[Nfbf-l] Daniel Kish on echolocation) Experience: I taught myself to see

[Alan Dicey]

Experience: I taught myself to see.
'I had to have both eyes removed by the age of one. Ever since, I have made 
clicking noises with my tongue to understand my environment'
By Daniel Kish, The Guardian, Saturday 13 July 2013.
I had to have both eyes removed by the age of one to save my life - I was 
born with an aggressive form of eye cancer called retinoblastoma. Ever 
since, I have made clicking noises with my tongue to understand my 
environment. I wasn't aware I was doing it, just as sighted people don't 
consciously teach themselves to see. It was only when I was 11 that a very 
bright friend realized that what I was doing was echolocation, the same 
technique that a bat flying in the dark relies on: I was navigating my 
surroundings by listening to the echoes as my clicks bounced off surfaces.

Every surface has its own acoustic signature - I can recognize a tree, for 
example, because the trunk produces a different echo from the leaves. The 
hard wood reflects the sound, whereas the leaves reflect and refract, too, 
scattering the sound waves. Everything around me becomes identifiable with a 
click. It provides me with a 3D image in my mind with depth, character and 
richness;  it brings light into darkness. I can often find my way out of an 
auditorium  quicker than a sighted person because I can identify the exit. 
If I'm in a noisy place such as a concert, I don't feel anxious - I just 
increase the volume and my click cuts through the noise. I'm very familiar 
with its sound and don't feel at all self-conscious if other people hear me.

I don't have superhuman hearing, even though I'm sometimes called Batman; I 
have just trained my ears to understand the echoes. Anyone could do it, 
sighted or blind - it's not rocket science. If you hold up a book in front 
of you and click, then take it away and click, you can hear a difference, 
just as you know you're in an empty room because it's echoey. When I was in 
college I wrote my thesis on echolocation, and during my research I had to 
consciously deconstruct how I was doing it to understand the process. I know 
there's a wall in front of me, I'd think, but what's tipping me off? I would 
set myself tasks and try to get quicker and quicker at navigating obstacle 
courses.

Although clicking is inordinately helpful, blind children aren't encouraged 
to use it, maybe because it's seen as socially inappropriate. The worry is 
that the sound makes you look odd. Instead, there is an unfortunate slant 
towards dependency, rather than encouraging freedom.

Even now, although I have traveled around the world successfully, when I'm 
in an airport I feel that officials yearn to get me in a wheelchair, take 
away my documents and leave me feeling powerless. One friend wasn't allowed 
to leave the plane until "assistance" arrived, even though he held the world 
record for blind cycling; he was too nice to make a fuss but I would have 
insisted.

I have made it my life's work to teach blind children how to empower 
themselves using echolocation, which I call flashsonar. As you become more 
adept, you also click more subtly and naturally, like blinking, so often 
people around you aren't aware you're doing it and you aren't stigmatized 
for it.

Luckily, when I was growing up my parents supported my clicking and 
encouraged me to have a "normal" childhood. My friends all rode bikes and I 
wanted to, too, so I taught myself by riding next to a wall and clicking to 
stay in a straight line. Gradually I was able to ride to school and to 
friends' houses on my own, using echolocation.

I didn't realize I was exceptionally independent or behaving 
unconventionally for a blind person. I went to a mainstream school with 
extra support and was never bullied. In fact, my ability to navigate by 
clicks brought me kudos.

Now I can ride along a busy street or go on a trail in the woods. I have 
never hit a pedestrian - touch wood - because I don't ride on the pavement. 
Cars are excellent echo targets, so I can easily avoid them. I won't say 
I've never had an accident, but every activity holds an element of risk.
Negotiating rush hour traffic isn't my dream; I am just glad I can if I want 
to.
It's ironic - I spend all my time encouraging Blind people to be active 
participants in society when, really, I'd love to step out of it. When my 
work is done, you'll find me in the mountains like an old hermit, with just 
my clicks for company.

. As told to Emily Cunningham

Do you have an experience to share? Email experience at guardian.co.UK
Source URL:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/July/13/experience-blindness-echolocation-daniel-kish

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