grouped podcast posts and new article

astro/src/content/blogs/podcast-adhd.mdx

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ description: >-
 published: 2026-06-22
 tags:
   - education
+  - podcasts
 author: esther-klang
 ---
 

astro/src/content/blogs/autism-podcast.mdx → astro/src/content/blogs/podcast-autism.mdx

@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 ---
-title: Autism Podcasts
+title: What Autism Is and How It Affects People
 description: >-
    Day in the Life: Understanding Autism
 published: 2026-03-15
 tags:
   - education
+  - podcasts
 author: esther-klang
 ---
 

astro/src/content/blogs/what-blindness-is.mdx → astro/src/content/blogs/podcast-blindness.mdx

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ description: Blindness is part of human diversity. It affects how people access
 published: 2026-05-25
 tags:
   - education
+  - podcasts
 author: esther-klang
 ---
 

astro/src/content/blogs/podcast-brain-injury.mdx

@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+---
+title: "What Brain Injury Is and How It Affects People"
+description: Brain injury is part of human diversity. It affects how people think, move, communicate, and feel.
+published: 2026-08-05
+tags:
+  - education
+  - podcasts
+author: esther-klang
+---
+
+On _Accessible Community’s_ [A 'Day in the Life' podcast](/podcasts/), we have been talking about brain injury. This post explains what brain injury is and why inclusion matters. Brain injury is part of human diversity. It affects how people think, move, communicate, and feel.
+
+## What Brain Injury Is
+
+A brain injury happens when something disrupts the normal work of the brain. It can happen suddenly, like from a fall, a car accident, or a blow to the head. It can also happen from a stroke, an infection, a tumor, or a lack of oxygen to the brain. Brain injury can look like:
+
+* Sudden injury from an accident, a fall, or a blow to the head
+* Injury from a medical event, like a stroke or a lack of oxygen
+* Changes that show up right away or slowly over time
+* Effects that are different for every person
+
+There are two broad types:
+* **Traumatic brain injury (TBI)** is caused by an outside force, like a fall, a car crash, or a blow to the head.
+* **Acquired brain injury (ABI)** is caused by something inside the body, like a stroke, a tumor, an infection, or a lack of oxygen. Both types can bring lasting changes.
+
+**There is no single way to have a brain injury.** Two people with the same type of injury can have very different lives.
+
+## How Brain Injury Can Look Different
+
+People with brain injury experience the world in many ways. Not everyone has all of these effects.
+
+### Thinking and Memory
+
+* Many people have trouble with memory, focus, or planning tasks. This is often called a **cognitive change**.
+* Processing new information can take more time and effort.
+* Written reminders, extra time, and a quiet space can help a lot.
+
+### Communication
+
+* Finding the right word, called **word-finding difficulty**, is common.
+* Some people have trouble speaking clearly or understanding fast speech.
+* Communication may take longer, but that does not mean a person has less to say.
+
+### Physical Effects and Fatigue
+
+* Brain injury can affect balance, coordination, strength, or vision.
+* Fatigue after a brain injury is different from normal tiredness. Rest does not always fix it.
+* Headaches, dizziness, or sensitivity to light and noise are common.
+
+### Emotions and Behavior
+
+* Mood changes, like frustration or sadness, are a real part of many brain injuries.
+* Some people become more impulsive or find it harder to manage stress.
+* These changes come from the injury, not from a person's character.
+
+**These differences are not personal failures.** Most barriers come from spaces and systems that were not built with brain injury in mind.
+
+## Brain Injury at Every Stage of Life
+
+Brain injury can happen to anyone, at any age. Young children can have a brain injury from a fall or an illness. Teens and young adults often get one from sports or car accidents. Older adults are more likely to have one from a stroke or a fall.
+
+Some brain injuries are diagnosed right away, in a hospital. Others take longer to notice, especially milder injuries like concussions.
+
+The effects of a brain injury can change a lot over time. Some people recover many skills in the first months. Others live with lasting changes for life. What a person needs can shift as they heal, work, and move through different stages of life.
+
+Brain injury does not decide what a person can do. Access does.
+
+## Language Matters
+
+Many people say "person with a brain injury" or "person living with a brain injury." Many others prefer "brain injury survivor," a term used often in the brain injury community.
+
+Try not to use language that makes brain injury sound like a tragedy. Avoid phrases like "brain damaged" or "suffers from." Instead, focus on **access, tools, and inclusion.**
+
+**Use:** person with a brain injury, person living with a brain injury, brain injury survivor
+
+**Avoid:** "brain damaged," "vegetable," "victim of a brain injury," "suffers from," or language that treats brain injury as a tragedy
+
+The best thing to do is use the words a person chooses for themselves.
+
+## What Inclusion Looks Like in Daily Life
+
+Inclusion is about real actions. It shows up in how we design spaces, set up workplaces, and share information.
+
+* Give clear, simple instructions, and offer them in writing as well as out loud.
+* Allow extra time for tasks, conversations, and decisions.
+* Reduce noise and bright light when possible. Sensory overload is a real barrier.
+* Offer flexible schedules and breaks. Fatigue can change from day to day.
+* Repeat or rephrase information without being asked twice.
+* Make digital content accessible by using clear headings, simple language, and readable fonts.
+* Trust people when they describe symptoms that are hard to see, like fatigue or memory changes.
+
+**These steps help people with brain injury take part fully.** They also make spaces work better for everyone.
+
+## Listening to People with Brain Injury
+
+Blind and low-vision people are the experts on their own lives. **Their voices improve** the media, products, research, and services we all use when we include and compensate them for their expertise.
+
+The [A 'Day in the Life' podcast](/podcasts/) brings forward real experiences from people living with blindness and low vision. These stories remind us that there is no single blind experience. **There are many stories, told by those who live them.**
+
+## What You Can Do Next
+
+Listen to this month's **Day in the Life** episodes about brain injury:
+
+* [Brain Injury with Esther Klang](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568061/episodes/19519458)
+* [Brain Injury with Ray Petro](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568061/episodes/19480033)
+* [Brain Injury with Sarah Levis](https://www.buzzsprout.com/2568061/episodes/19433944)
+
+**Brain injury is part of our community.** When we design for access, everyone benefits.