Low Vision Pioneer Tom Perski Shares His Journey From Diagnosis to Advocacy on AT Banter Podcast

Tom Perski spent decades helping people with vision loss rebuild their lives. Now he is telling his own story, and it starts with a diagnosis at 19 that changed everything.

Perski joined hosts Rob, Steve, and Lis on episode 462 of the AT Banter Podcast to talk about his new memoir, "There's No Vision Like Low Vision." The conversation covers his diagnosis with Stargardt's Disease, the years that followed, and the career in low vision rehabilitation that grew out of his own recovery.

A Diagnosis That Derailed Everything

Perski was 19 when doctors diagnosed him with Stargardt's Disease, a genetic condition that causes progressive loss of central vision, usually starting in childhood or young adulthood. For Perski, the diagnosis hit at a point in life when most people are building momentum toward a career and independence.

Instead, he dropped out of college. On the podcast, Perski speaks candidly about what came next: grief, denial, and a long stretch of trying to figure out who he was without the vision he had always relied on.

He does not gloss over that period. According to the podcast description, Perski talks openly about the emotional weight of losing his sight and the time it took before he was ready to move forward.

The Long Road Back

Eventually, Perski found his way into rehabilitation and assistive technology, the same systems and tools that would later define his professional life. That journey through low vision rehab did not just help him personally. It set him on a path toward a career serving thousands of people going through the same thing he had lived.

Perski became a recognized figure in low vision rehabilitation and assistive technology, work built directly on his own lived experience with vision loss. The hosts describe him as a pioneer in the field, someone whose services have shaped how low vision rehabilitation gets delivered to people navigating a new diagnosis.

The Memoir

That full arc, from diagnosis through grief to a career helping others, is now documented in Perski's memoir, "There's No Vision Like Low Vision: Degeneration." The book is available on Amazon.ca and is described as a hopeful, honest roadmap for anyone facing vision loss or any major life transition.

The podcast frames the book and the episode itself as essential listening for anyone newly diagnosed with vision loss, or for family and friends trying to understand what that person is going through.

Listen and Read Along

Episode 462 of AT Banter is available now, along with a full show transcript for listeners who prefer to read the conversation. The show notes include a link to purchase Perski's memoir.

AT Banter is produced with support from Canadian Assistive Technology, which provides sales and training in assistive technology and accessibility, and can be reached at www.canasstech.com or 1-844-795-8324. The company also operates an Assistive Technology Showroom at 106 – 828 West 8th Avenue in Vancouver.

The podcast also credits Chaos Technical Services for repair support on assistive technology devices, including parts and batteries, reachable at www.chaostechnicalservices.com or 778-847-6840.