daniel kish

intro’d to Daniel here:

ted 2015

How I use sonar to navigate the world

it’s impressions about blindness that are far more threatening to blind people than the blindness itself.

ignorance and fear are but matters of the mind. and the mind is adaptable.

fear immoblizes us in the face of challenge

they put my freedom first before all else.. because that is what love does..

how i’ve learned to see through my blindness

we all have challenges

when blind people see.. sighted people seem inspired… this exemplifies the immense capacities w/in us all to navigate any type of challenge/darkness…

… when we are activated..

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find/follow Daniel:

Daniel Kish (born 1966 in Montebello, California) is an American expert in human echolocation and President of World Access for the Blind, a non-profit founded in 2000 to facilitate “the self-directed achievement of people with all forms of blindness” and increase public awareness about their strengths and capabilities. Kish and his organization have taught echolocation to at least 500 blind children around the world. Kish, who has been blind since he was 13 months old, is the first totally blind person to be a legally Certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist (COMS) and to hold a National Blindness Professional Certification (NOMC). He also holds masters degrees in developmental psychology and special education.

Kish’s work has inspired a number of scientific studies related to human echolocation. In a 2009 study at the University of Alcalá in Madrid, ten sighted subjects were taught basic navigation skills within a few days. The study aimed to analyze various sounds which can be used to echo-locate and evaluate which were most effective. In another study, MRI brain scans were taken of Kish and another echolocation expert to identify the parts of the brain involved in echolocation, with readings suggesting “that brain structures that process visual information in sighted people process echo information in blind echolocation experts.”

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Daniel is president of world access for the blind:

http://www.worldaccessfortheblind.org/

echolocation in action: