Accessible Conversations

How Accessibility Impacts ALL of Us

Jessica Fabus Cheng Season 1 Episode 2

Meet Anne Mok: a blind storyteller, fearless advocate, TEDx speaker, and forthcoming author. Through her unwavering commitment to advocacy and storytelling, Anne reshapes the narrative of what it means to thrive despite challenges.

When Anne shared her vision behind Purpose In View, I was moved by her fierce determination to transform the online space into a hub for inclusivity. In this Episode, we delve into her pursuit to tear down digital barriers, a mission that resonated deeply with me as I recounted my cousin's struggle with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Anne's advocacy is not just about bringing change to the digital realm for the visually impaired and chronically ill; it's a clear call for us all to weave accessibility into the fabric of our online communities.


This episode is a rally cry for representation, underscored by the power of simple yet transformative tools like image descriptions, thoughtful hashtag usage, and alt text. It's about recognizing and embracing the diversity in our audience, in the disabled community and beyond. Join us on this journey and witness the ripple effect of storytelling in crafting a world where empathy reigns and inclusivity is not an afterthought but a cornerstone.

Social media links:

purposeinview@gmail.com | @purposeinview on Instagram and Tiktok | purposeinview.com | www.linkedin.com/in/anne-mok-purposeinview
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100071325735929



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Jessica Fabus Cheng:

Hello everyone, welcome. Welcome to Accessible Conversations. I am thrilled to be joined today by Anne Mock. She is a blind storyteller, a fearless advocate, a TEDx speaker and a forthcoming author, and through her unwavering commitment to advocacy and storytelling, anne is reshaping the narrative of what it means to thrive despite challenges. So welcome Anne. How are you today?

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

I'm doing great. Thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy to have these conversations and really excited to delve into them and yeah, chat, yeah.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

So I think all of those things that I just mentioned are incredibly intentional and powerful on its own. So I feel like I have probably like a thousand questions that I could ask you, but I'm going to try to keep it to just a few for today. But I'm incredibly. It's such an incredible background and I'm just really looking forward to getting to know you more. So, as I mentioned, very impressive background. So can you tell me what got you into creating content, storytelling, what inspired you to kind of bring it out into the open?

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

Well, my journey actually as a content creator began out of a place of necessity and a passion for advocacy. I had already begun losing my vision, but then, suddenly, on January 1st 2019, I woke up with this migraine-like headache that I actually still have today and while we're speaking right now, I was diagnosed with something called NDPH New Daily Persistent Headache. I was unable to return to work and I was bedridden for eight months. This was one year before the pandemic hit, and during the pandemic, you know, everyone was relying on online shopping for their groceries and their everyday needs, and when I was bedridden, I was relying on those things too online accessibility and I struggled with website accessibility. And so during the pandemic, these issues were especially magnified for the blind and visually impaired community and those isolated with and living with chronic illness, and during the pandemic, small businesses were also struggling, and I wanted to find a way to make a difference and help in some way and also connect with others who were like me.

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

I had this rare genetic eye condition. I didn't know anyone that had it, there was no one in my family that had it, and I had this rare headache condition as well, so I was looking for a sense of connection and you know I also like to shop. So I decided to start my Instagram page Purpose and View, and I specifically chose Instagram because I wanted to challenge Instagram to make it as accessible as possible, because Instagram is a visual medium and I started off by making my posts about my purchases and describing them for the visually impaired community and adding alt text in image description and then tagging the small businesses as well, and I became this accidental influencer and um, I love that but there was this, uh, strong passion to use my voice.

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

I have this deep desire to make the digital space as accessible as possible. I think it should be the cornerstone of content creation and not an afterthought. I think that it should be from the start that we have accessibility built in. And so during this time I really began to build and connect with a very strong community and we're sharing our experiences, our stories, our challenges and our triumph. And I really saw the power of bringing the sighted community and the visually impaired community together and bringing that education and awareness and by sharing my journey, I really hope to inspire others facing similar barriers. That it's not just about overcoming your challenges, but it's about embracing that part of your journey and it's part of our unique story.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

That's incredible. I love that. I love that. I love how you said the cornerstone of the digital space, because so often it is an afterthought, and not only that. Many people I mean I made a post about this yesterday but many people don't even know that this is a thing, that this can exclude people, or at least people may not feel as welcome to come to some of these spaces Because the digital world is so prevalent these days. That's really incredible.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

For me, this whole thing started way back in 2004 for me. My cousin was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder called Duchenne muscular dystrophy, which is fatal, and I was also diagnosed as a carrier for that. So that kind of got my entire family into that zone of advocacy, of speaking up, of you know, thinking, starting to think a little bit differently. And one of the things that they don't always tell you when you get these diagnoses is that you are going to run up against issues with accessibility. It's kind of like something you learn, you know, as time goes on. And I'll never forget when my cousin was 12 years old, he was walking to the doctor's office with his mom and there was some kind of crack in the sidewalk. He fell and, long story short he broke his leg and because of his the disease process he the disease process he was in a wheelchair immediately, like there was no lead up. We knew that eventually he would be a power chair user, but that was it.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

Me was that no amount of legislation, the ADA, even his own mom couldn't stop from tripping over that crack that really should have been fixed. And it just made me understand the importance of everyday advocacy that, yeah, there probably was a process to getting that sidewalk fixed. But if some one person had said this is unacceptable, this is not how we, this is not accessible, that wouldn't have happened and it could have been, you know, an elderly person. It could have been, who knows happened to be him. So I do connect with that advocacy side and so, from that work that and the countless stories of people in that community talking about you know hotels not being accessible or calling a car and it's supposed to be a van and they come with you know something that you know it's a car, you know it's not going to work and it's 10pm that really inspired me to do my own work with accessibility. I'm also in health care as well.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

So, yes, I'd so.

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

And those, those people that like, just come with a car instead of a van. They don't think how important it is, they don't recognize it. So we continually need to advocate and and bring that awareness and educate, because they just don't put the two into why it's important yeah, yeah, or what are you going to do at 11 pm?

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

and you're with a six-year-old, you know now what so those things are really gets into that. Human rights issues for me, um, so accessibility, and in the digital space especially, um, I think needs more of that awareness.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

So so you know incredible what you're you're doing. Um, so I do have a question Do you, when you did start to produce your content and put yourself out there I mean, as it is, it's always a little scary to do just thinking about that but did you find that there were any other barriers that you faced when starting to do that, whether maybe you know digital accessibility you did mention already physical. Were there attitudinal barriers? Did people think like, was there any pushback at all, or victories too?

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

I would say the barriers to producing content would be multifaceted. Firstly, physically, living with chronic illness, it's very challenging. I have very low energy level, and so I had to really give myself grace and understand that I'm not going to be producing and doing content compared to someone else and I can't compare myself to anybody else. And so I've learned to accept that, and my mindset is that I will do content on low pain days, and so that's just how I operate, and producing quality over quantity. And so those are the boundaries that I've set for myself, and I think it's worked well for me. And so those are the things.

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

Physically, number one is taking care of myself, and on the other, physical side, there's a lack of accessible digital tools out there, so that can pose a significant challenge. So a lot of things take a lot of time. Editing takes a lot of time. It's very tiring on my eyes, it's very straining mentally. So you know, what might be quick for someone takes a long time for me. What might be quick for someone takes a long time for me. And that goes back to, you know, having accessibility built in to our tools and our apps. Because here I am, the chronically ill person, the visually impaired person doing all the accessibility as that person, to make accessible content. But where is it it? You know, if it hadn't been built in, it would have been a lot easier. Um, and attitudinally, you know, there's that, uh, pervasive misconception that a blind and visually impaired person can't create good content or visually appealing content, and I'm here to challenge that and.

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

I think, I think I'm doing pretty good.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

I would say so you have some of the better content I've seen. Overall, just the know you share. I feel very intrigued and drawn into your day. You share a lot of. You know daily activities and things and, um, you know breaking barriers, which I'll talk about in a little bit, but you would never think that it takes you know a extra long time to do it. Quality is there.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

That's what is so key. Um yeah, for your, your content, which I just I love it. Um so, as you know that there there are no laws governing accessibility, what advice would you give to someone who is just starting to understand the value of adding Pascal case or adding image description, alt text, captions, contrast, that type of thing? Would you have any advice or direction for someone just starting in that direction? For?

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

someone just starting. I think there are three really important key ones. The first one, number one, that I would recommend doing and starting first of all, is image descriptions. I believe that is the simplest and you will help a wide audience to feel inclusive.

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

Image descriptions help the blind and visually impaired community understand what's being shared. But it's not only helpful for this community. It's accessible so that those with autism, sensory processing disorders, dyslexia, color blindness and cognitive and learning disabilities and adhd they can process the information much better. When you've got an image description, you get a lot of reels that are fast paced and it's hard to process all that. So having the image description allows to slow down and take a look at it and understand it. And image descriptions can also be translated into other languages. So it's such a benefit to everybody, to a wide audience, so that everyone feels included and so many people can enjoy your content. I mean, wouldn't we all love that right To reach a wider audience with our content?

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

And it's good for those who don't use a screen reader as well. And then with using Pascal case and Camel case, you know that's with your hashtags, because a screen reader will just read it as gibberish unless you capitalize the first letter of each word without the faces. So that's helpful to do too, and that's just simple. You know, if you're doing hashtags already, it's simple to just capitalize the first letter of each word and then alt text in your photos. It's just a basic, simple description, but the screen reader can or voiceover can read that and it lets the person know what your photo is about. So those are just such simple things and they don't take a lot of time. If I can do it, anyone can do it, and I've gotten really quick at it now. So it it's very, it's very simple.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

Yeah, that that was the inspiration for my, my mini course called take five for accessibility, and it's really simple, you know. And yes, when you're first posting for the first time, yeah, you may take a little extra time, but you're absolutely right. I mean, you start to, I think you expand your brain, just your writing skills, just to be able to quickly describe something in a different way. And I know, for me, even reading image descriptions on my own, it gives me a window into the trajectory of that photo, or a little bit of insight, especially photographers or people that work in those mediums. It's like, oh, I get to hear a little bit more about what went into this photo or your thoughts on it, as opposed to, you know, beautiful sunset. I mean, there's a little bit more involved. So I like that depth that descriptions bring to, which I think is really cool.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

So, yeah, thank you for saying that, cause that is something that I I'm trying why I've, you know, compete still in pageantry is to get that message out there. So people understand that this makes not just a difference but an immediate difference. And you know you're making an impact directly. There's no theory, it's in real time, it's directly. There's no theory, it's in real time, it's it's actually happening, um, so I did want to talk about the fashion show casting, um many things that I think are going to break barriers, um, but do you believe that representation of the uh disabled community as a whole is necessary to go forward in the future?

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

Absolutely. Participating in that fashion show was such a profound moment for me. It really showed the importance of visibility and representation of disabled individuals, stereotypes and challenging what society's perception of what disability looks like. You know. Representation in all forms in public life and in media. It sends this powerful message that people with disabilities are valued and we are vibrant members of society and we have talents and different perspectives. And it's not just about being seen, but it's changing that narrative and showing that our voices and our stories are really the fabric of our community.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

That's incredible of our community. That's incredible, yeah. I think anytime people are speaking up, sharing showing those experiences, like you're doing, again in real time with the video, and all of that, it brings us in to that world to understand more deeply how crucial it is that this type of representation is happening, that it is there. It's not going anywhere. This is the future. That's how I look at it. I just feel like I'm just a part of something that is going to expand even further as time goes on, goes on. So for me, I really believe that our stories are the key to create allyship, relationship and to making what I like to call champions of accessibility, by creating awareness and allyship taking action. So, as a storyteller, do you believe that also, or is that part of your reason for telling your story publicly?

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

Yes, you know it's, it's stories that have the power to connect, educate and inspire, and you know, they're not just facts and statistics, but you can touch hearts and open minds, um, and you can really, with our experiences, uh bridge, uh build a bridge of understanding, and you can really foster solidarity and support. Stories have the ability to humanize our, our issues of accessibility, as we talked about, and make it more relatable to our broader audience. Then we can cultivate allies and advocates so that they can be moved to action. So storytelling isn't just for awareness, but we can use it as a catalyst for change, driving us towards this more inclusive and empathetic world that we need. Yeah, so storytelling, I believe, is what will connect us all.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

Yeah, and I feel like there is nothing more human than sharing, talking about experiences, because that's how, even in ages past, like that's how we learn, that's how we understood the world, hearing a perspective that maybe wasn't known. I actually had a professor in college who one day came in and held up a box of crayons and said okay, what is on the front of this box? And the entire class was well, says Crayola. Obviously you know that's what you have in your hand. And the professor was like great, but what does it say in the back of the box? He said only I can see that and the only way that you'll know is if I tell you what it says and you have to listen. In the same way, I'll understand the front of the box is if I am open and listen to you. So that stuck with me for I mean till this moment, for many many profound.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

Yeah, I was like, wow, you know, it's like one of those, you're just like, okay, that just took my understanding of things up a notch. So that's just something I, you know, I strive to embody and live, because without that story, without your perspective, I can't fully understand my world. So yeah, so, so yeah.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

So Just telling someone like you should do this or this is important isn't going to touch them in the way that, if you tell your personal experience and it's relatable, so they can connect Definitely Well, is there anything else that you would love to promote or share or talk about before we end today?

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

I do want to make note of that Thursday, may 16th is Global Accessibility Awareness Day, so I think that's something we should all keep in mind, because it's a day to get everyone talking and thinking and learning about digital accessibility. So, yeah, so put that on your calendar, definitely. And always, always good to keep an eye about. Yeah.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

Yeah.

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

And then I am part of a group of co-authors there's a total of 13 women including myself. We have a book launch that's coming out Thursday, april 18th, and it's a book of our stories, of our journeys of self-discovery and empowerment, and my chapter focuses on my diagnosis just before and shortly after, and the book is called Become Empowered Echoes of Grace and Strength Real Stories of Women's Transformation and Tribe.

Jessica Fabus Cheng:

That's incredible. I will be definitely getting that book and reading it immediately when it comes out. That's great. So I thank you so much for taking your time today for meeting with me. Again, I still feel I have a lot, of a lot more I can possibly ask, but just to keep everything you know good. So again, thank you for being on Accessible Conversations, where I like to focus on powerful women in accessible spaces. So thank you so much and I can't wait to see what the future holds for you.

Anne Mok @purposeinview:

Thanks so much, Jessica.