Incredible Film: Blind kid navigates through sonar!

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

http://benunderwood.com/

To summarize, the kid (Ben Underwood) has been blind since he was a toddler due to his eyes having been removed for retinoblastoma. Somehow he taught himself to get around by making clicking sounds in his mouth and hearing reflected sound (much as dolphins do).

Apparently there have only been a few people known to ever have done this.

The documentary shows how he's going through identity and control issues as an adolescent since he doesn't want the "handicapped" identity that comes with a cane, even though the cane would in fact give him a lot of additional important information he needs for safety.

It shows that there are probably all kinds of incredible abilities that we have within us that go completely untapped and untrained because we never thought of it or because the need never arose.

I wonder how much better his abilities could be with special hearing aids and clicking devices. Or if he could teach young blind children the basics of how to do this.

What's remarkable also is how much his facial expression, head movements, gait and body posture are like that of a sighted person, and I wonder how much this is because so much of his development happened after using sound location.

Unfortunately if you go to his website he is apparently being treated again for cancer. Seems like the kid has had enough bad luck for a lifetime after becoming blind...

Split into 5 parts:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=qLziFMF4DHA

http://youtube.com/watch?v=G1QaCeosUmw

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ikpNZOx5FGk

http://youtube.com/watch?v=3Px-aPnk4ZU

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MNkJ1diTxOE

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

1. le kicque

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

2. le kicque

[Gonzo Gardener]

3. It's a common echolocation technique that the blind use.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

5. I wasn't aware... the show states that very few people are known to do this.

[Gonzo Gardener]

6. I worked with disabled students in San Bernardino, Ca.

I have many friends in their 30's & 40's who use this technique to 'see'.

[querelle]

4. I Saw The Documentary 2 Weeks Ago

That kid is amazing.

Q

[Gonzo Gardener]

7. my earlier responses were rather abrupt...

I was in the middle of preparing dinner, sorry. Here's some info on this...

"Background:
Human echolocation has been known and formally studied since at least the 1950s.<1> Before it was known to be based on localization of echos, human echolocation was sometimes described as facial vision."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_echolocation



"...The sounds travel through air or water in waves. When the sound wave encounters an object, it bounces off the surface and comes back as an echo. Listening and interpreting the returning echo can provide information about location (where the object is), dimension (how big it is and it's general shape), and density (how solid it is). For example, a louder echo might result from a larger, closer, or denser object.

http://www.worldaccessfortheblind.org/Echolocation.htm


Daniel Kish, Executive Director of World Access for the Blind is teaching a student echolocation with a piece of plexiglass. The student is listening for echos as they bounce off the glass. Dan is the first certified blind Orientation & Mobility Specialist in the world. He is one of the world's foremost experts on echolocation. The blind can be taught to "see" by using echolocation along with the latest technological advances in the field.

more... http://www.worldaccessfortheblind.org/publicationandInfo.htm



I was Dan's personal assistant for a while. You can catch a short segment about this on Current TV. It shows Dan riding a bike. He is totally blind.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

8. Did you see the documentary I posted? I'm curious as to what other information there

you consider to be inaccurate.

[Gonzo Gardener]

9. I wouldn't necessarily use the word "inaccurate".

(I'm working from home today on a dialup connection so, reviewing all of those YouTube links will be slow going.)

I would call this portrayal _exaggerated_ in a "Hollywood" kind of way. The claim that he is extraordinary or unique and has super powers is just silly. He has learned a technique (echolocation) that many blind people use. He is a great example of a determined and fearless young man who has overcome his disability with the support of his family. His mother deserves a big pat on the back for encouraging him and raising him to believe in himself.

Of course, there are limits to using echolocation. For example, if the wind is blowing hard or there is a lot of background noise, echolocation is much less effective and the use of a cane or even guide dog is necessary, especially in less familiar surroundings.

Most will probably find his skills amazing because they have never met anyone who is blind. Until the last 20 years if you were blind you were essentially hidden from society and sheltered from the world. In general, people with disabilities and their issues have become more visible over the last couple of decades as they have struggled to change the old perceptions.

I could go on about the misconceptions most unimpaired people have about those with disabilities, but I have to go pick up my son from school now. You are welcome to PM me with any further questions.

:hi:

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

10. Oh by the way, Daniel Kish is the instructor in the film. Inaccurate would be a proper

term to use if the film is saying very few blind people use echolocation, and the technique is actually commonplace, as you are saying.