Daniel Kish

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Daniel Kish

Daniel Kish (born 1966 in Montebello, California[1]) 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.[2] Kish and his organization have taught echolocation to at least 500 blind children around the world.[3] 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).[2][4] He also holds masters degrees in developmental psychology and special education.[2]

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.[5][6] 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."[7][8]

In popular culture

Kish made a cameo appearance in the 2012 Indian, Tamil film Thaandavam. He was also featured in the final episode of National Geographic's Test Your Brain.

Bibliography

  • Kish DC (1995) "Evaluation of an Echo-Mobility Program for Young Blind People [Master's thesis]. San Bernardino (California): Department of Psychology, California State University. 277 p.
  • Poptech demonstration http://poptech.org/popcasts/daniel_kish_blind_vision

References

  1. ↑ "The Blind Man Who Taught Himself To See". Men's Journal. Retrieved 2011-11-09. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "World Access for the Blind Web site". Retrieved November 9, 2011. 
  3. ↑ John D. Sutter (11 November 2011). "Blind man uses his ears to see". CNN. Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. Retrieved 23 September 2013. 
  4. ↑ "Scientists Develop Echolocation In Humans To Aid The Blind". ScienceDaily. June 30, 2009. Retrieved November 10, 2011. 
  5. ↑ Rojas et al. (March/April 2009). "Physical Analysis of Several Organic Signals for Human Echolocation: Oral Vacuum Pulses". Acta Acustica 95 (2): 325–330. doi:10.3813/AAA.918155. 
  6. ↑ Ravilious, Kate (July 6, 2009). "Humans Can Learn to "See" With Sound, Study Says". National Geographic News. Retrieved November 10, 2011. 
  7. ↑ Thaler, L; Arnott, SR, Goodale, MA (May 25, 2011). "Neural Correlates of Natural Human Echolocation in Early and Late Blind Echolocation Experts". PLoS ONE 6 (5). doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0020162. PMID 21633496. Retrieved November 9, 2011. 
  8. ↑ "The brain on sonar – how blind people find their way around with echoes". Discover Magazine. Retrieved November 9, 2011. 

Further reading

  • Bathroom Readers Institute, ed. (2013). "The Man Who Sees With His Ears". Uncle John's Perpetually Pleasing Bathroom Reader. Bathroom Readers' Press. pp. 533–536. ISBN 1-60710-903-4. 
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