar thing that you're going through. I find it makes such a big difference. So continue on, but I just wanted to say that it is powerful.

Lynn: It really is, and I carried that with me into my career as a vision rehabilitation therapist. When I first started working at a vision rehab center in Vancouver, I saw all of my clients in their home. I felt like I was just encouraging isolation. In some cases, the client didn't have a reason to leave the house, and they certainly didn't have an opportunity to meet other people with sight loss.

A couple of years later, I launched a series of in-house independent living skills workshops in the Vancouver Service Centre. It gave my clients the opportunity to meet one another, to share their experiences, and to learn skills in a supportive environment. Those workshops were a huge success.

Eventually, I brought the workshops to outlying communities throughout the province of British Columbia. When COVID hit, I brought the workshops to the virtual stage as Best Kept Secrets for Living with Sight Loss.

As an independent consultant, I want to continue by bringing people who are blind or have low vision together. I am working on bringing my virtual workshops back to life And I will offer those workshops to clients across Canada and the United States.

Sylvia: Wonderful. Great. And I will just, you know, affirm that bringing people together and sharing ideas— and what I found is that I would share ideas when I did classes, either virtual or in person, and I would learn just as much. As a person who's blind, I would learn just as much from other people because we're all innately these problem-solvers.

So helping people really find that within themselves and encourage that within each other is just powerful. So as the follow-up, when you were going through your journey, what did you discover were the biggest gaps or challenges in navigating the world independently? And how did you use your background as a vision rehab therapist and even maybe a little bit of that nursing background to solve those problems?

Lynn: My biggest challenge was trust, learning to trust myself, other people, and ultimately a guide dog. When I say learning to trust myself, I mean learning to trust my other senses. My sense of smell when cooking, definitely my sense of hearing when crossing intersections, and of course my sense of touch when reading braille.

Learning to trust other people. This is an area I still have a problem with. I'll admit it. Especially when receiving sighted guide and if the person tells me that we're approaching a flight of stairs. In fact, if I am receiving sighted guide from someone and I don't have my guide dog, I will continue to use my white cane, that way I'm the one who's responsible for detecting curbs, uneven pavement, and the depth of a stair, for example.

And poles and walls and bushes. Yes.

And that way I can continue a conversation with someone and I don't have to be fearful of that person being distracted. It's a lot of responsibility being a guide.

Sylvia: Mm-hmm. It's interesting, Lynn, because we were talking like right before, and I know you're going to talk about travel, but you're right in choosing, know, selecting people and making sure that they communicate well, because that's what it's about, is that they're guiding well, they're communicating well. And I mentioned that I recently had a big travel experience and trusting my husband to guide me on that.

You know, and he did a great job, but there was, you know, real trust involved with that and real communication involved with that and just long-term, you know, success. So, great. I'm going to pass it off to Gabby to ask you some questions.

Gabby: Hi, Lynn. It's so great to chat with you again.

So, people often view travel as a luxury, not in the context of disability. Independent travel is a profound form of self-advocacy. Does learning to navigate the physical world with sight loss translate into becoming a stronger advocate for yourself and for the community? the community.

Lynn: Traveling is absolutely a powerful form of self-advocacy. There are so many times where you might be navigating an unfamiliar area, challenges booking a hotel, locating the correct train platform, for instance. So there's so many times where you might need to voice your needs, speak up.

Gabby: Yeah, definitely. And I, think that is so true, you know. It's important that we understand how to speak up, and that's not always something that feels comfortable to do, you know. And that's one of the biggest things I've learned for myself is just knowing when to speak up and how to do it, feeling comfortable enough.

When we talk— about that, go ahead.

That's okay, no, you go ahead.

When we talk about accessible travel, the focus is usually on logistics like transit or tech. From your perspective, what are the travel industries still missing when it comes to true access, inclusion, and representation? A.I.R.

Lynn: I think the biggest the barrier to travel is a lack of awareness. Mm-hmm. Blindness is a disability that is poorly understood. There are so many different forms of sight loss. mean, variations are endless. A person could have no central vision. No peripheral vision. could have fluctuations in vision. They could have light sensitivity.

You know, everybody's situation is different. And of course, it's also a hidden disability. It's not readily apparent that a person has sight loss. So I feel that the biggest challenge is a lack of awareness. People need to understand those differences.

Sylvia: Also, Lynn, I just want to say the only way that they're going to understand those differences is for all of us to get out there and interact with people so that they can get that experience of the many variations of sight loss.

Lynn: Exactly. It's Lynn again. I, I think back to my previous life, my sighted life, I knew nothing about blindness. I, like a lot of people, I believed that you had full vision, 20/20 vision, or you had no vision. I didn't realize that there was this huge gray area. And in fact, only 10% of people who are blind are actually completely blind.

Most people do lay in that gray area.

Absolutely.

And the mobility aids that are used by people who are blind, like the white cane and a guide dog. Not everyone requires those mobility aids. And even if I do have my white cane or my guide dog, people either don't see it or they simply don't understand what that dog or cane means.

I have to tell you a funny story. I was at a train station, and a young woman came up to me, and she just went nuts over my dog. She was crouched down, patting the dog, saying, "Oh, you poor thing. Oh, that's so sad that you've lost your sight." And the man standing next to me, he's like, "She's the one who's blind, not the dog." Oh my goodness.

I'll never forget that. Yeah.

If you want to understand more about the person's simply ask the question, "How can I best assist you?" That's all it takes.

Sylvia: And, and, Lynn, I'm going to say there's no magical training either for that. Because sometimes it's funny to me because I've had people do that. I was in the airport recently and this lady in the restroom, know, airport restrooms are always just, you know, one of those places where it's just chaos.

And she literally came up and said, "Can I assist you in some way?" And she said, "I could offer you my arm." And I literally said, "Oh, have you met someone who's blind before?" and she says, "Never," and I was like, it just shows you don't need training, just some common sense.

It would be very interesting to learn how she knew to say that.

I think it just came natural. Yeah, it just came natural to her, evidently.

Steph: This is Steph. I think some people are just a little more intuitive, maybe, than other people, or empathic. So for someone like that, a blind person would encounter, would almost, without having to be told, sort of know that that's, that's what they would do. You know, it just depends. Like, we're talking about the spectrum of blindness. The spectrum of humanity is just as vast, know.

Sylvia: Oh, such a brilliant point, Steph.

Lynn: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

Yeah, but yes, I just want to add, when it comes to lack of awareness I really believe that accommodations will not be made unless people understand why they need to be made.

Steph: Mm-hmm. True. And that's another reason why self-advocacy is so important, because how can people know that unless we are out here advocating for that? And, know, I've always said the best form of advocacy is really being out here living our best lives, allowing people to see us, speaking up when we have a need and just letting them know, you said, Lynn, letting them know why we need a certain type of accommodation. All of that plays into it and it is self-advocacy.

Thank you so much for the funny story that you shared. I don't know what I would have done in that situation. I probably would have started laughing.

Gabby: Yes, exactly. But I will hand it over to—

sorry, I'm sorry.

Lynn: Oh, that's okay, Gabby. I was just gonna say I was speechless.

Yeah.

it just says the spectrum of humanity. Yes.

Sylvia: Some people are not too brilliant.

Gabby: That is, common sense is not all common. But thank you for those, for those answers, Lynn. I think everything you said is 1000% so accurate. And with that, I will toss it over to Steph.

Steph: Thank you, Gabby. So, Lynn, in your book, The Best Kept Secrets for Travelers with Sight Loss, you share a wealth of practical strategies from packing bags and navigating hotels to managing international transit. For our listeners who might feel overwhelmed by the logistics of travel or speaking up for their needs, what is one essential tool or mindset shift from your guidebook that they can adopt today to start building their confidence and advocating for themselves?

Lynn: I think it's really important that people recognize that self-advocacy is a skill that is learned just like any other skill, like learning to pour a hot cup of for instance. It's best to start small. With cold water in that example, and build confidence over time. When it comes to self-advocacy, you might want to start by learning to solicit aid.

So time you're at the grocery store, ask someone if they could assist you in finding your favorite jar of peanut butter in the aisle. Or at a restaurant, you could ask the server to get the kitchen staff to cut your steak into bite-sized pieces so the meal's ready for you to enjoy when it is served.

Learning to self-advocate often requires trial and error. There isn't a single way to communicate your needs. You have to develop a communication style that is comfortable for you, respectful, and of course effective. So in everyday life, you might want to practice. Let's say, for example, you are required to sign a document and you're ready to sign.

You've got the pen in your hand and the person tugs your hand up towards the signature line.

Mm-hmm.

If that makes you feel uncomfortable, pause the situation. You might say something like, "Could we try it this way instead? I'll hold my pen as if I'm about ready to sign. You move the paper under the tip of my pen. That way I don't touch you and you don't touch me." Another example: imagine you're out in the community and somebody grabs your arm to help you.

Break the connection, and then, assuming you do want the person's assistance, say something like, "I do best when I take your arm above the elbow," and then go on to instruct the person in proper sighted guide technique.

Sylvia: I think there are two challenges, Lynn, is that one, you know, as just human beings are not comfortable asking for help or assistance. And it's just so common that, know, having worked with many people over the years, just when they hear, oh, I have to ask for help, my gosh, don't, yeah, I don't want to ask for help.

You know, it's just a, it's just like this innate thing that runs through, um, society that we don't want to for help. then, you know, then as a person who's blind, someone offers help, you don't want to offend them if you have to say, "I don't, I, know, do it this way." And so those are the two things that I've observed and heard so much.

And I so agree with you about it's building up that confidence, skill of asking for help. I'm one of those now who I will ask any perfect stranger for help because I'm super comfortable with that. And I know that if I ask for help, I'm going to be able to do what I want and need to do independently, safely.

think the safely part comes in there too. I know how to ask and receive assistance safely too. But, but it does take a lot of work. And, and even, know, you're getting out of your comfort zone to ask for that. And that is what builds

Gabby: So yeah, I just want to quickly jump in and say, you know, I, I do agree with that, but I think the way that we break that sort of like, you know, scared feeling of asking for help and not wanting to offend the person helping us is, you know, we have to remember that if we want to live independent lives and be able to travel or navigate the world safely, a lot of that does require you know, breaking that uncomfortable feeling and saying, know, I have to do this because eventually I want to be able to do X, Y, and Z confidently and comfortably, and that's going to require me asking someone that I don't know for help.

And so I think that although it can be uncomfortable at first, you know, there's been so many times I've had to say, you know, someone will grab my cane and try to guide me, and I'll be like, wait, excuse me, let me— I please show you how you probably properly guide a blind individual.

And it just requires, you know, us speaking up. And I know that's a hard thing for so many of us to do, especially when we're just really starting to build that confidence. But it is absolutely necessary, I will say.

I also will say that so many people, I mean, I can only think of a couple situations when I've asked for help or I've you know, asked for assistance in a certain way when it's been offered in the wrong way, where it's not gone great. Most people really want to help, they just don't know how to assist.

And when you ask and you can tell people how to best assist you, they're usually very willing and sometimes even excited to help you.

Yes.

Lynn: Yeah, it's Lynn. I, as a rehab teacher, like to consider those awkward moments as teachable moments. As I mentioned earlier, I knew nothing about blindness until I lost my sight, and I do have to remind myself of that. I'd like to think that I wouldn't have grabbed somebody's hand or arm, but I might have done something that was equally inappropriate.

Yeah, right. Or doing something. And people aren't being vengeful when they react in that way. They simply don't know what's next.

Steph: Mhm, exactly. And I think, you know, on this journey called life, we're constantly learning. And that's one of the beautiful things, you know. There, there are so many people that we're experiencing in our lives. I mean, not everybody's blind, right? Not everybody is hard of hearing or deaf. Not everybody's a wheelchair user. Not everybody is totally non-disabled. I mean, there's just so many different people and situations, and how we react to those situations. So try to remember that too.

And like you, Lynn, I lost my sight, um, actually later in life, and it's of, especially when I hear, uh, comments from our community sort of being a little bit harsh with people who can see and saying, well, you shouldn't say that, you shouldn't do that, or you should— I didn't know that, you know what I mean? So I, I always try to give grace to people and just remember that I didn't know what blindness was before I lost my sight.

And what's funny about that is I was visually impaired, severely visually impaired, I still thought, you know, when I put on my glasses or contacts, thought that I was, you know, had perfect vision. So, that speaks to the spectrum of, uh, sight loss, but moving along, you know, at Bold Blind Beauty On A.I.R., we believe that change happens when we change the narrative.

What is your grandest vision for the future of the blind and low vision community when we fully claim our space and advocate collectively?

Lynn: My grandest vision for the future. I would like to see blindness and low vision receive the same awareness and visibility as other disabilities, such as those who use wheelchairs.

Gabby: Can I just say really quick, I, you know, this belonging idea, I want to go back to, um, you know, we just did our series stuff with, with Sunday Edition, and that was the May I series. And one of the things that stood out to me last week was, "May I belong in the world as I am?" And I think so often belonging we feel comes from an outside perspective when, you know, we understand more clearly how we live in our own bodies with our own disabilities or without disabilities.

And so I just wanted to place that in there because that really stood out to me when we were talking about that.

Steph: Thank you, Gabby, for that.

Again, it's so important that we embrace our differences, and of course, in turn, society embraces our differences.

Yes, yes,

So Lynn, before we wrap up, we want to make sure that our audience can connect with you and access the incredible work that you do. How can our listeners reach you or follow your advocacy journey? Um, do you have a website or email or social media handles?

Lynn: I do have a website. It is blindtraveltips.com. And you can contact me directly using the Contact Us page.

Steph: Wonderful. Oh, I'm sorry, go ahead.

Lynn: I'm sorry, it just hit me. I do have a direct email address. is info@blindtraveltips.com.

Steph: Wonderful. And where can the audience find a copy of your guidebook, The Best Kept Secrets for Travelers with Sight Loss, to help build up their own toolkits for independence? Where can they find that?

Lynn: The book is available on my website, blindtraveltips.com, or through the main online book retailers. The book is available in multiple formats, including a large-print paperback, regular print paperback, ebook, so accessible EPUB 3, and audiobook, both MP3 and DAISY. Keep in mind that the DAISY format is only available on my website.

And if you do get the large print book on my website, it is coil-bound, allowing the book to lay flat for easier reading with a magnification aid.

Steph: Oh, that's wonderful. That's a great point. And something that, you know, I used to bind books for

But, you know, and of course, as you say, the thicker they are, if they're not coil-bound, the harder— I mean, they don't lay flat, right? And so you had to put something like on the pages to keep them flat. So coil-bound binding, that's great. Thank you for that, Lynn. Are there any particular advocacy organizations or resources that have been vital to you that you would recommend to our listeners?

Lynn: Hmm, that's a good question. There are so many different resources out there. I think it's best that you, you just start digging, start digging, contact your local vision rehabilitation center. You might even want to utilize a chatbot. Keep in mind, though that chatbots don't always give you the most reliable information.

So always go to the original source. Mm-hmm. And connect with your community as well through social groups, low vision support groups, and other agencies.

Steph: That's great. 

Lynn: I really do believe it's so important to connect with people in the community and share.

Steph: Yeah, it really is. That was the one thing that I think that I can point to that really helped me when I was in the early stages of my sight loss journey, because, you know, when you're losing your sight, can feel so isolated and alone. And, you know, once I began connecting with the blind community, not only was it great to have other people to talk to, to see, uh, people that were really living life to the fullest. 

They were professionals, I mean, they ran the gamut of, you know, the things that they did. That really helped, you know, because I was thinking, oh, I'm going to have to give up my job, gonna have to give up my house, I'm gonna have to, I'm just going to give up everything. I won't be able to drive, you know, what am I going to do? And I found that there was so much more that I could do, but I didn't know that because I didn't know what I didn't know. So connecting with the blind community really helped with that. So I think that's really important.

So thank you for that, Lynn. So, you know, as we close today's conversation, let's remember this. Let's remember that self-advocacy It's not a burden and it's not a sign of weakness. It is a profound reflection of your value, your dignity, and your humanity. Every single time you speak up for what you need to navigate this world safely and independently, you are not just clearing a path for yourself.

You are highlighting the way for everyone who comes after you. Redefining independence means knowing that you belong in on every path and in every space you choose to enter.

Let's continue to create a world where community feels safe to share, supported to lead, and completely empowered to thrive. Thank you, Lynn, for joining us on Bold Blind Beauty on A.I.R. Until next time, stay bold, stay beautiful, and keep using your voice to change the narrative.