About this episode

Stephen Poirier shares his journey of living with blindness and the creation of the Light Sword Blind Mobility Cane.

Aaron, thank you for your interest in Sideways Innovations, LLC. My name is Stephen Poirier, alias Blind Yoda. I noticed at a very young age that I could not see well but my teachers thought I was simply lazy. When I told them I could not see through the cloud on the chalkboard, they did not understand. This was confusing to me and my family since I knew I had a problem. I saw many specialists without results. Though I was able to participate in sports, my academic abilities were very limited. When I turned 14 years old, I was finally diagnosed with Juvenile Macular Degeneration which is now known as Stargardt disease. At this point I was declared legally blind. Music became my only focus, mainly drumming. At 22 years of age I finally had to accept my blindness and attended the Carroll Center for the Blind. During one of my mobility trainings, a man taking a right hand turn hit my blind mobility cane, knocking it out of my hand. He stopped and said, “I did not see you”. I replied, “If I had a light saber you would have seen me and I would have cut your car in half!” Hence, the concept of the Light Sword was born! Fast forward 40 or so years later, I created the Light Sword Blind…

More episodes of Aaron’s Opinion

• The gymnastics of our bizarre universe with Natalie · July 11, 2026 · 1h 38m
• The complicated episode with Leia · July 4, 2026 · 1h 22m
• The Anthony edition with Mr. Corona · June 20, 2026 · 1h 19m
• Braille blindness & Britta · June 15, 2026 · 1h 17m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Aaron’s Opinion podcast page.