Episode
The toastmaster with Elise Lonsdale
- Podcast
- Aaron’s Opinion
- Published
- Dec 24, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 5863
- Processing state
not_requested
Actions
POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/aaron-s-opinion-2998888/episodes/the-toastmaster-with-elise-lonsdale/transcription-requests
Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/aaron-s-opinion-2998888/the-toastmaster-with-elise-lonsdale.md
Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.
Summary
A bit about myself: After leaving the factory environment, I worked as a help desk operator. I then moved into website design, creating accessible websites. I was increasingly drawn to training, which led me to work at the Cisco Academy for the Vision Impaired. I became an audiobook producer but really wanted to focus on access technology training nised as an access technologist, specifically in blindness-related technology, and I work with individuals who are blind or have low vision in areas such as JAWS, NVDA, Apple VoiceOver, Braille displays, and other devices, both mainstream and specific to blindness. I love what I do, and I do what I love. Furthermore I believe strongly in the foundational skills of touch typing. I often run a number of self-paced or manual drill type typing exercises for my clients. Keyboarding gives you the power to use the modifier keys and to be able to communicate well. Good posture is also important. Without these attributes the access technology we teach may not necessarily work so well. I am transgender, though it rarely causes any issues these days. I spent time working in New Zealand at the country's Blind Foundation. I returned to Melbourne due to homesickness and worked for a year with Vision Australia, one of the leading blindness organisations in Australia. When that contract ended, I founded DATA Australasia, seeking funding from the NDIS, which has been generally favourable. However, recent changes to the NDIS have reduced our revenue, limiting us to what they call AT-mentors. In my view, mentoring is quite different from training. Despite the fact that I have 10% vision in only one eye, I still make good my hobby of photography. DATA Australasia is an acronym for Disability & Assistive Technology Access Australasia. I have…