Blind Hiker Trevor Thomas Takes the Pacific Coast Trail

Blind Faith

Juan Ruiz Sets World Record for Guinness TV Italy

Soccer Clinic for Blind Youth

Legooners Sensory Day and Training

Perceptual Mobility Coaching in the Ukraine

Professional Development Workshops in India

Inspiring New Pursuits

Conference Presentation in Scotland

The Value and Practice of Early Perception Training for Young Blind Children

Flash Sonar: a new look at an old skil (Keynote)

In the summers of 2003 and 2004, Daniel Kish and Perceptual Mobility Coach, Juan Ruiz, conduct workshops for groups of blind children and adults in Chihuahua, México. In 2005, Daniel Kish conducts the final workshop in the series alone. These workshops were observed by mobility instructors of El Centro de Estudios para Invidentes (Center of Studies for the Sightless).

Braille Beats and World Access for the Blind

FlashSonar Workshop in Bern, Switzerland

Mobility Instructor training in Italy

Professional Development Workshops

Blind Student Group Courses

Approved Vendor for Change a Life Foundation

Blind Vision and World Access for the Blind Partner Over Braille Beats

Physical analysis of several organic signals for human echolocation: Oral vacuum pulses - 2008

Physical analysis of several organic signals for human echolocation: Hand and finger produced - 2010

for more information and media coverage of these Studies

Stories, articles, and presentations about our work that are found to be particularly inspiring, moving, or thought provoking.

Criminal Minds: The Big Wheel Episode Summary - TV

In addition to our innovative mobility approach, we also take an innovative approach to assistive technology which we call simply, Technology Access. The core of our program lies in making the hardware and software available at little or no cost, so that the focus of attention can be placed on adequate training.

Climbing Exhibition in the Dolomites

SUCCESS IS BLIND: FIRST SIGHTLESS ASCENT OF MT. KENYA

This is a lovely online journal maintained by the parents of young Ruben Morris, who is now 4 years old. It is a wonderful, encouraging, and honest account of the development of a child blind from Journal 4: Leber's Congenital Amaurosis. It also highlights Daniel's work with Ruben.

A summary about how we were established, what we do, what we've accomplished, and where we are headed.

Blind Man Traverses Some of the World's Longest, most Challenging Trails

The acuity of echolocation: Spatial resolution in the sighted compared to expert performance.

LIGHT-TIME: A NATURAL HISTORY OF ILLUMINATION.

And then there was Light: Ancient and mysterious, this phenomenon continues to dazzle us

Reflections on Light

Jake lost his first eye to Retinoblastoma when he was 2, and the second when he was 12. We were contacted by Jake's family before his second eye was removed out of bereaved desperation. We counseled the family and began Perceptual mobility instruction with Jake before the surgery that took his second eye. Before Jake's first lesson with us, he said, "If I'm gonna go blind, I wanna learn how to do it right." And, it appears he has. Now, Jake has set up his own foundation, and has begun a motivational speaking career. We are pleased to have played a part in Jake's inspiring achievements.

I am Daniel Kish, and I am including this entry personally to say that this is some of the most eloquently beautiful, insightful, soul-stirring contributions to literature that I have ever encountered. Parisian Jacques Lusseyran was just 15 when the Nazis conquered France. Within a year, though, he had formed an underground resistance group of 600 youths. To make his brave feat even more remarkable, it should be noted that since the age of 8, Lusseyran had been blind. His writings are passionate, yet thoughtful, heart-rending yet up-lifting.

The Mystery of Sonar Boy: Bats use echolocation. Can people use it, too?

- December, 2006

Trip To Chihuahua, Mexico: Achieving the Impossible

Events and Engagements

Instructional Materials

Published and unpublished instructional articles and media pieces about how our innovative Perceptual Mobility approach facilitates true freedom of achievement through self directed discovery and a no limits perspective for students of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.

The public eye is blind to the blind. The inspiring strengths and urgent needs of the blind remain beyond understanding. There exists the technology and expertise to help us all see as never before, but lack of resources and concern keep the new eye from opening.

New Light, No Limits - A New Way to See

How do we dare to dream, and make our dreams real? Let's learn to challenge what we think we know. Learn to see without sight, to live with No Limits. In two hours, World Access for the Blind combines hard science, inspiration, and hands-on experience to open the eyes of everyone to a new way of seeing. Video and real life demonstrations, unforgettable tales of personal achievement, and instructional activities challenge and change what we think we know.

Daniel Kish, Our President

About Our Board of Directors

More About Who We Are

Thirteen Personal Questions

Daniel Kish is the lead founder and President of World Access for the Blind. This 501(c)(3) non-profit organization uniquely combines a self directed, no limits approach with expertise in perceptual development, positive psychology, person-centered instruction, and public education to develop and mobilize innovative, high impact strategies to facilitate self directed achievement by challenging all forms of blindness throughout the world. Daniel holds Master's degrees in both Developmental Psychology and Special Education, emphasizing perceptual development, family dynamics, and children at risk. He also holds two national certifications in Orientation and Mobility, COMS and NOMC. Daniel is the first totally blind individual to obtain both certifications. He has maintained employment in this capacity since 1996 as an itinerant instructor for many school districts, rehabilitation agencies, and private persons throughout the world. He believes in a strong interdisciplinary education model, making a point to work in close collaboration with all professionals and other supports in relation to each student. Consequently, Daniel has collaborated extensively with very renowned therapists and specialists in the areas of neural science, communication, biomechanics, and perception. Given his unique combination of training, background, and associations, Daniel refers to himself as a Perceptual Mobility Specialist, emphasizing in his instructional practice the perceptual foundations underlieing navigation and environmental interaction. Daniel has worked with over 500 blind students of all ages and backgrounds, and from many cultures. He has particular experience with deaf-blindness, autism, and perceptual processing disorders.

"It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, from The Little Prince

We are privileged to share many dozens of our client's stories, testimonials, and kind references in the information and links below, as well as the overwhelming response of the public at large.

Partnerships and Research

No Limits Public Awareness Campaign

More About Our Services and Activities

Instruction: Training and Workshops

Services and Advocacy

More About Our Services and Activities

A Sense of the World: How a blind man became history's greatest traveler on Amazon

Revelation of Light

The Invalids' Block

For More Information About Works By Jacques Lusseyran

Perception Page 1 (PDF)

Perception Page 2 (PDF)

More About Our General News and Press

More About Our Science, Health, and Research

Watch the videos

View the Photos

Daniel's Presentation

One Last Look, USC Draws Inspiration From Fan: Jake Olson

Articles from, And There Was Light: Autobiography of Jacques Lusseyran, Blind Hero of the French Resistance

Revelation of Light

A Different Vision

The late Ben Underwood was a gregarious, strapping young teenager who taught himself to use an advanced form of active echolocation to navigate around the world. We were privileged to work with him and support him. Includes assorted pieces about our relationship with Ben, such as People Magazine, ABC's Prime Time Live, and donnie eichar's Award winning "seeing with sound". Respectfully, in Ben's memory-

Seeing with Sound

The Boy Who Sees with Sound

Humans With Amazing Senses: Blind People Who Interact With the World Like Dolphins and Bats

Ben Underwood, The Boy who Sees without Eyes

More About Our General News and Press

Daniel Kish's Response to the New York Times

Letter to Loved Ones (MSWord .doc)

Letter to Loved Ones (rich text format .rtf)

A collection of news articles and videos of our work in India. Features a video called "Children Need Love" which beautifully showcases our impact on students from the Divine Fellowship school for the Blind. Also contains articles that highlight our Perceptual Mobility approach in action.

I am going to start today by reading some definitions to you. HANDICAPPED: A disadvantage that makes progress or success difficult (it does not say impossible only difficult). DISABLED: To be unable or incapable. Because I do not consider people with visual impairment to be unable or incapable, I prefer to use the word handicapped. So if you hear the word handicapped today this is why. Today we are going to talk about how we can help children with visual impairments attain independence. Are we, any of us, truly independent? Few of us grow our own food, milk our own cows, churn our own butter, or even make our own clothes. We are actually interdependent. We depend on others to provide services and products for us and we in turn provide something for them. This is how our society works, and this is how our families function. It is just as important, if not more so, for children who are blind or have low vision to learn interdependence. They need to feel like they are contributing to the family unit.

As Educators we have a responsibility to help parents understand how important it is to help their children be a part of the family unit and not the center of it. By being a part of the family and expected to pull their own weight, so to speak, the child learns self-confidence and a sense of self-worth. These are big steps towards independence.

Over the past twenty to twenty-five years many laws have been implemented to see that the special needs of children with visual impairments are met. These services are truly remarkable. The low vision aids and special equipment for the blind are far beyond what we could have imagined fifteen years ago. We have IEP meetings that specialists, parents, and even the child may attend to design a personalized plan for educating the child. These children receive a comparable, if not superior, education to their peers...So why is there a 75% unemployment rate among the legally blind and up to 90% for those who are blind from early infancy?

There are two books I am going to talk about briefly. JOB'S TO BE PROUD OF gives profiles of workers who are blind or visually impaired, and CAREER PERSPECTIVES...interviews with blind and visually impaired professionals. These books are from "The American Foundation for the Blind." Mentioned in these books is a mechanic, a receptionist, a medical transcriber, a massage and acupressure therapist, a Customer Service Agent, a factory worker, there is a Deputy Assistant Counsel to the Governor of New Jersey, an executive with Xerox, a Senior Planner with the Fulton County Department of Parks and Recreation, an Assistant Attorney General in the Land and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, a Feature Writer with the Fort Worth Star Telegram in Texas, a Vice-President and general manager of KKOB AM & FM in New Mexico, a stockbroker, a judge, a lawyer, and a professor, just to mention a few. Then we have my son Keith who teaches Language Arts at s middle school in Yorba Linda ... and he likes to read by the way. And my son Daniel who is an O&M instructor as well as the Youth Out Reach Coordinator for Blind Children's Learning Center. Visual impairments and blindness are not stopping these people.

There are many areas of development that children need to achieve. Intellectual development is only one of them and perhaps not the most important. These children need to learn how to function in a seeing world. They need to be a part of society as it is. The rules are already in place and like everyone else they must learn how society works and what is expected of them. But first of all, as educators, we need to evaluate our expectations for these children. Most children...most people will only achieve what is expected of them. If we expect less from children with visual impairments than we do from children who are not visually impaired...that is what we are going to get. These children are children first and their visual impairment is only a small part of what they are. We need to work on their social development. Instead of providing a sheltered environment where these children can have their social needs met among other visually impaired or blind children why are we not encouraging them to go to their school dances, to join clubs, to participate in other school functions. What about joining community activities...like Brownies and Cub Scouts. After all ultimately this is where they will learn the social skills needed in the seeing world of employment. If we expect them to be productive adults, to hold jobs. Then they will need all the experience they can get to develop these social skills. Let's not make them more handicapped than they need to be...lets stop thinking of them as blind children. They are children with feelings, wants, needs, and dreams just like all children.

We must help parents to start teaching interdependence within the family unit early in life. By the age of two a child can help put their toys away. By three they can learn to help fold some clothes...like wash clothes. (At age 3&1/2 Daniel could help me fold Keith's diapers.) By four they can set the table, put their own clothes away and help feed the pets. By five they can make their own beds, pour their own cereal and milk, and make a sandwich. There are many things children can do to help... to contribute. Children need to experience first hand: Failure, success, helping others, respect for themselves as well as respect for others. They must learn to take responsibility for their actions. We need to let them grow to allow them the ability to make choices. All people deserve the right to make choices. This is independence.

 * * * * *

Hi everyone, My name is Tricia.

We live up in Alberta, Canada, and I am the mom of two little guys. My youngest son, Justin, totally blind, is five years old and attends a nearby kindergarten. Daniel Kish works with Justin to develop his echolocation skills, and Daniel mentioned the ongoing conversation to me. I asked him if he would mind if I posted some of my thoughts and our own experiences.

Some background, first. We introduced Justin to a white cane when he was 18 months old, as he was already becoming very physically active. Now, at the age of five, using his cane is somewhat second nature to him; he is very used to it and processes the information he gains from it very effectively.
Justin is a very active, outgoing fellow who loves socializing and sports of any kind. One day when he was three, he ran across a baseball field and took a header over a bench at top speed, and I decided to see if there was something more out there that we could teach our son.

I had heard about Daniel Kish on one of the chat groups I go on for families of children who are blind. What I read drew my interest. At that point I had a choice. I could discard the idea and move on, or I could delve deeper to learn more and see if what Daniel had to offer could help my son. I chose the latter. We had already noticed Justin using what we thought was echolocation to some degree, and we were interested in exploring it further. I emailed Daniel and he responded that very same night. That was close to three years ago, and Daniel has been working with Justin ever since.

I can tell you firsthand that the work he has done with Justin has had tremendous results. At the age of five, Justin continues to use his cane, but he is also incorporating the use of echolocation. Here are a few of the things that Justin can do so far using echolocation. Walls are easy for Justin to hear. He has moved on to identify parked cars, store displays, other solid objects like newspaper boxes, bushes, and more all with the click of his tongue.

I don't know if he can tell the difference between these objects yet, but he can tell that they are there.
For example, if I ask Justin to go and find a parked car or other solid object that doesn't make noise, he will click his tongue, and where he thinks he hears one, he will set off in that direction. As he nears it, he will actually pick up speed and become more confident, because he can hear it better.

He can then stop short of it, within arms length, once he reaches it. The delight on his face when I tell him to reach out and see if he has found and he discovers he has is unparalleled.

Another example, the other day my husband asked Justin to tell him when the type of fence changed along the street by using echolocation. Clicking his tongue, Justin could tell him when the fence changed from a brick to a wrought iron barred fence, because he could hear it. Keep in mind that this is a little boy who is only five years old and is totally blind.

As I mentioned, we had seen Justin using echolocation on his own as a toddler. And we could have left it at that. I'm not sure how much Justin knew what he was doing, or how much further he would have went with it. I know that I have heard a lot of blind adults say that they use echolocation to some degree, to varying extents. But in Justin's case, with structured training his potential in this area is being drawn out and he is learning to use echolocation more effectively than he would have otherwise.

Echolocation is a tool, just as canes and guide dogs are tools. Each person chooses which of these they are more comfortable with, which of these they deem to be most effective, and how much weighting they want to put in each of these areas. We, like any parents, want the best for our son. We want him to be as independent and free as he can be. To give him that, we want him to have access to all the options, so that he knows what is possible and can make his own choices. Echolocation training is most definitely helping to accomplish that goal.

I will emphasize that Justin is learning many of the same O&M skills that are taught in the mainstream O&M program, and he has a local instructor that works with him, too, because Daniel lives so far away. But in addition to those skills, he is learning how to use echolocation.

10 years ago it was unheard of to put a cane in the hand of a toddler. Our toddler is one little boy who has benefited hugely from being introduced to one at such a young age. How many people ten years ago, and even now for that matter, would have told me not to give my son a cane? Is the same thing true to some extent of echolocation? Or are we open-minded enough to explore the idea deeply enough to see if, just maybe, this is a relatively untapped area with tremendous potential? As adults, you have your choices to make. As a parent, I strive to give my child access to all of the resources I can to help him become who he wants to be. This is one such resource. Justin is only five. Our family relies on the support of adults like yourself who have been there, done that, because society already has so many misconceptions. Please be open-minded to the potential of this idea.

A couple of random comments from some of the thoughts I have heard expressed on this topic. Let me preface my thoughts by saying that probably my greatest strength with my son is my ability to teach him social skills. I have a very strong interest in this area, and it shows in who Justin is becoming. He is extremely well spoken with a vocabulary well beyond his years, very outgoing, confident, and well-liked by his friends and classmates.

I thought back to the times we have been with Daniel, and I think I have only very rarely seen him without his cane. I could probably count the times on one hand. On the contrary, he advocates the use of the cane.

Also, on the topic of using a tongue click, I can again tell you from firsthand experience that it is hardly noticeable. In fact, unless you were listening specifically for it, I don't know that you would notice it. OK, well if you are blind you almost surely would, but I am commenting as a sighted person. It is hardly noticeable at all.

I also think the tongue click in no way resembles a blindism or mannerism. From the age of 18 months to 3 years, Justin was really big on eye pressing.  The day he got his prosthetic scleral shells he stopped pressing on his eyes, for whatever reason. Today Justin does not exhibit any mannerisms but I am
aware of what they are and have been around other people who do. As I mentioned, the tongue click is hardly noticeable, but here is something positive that it does do. It keeps the head up nicely, because when you click to scan your environment you lift your head up instead of hanging it down.

While we are on this topic, what does draw people's attention to my son is his cane, more than anything else. Since he first started using it at 18 months, people tend to watch us wherever we go. As someone said, it identifies him as blind, and that draws people's interest. His cane by far draws more attention than a tongue click ever would. It is what it is, and that is the reality of it from our own experience.
If you stayed awake this far, I am impressed, thanks for listening and letting me be involved in the discussion.

Tricia

A sample outline of the professional development workshops we provide.

Blind boy learns how to 'see' using dolphin technique

Blind Boy 'Sees' Using Dolphin-Style Clicks

The neural architecture underlying active human echolocation has not previously been investigated. The functional brain activity of Daniel Kish and Brian Bushway were measured while they listened to echoes randomly presented from their own echolocation signals. Activity was found in the visual cortex in both individuals. Findings suggest that processing of click-echoes recruits brain regions typically devoted to vision rather than audition in both early and late blind echolocation experts, and that the patterns of processing echoes closely resemble those of processing visual input. Includes supplementary science articles - U.S. news and World Report, Discover Magazine, The Wall Street Journal...

An overview of the workshops we offer.

Pieces about our work with specific students, and what they report.

Matilda Ziegler Magazine for the Blind

Blind boy uses his ears to 'see'

Enjoy More Reports About Our Students and Partners

Selected news pieces, features, and exposés about the impact of our innovative Perceptual Mobility approach .

Presents pleasantly tongue in cheek interviews and articles about our "Daredevil" powers.

Pieces about the science on which our Perceptual Mobility approach is based.

These are some of our more sensational, over the top pieces. They're useful in showing what is really possible, while leaning toward the extreme and shameless exhibitionism, but everything is real, not contrived. Sometimes it's our Coaches or students who like to ham it up. Sometimes, it's the artistic license of the producers and writers. Enjoy while being informed.

These discerning, questioning, and otherwise provocative pieces, together with our own editorials, aim to investigate and address issues of special concern. These pieces really invite us all to think more deeply, and to challenge what we think we know. They provide us all with opportunities to reflect on what is sensible, factual, and challenging of mind and heart, giving us a chance to learn to open our eyes wider. Includes some lively skepticism and controversy, as well as some lively discussions.

Moving On: A Hard Road

Not by Sight Video

Visit the Joni and Friends website

Enjoy More Reports About Our Students and Partners

1. What services do you offer besides FlashSonar instruction?
We can help families, friends, and individuals with the process of adapting to the onset of blindness and vision impairment, and help make that transition smoother. We can help families and students of every type, from any background, and any age, including infants, toddlers, and the elderly put together a plan or achievement program for developing awareness of the senses at any stage of someone's life. Whether someone wants to learn how to more effectively use their cane, how to travel anywhere without need for sighted guidance, how to feel more confident, or how to play a sport, we can help them achieve their goals.
Here is a list of what we offer:
Mobility training - Teaches blind people how to navigate their surroundings with a long cane and how to make full use of all available transportation and resources so that they can function with freedom of choice.
Recreational training - Teaches blind people how to adapt any activity such as mountain biking, soccer, or basketball, so that they can fully participate in all aspects of life.
Community participation- Supports blind people to effectively participate in and enjoy all
activities; from going to work to playing a game of pick-up basketball to riding the bus to the grocery store.
Informational Counseling - Provides support for families to help them understand their child's blindness and how to help their child fully participate in life and reach their full potential.
Professional Development - Provides training for schools and mobility specialists all over the world to incorporate FlashSonar and No Limits into their instruction to enrich the lives and achievement of their students.
Communication Facilitation - Many students are not aware of what is available to them, and many agencies are not forthcoming with information. We help students and families cut through the smoke screens and confusion to access and obtain resources and services from the community, including school, work, or community programs.

2. What is FlashSonar?
FlashSonar (active echolocation) is a blind person's developed perceptual ability to determine where and what things are around them, and how to effectively navigate and interact with these surroundings. This is done by a person making a discrete, quiet tongue click, which allows the ear and brain to work together to construct a 3-D image from the reflected echoes of objects. It is like seeing with sound, as if with dim flashes of light, but using flashes of sound instead. Once developed, this image or spatial understanding is a very powerful addition to a blind person's travel competence and to fostering feelings of confidence about making friends and participating in social activities. FlashSonar training inspired the phrase “Our Vision is Sound,” which is what many of our students use to simply explain their awareness and deep connection with the world.

3. I have heard that not everyone can learn FlashSonar and that some people are just born with the ability. Is that true?
All humans are born with the ability to use FlashsSonar if they can hear. Sighted people can even learn basic levels of FlashSonar perception within minutes of guided exercises. The trick is training the brain to know what to listen for and to know how to process that
information. People around the world of all different ages and backgrounds have learned FlashSonar and use it to be more efficient at self-orientation in new places. The common factor for success among our students is their motivation for a better life experience and their frequent opportunity to practice and apply the skills.

4. How does FlashSonar change the lives of the blind people who use it?
Those who use FlashSonar are more aware and engaged in what is going on around them. They develop a confidence that makes it easier for them to participate in school, work, and social activities, which leads to a life richer with experience and enjoyment. They often exhibit more erect posture and proper head placement, which helps to present a more engaged and self assured demeanor to others.

5. Won't clicking my tongue make me look funny or draw attention?
The method of tongue clicking that we teach and advocate is done discretely, and is no louder than the situation requires. Clicking the tongue doesn't look nearly as funny as not
being aware, looking lost and confused, getting turned around and crashing into things if FlashSonar isn't used well. In our extensive experience, it is the blind people that sometimes seem to be concerned about this. Most sighted people don't seem to pay enough attention to the subtle sounds of the tongue clicking to even notice. A person that travels with a full-length white cane draws much more attention from greater distances than the sound of the tongue click. Asking a person not to use FlashSonar is like asking a sighted person to walk around with their eyes half closed.

6. We already have an O&M instructor. Why would we need additional services?
Our aim is not to replace a student's program if it is already effective. If there is satisfaction with the current amount and quality of instruction being received, then there may be no need for additional services. However, we suggest asking the following questions:
-Is the student being prepared to navigate any environment freely and naturally, with little need to rely on others?
-Can the student participate equitably in all aspects of the community, or is he or she relegated to the side lines?
-Can the student move fluidly and comfortably around without awkwardness?
-Does the student interact with the environment and other people in a manner comparable to his or her peers?
-Are the student's activities overly structured or regimented?

Many students and families are disappointed with the quality of instruction they are receiving. Or, they are simply interested, often with the enthusiastic cooperation of their O&M instructor, in receiving more specialized training in perceptual development.
Traditional O&M instructors usually do not know how to teach FlashSonar. They rarely receive more than part of one lecture or half a textbook chapter on echolocation.

Furthermore, our overall approach to instruction, which we call "Perceptual Mobility", is evidence based, and founded in perceptual theory and neural science. We define Perceptual Mobility as: "Engaging the whole brain in a developmentally natural manner that activates the perceptual imaging system by fostering self-directed freedom of discovery. Rather than trying to push a contrived set of skills onto the student, we stimulate the imaging system to manifest skills as they are needed. It is not a collection of skills that make perception happen; it is perception that compels skills to develop." We go beyond teaching a collection of skills to address various situations. We actually teach the brain to perceive and respond more effectively to any environment in any situation.
Most O&M Specialists are trained to teach their students a collection of skills that the student learns to match to specified situations. While we do teach some of these skills, our emphasis is on developing the perceptual system to construct its own method of addressing any situation as it occurs.


7. What is the No Limits approach?
Our "No Limits" approach is the attitude from which our Perceptual Mobility Instructors and Coaches operate and develop in our students. We create space and opportunity for our clients to discover new abilities and ways of participating in life. It is not up to us as instructors to decide and limit the type of things that our students want to learn how to do better. We help our clients achieve their dreams by fostering within the individual
the capacity and confidence to adapt any situation to make it work for them.

8. Why teach active instead of passive echolocation?
We teach the active click for a number of reasons. First, active echolocation gives control to the user to acquire a vast amount of information in any location at any time. Biosonar scientists refer to active echo calls as "interrogating the environment". Indeed, we often explain to our students that they are using an echo language to converse with the environment. By strategically clicking, we ask the questions, "Where are you" and "What are you", and surfaces throughout the environment answer these questions for those who understand the language of echoes. Secondly, the process of actively clicking give a blind person more control and thus empowers the development of internal attitudes such as confidence, maturity and the ability to socially engage all people. These internal qualities are very important for navigating everything in life, from school to work to romance.

9. What are the advantages of having mobility coaches who are blind themselves?
The advantages of having blind mobility coaches are that they can
often better relate to the clients and share the "street smarts" that it
takes to navigate the public. While not every blind person is cut out to be an instructor, just as every sighted person isn't, blind instructors give the opportunity to infuse the instructional process with the blindness perspective. It is one thing to know "about" blindness, as many sighted people may through their own training and experiences, but it is quite another to "know" blindness by actually being blind and living with blindness every second of every day.

More About Daniel Kish

What Else Would You Like to Know?

FlashSonar: the next step in Echolocation instruction (MS Word Version)

FlashSonar: the next step in Echolocation instruction (HTML Version)

Download Entire Issue Here

More About Our Instructional Materials

A Perception Basis for Cane Length Considerations (MS Word Version)

A Perception Basis for Cane Length Considerations (HTML Version)

Download Entire Issue Here

More About Our Instructional Materials

Hike for Blind Youth and Adults

Where: Griffith Park Los Angeles, CA

When: March 19^th, 2011 at 10am

Sensory Awareness Hike

Where: Peters Canyon Park

When: March 5^th, 2011 at 10am

We have launched our Laptop Donation Program! Do you or company have laptops with non-functioning monitors? Would you like to make a real difference in the lives of the blind and also receive a tax-deductible receipt for these computers? World Access for the Blind can arrange to pick up these computers from your home or office and make them accessible for blind students. We are also looking for more tech-savvy volunteers to make the computers ready for students. Contact Steve Broxterman at steve@worldaccessfortheblind.org or at (248) 860-9548.

TEAM BAT members are mountain biking!!

Each participant is encouraged and trained to ride solo within the group, while maintaining optimum control of the bicycle.

TEAM BAT is a project, concept, think tank, springboard, and fraternity/sorority for individuals with visual impairments looking to break through the traditional limits and barriers of the blind. Approximately 90% of blind children won't find long term, gainful employment when they grow up. The problem arises not from the reduced vision, but from the reduced standards of performance and expectation of achievement for the blind.

Echolocation is a natural sonar system that animals such as bats, dolphins and whales use to perceive their environment. Bats emit ultrasonic chirps and listen for "echoes" to navigate and negotiate obstacles. In 1938, Donald Griffin an American scientist discovered that bats used these high frequency sounds and termed it echolocation. A broad definition may be the ability to hear echoes, but it's literally "seeing" with sound. 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.

The bat mascot was chosen out of respect for one of nature's most remarkable creatures. Bats have poor vision and many species have no sight at all, yet they perform all necessary functions such as flying, hunting, and raising their young. They "see" by sending pulses of emitted sound from their nose or mouth. The sound waves spread out and are reflected off objects and bounce back as an echo. In other words, they "see" using their ears. This perception was termed echolocation by Donald Griffin in 1938. Many TEAM BAT members use echolocation to successfully navigate and "see" objects.

Andrew Griffin:

Andy is the primary founder of the BAT project, and is a certified Orientation and Mobility Specialist. He is an avid cyclist and worked in the bicycle industry for ten years. Generally Andy is the scoper in the bike formation, the sighted lead person who blazes the trail and establishes a fixed auditory position. In addition he does the bike maintenance training and equipment checks.

TEAM BAT participants are trained to develop four primary skills:
(1) optimum perception of their changing surroundings
(2) bicycle handling skills
(3) physical capacity and endurance
(4) the ability to service and maintain their bicycles

August 8-16, 2008: Daniel Kish instructed at the Braille Beats music and mobility training camp.

July 23, 2008: Daniel Kish and Brian Bushway are shown training students on Japanese television in a two-hour documentary on extraordinary senses.

June 15, 2008: Seven year old Sam, a student of World Access for the Blind, is featured along with Daniel Kish, Professor Magnus Wahlberg, and Milo the Dolphin in an international documentary about animal sonar.

May 27, 2008: Canadian Para-Olympic champion Shawn Marsolais is featured on a half-hour Canadian television documentary learning to ride a bicycle from Daniel Kish.

April 7, 2008: Daniel Kish is featured with instructors in training in an article published in Folio, a Swiss Science magazine

February 10, 2008: World Access for the Blind is featured training blind children throughout the U.K. See the article online here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3341739.ece

February 8, 2008: Daniel Kish and Brian Bushway are featured in a half-hour regional documentary about training blind children to use FlashSonar, and work with families.
For an article, see: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,330241,00.html

January 29, 2008: Daniel Kish and World Access for the Blind coaching staff are featured working with Ben Underwood on national U.K. television and throughout western Europe in an hour-long documentary entitled Extraordinary People.

Feel free to contact us for any reason.

We're happy to respond to a need, or provide references attesting to our work. We're pleased to serve.

November 29, 2007: Daniel Kish and Ben Underwood are featured on a national Australian television program called Amazing Medical Stories, focusing on the role of the visual cortex in the processing of advanced echolocation.

August 14-19, 2007: Daniel Kish and Brian Bushway conduct FlashSonar workshops at the Braille Beats camp in Michigan.

July 23, 2007: ArmeniaNow.com has an article online about Daniel Kish and Brian Bushway's participation last month in the international Armenian Eye Care Project (AECP) Ophthalmology Conference.

July 11, 2007: Daniel Kish and World Access for the Blind coaching staff are featured working with Ben Underwood in an hour long Learning Channel documentary.

September 16, 2006: Daniel Kish appears on German national television on Mysteries of Nature.

August 9, 2006: Ben Underwood and Daniel Kish appear on ABC'S Prime Time Live to demonstrate how FlashSonar is used and taught to an advanced level.

July 26, 2006: Daniel Kish is interviewed with Ben Underwood for a program called Insight, airing on Capital Public Radio.

June 22, 2006: An article appears about Daniel Kish teaching FlashSonar in the regional Swis newspaper "Neue Zuger Zeitung."

World Access for the Blind supports the idea that blindness is not as disabling as is commonly believed. Barriers to functioning associated with blindness arise more from poor interaction between blind people and society than from intrinsic deficiency. We characterize blindness as a condition of life style with specific challenges requiring a strong capacity to adapt. Blindness should not deny access to all the experiences and opportunities of the WORLD. In this spirit we proceed with two convictions:

NO LIMITS: While everyone faces limits, we assert that limits should not be imposed or presumed upon anyone. We all, blind or not, should enjoy the freedom and strength of character to seek and discover our own limits and strengths.

NO DIFFERENCE: Blind people possess the same needs as everyone else - to be free from undue restriction, to be capable and competent, to know a sense of camaraderie and belonging to the world, and to respect themselves and draw the respect of others. They hold the same ambitions and dreams as others, and are nourished by the same hope and assurance that they can achieve these aspirations. Blind people can achieve the same quality of life as sighted people when they gain the same freedom to access the world as sighted people.

We do not settle for the minimum requirements for functioning, but instead reach for the limits beyond our limits. Our goal for our students is that they understand that they have the ability to direct their own lives rich with quality, promise, and as much excitement and intrigue as they could wish for. They need not rely on the good graces of others, but can make it on their own good graces, and share these graces in a worthy manner with others.

More About Who We Are

World Access for the Blind supports the idea that blindness is not as disabling as is commonly believed. Barriers to functioning associated with blindness arise more from poor interaction between blind people and society than from intrinsic deficiency. We characterize blindness as a condition of life style with specific challenges requiring a strong capacity to adapt. Blindness should not deny access to all the experiences and opportunities of the WORLD. In this spirit we proceed with two convictions:

Video Clip of Juan Ruiz as a young boy: "We can see with our ears."

World Access for the Blind strives to improve the quality of interaction between blind and sighted people by facilitating equal access to the world's resources and opportunities. We are interested in more than meeting the minimum requirements for functioning and life satisfaction. We believe in mutual respect, consideration, and accommodation of blind and sighted people by society. We expect to see the blind population on mass rise to levels of productive participation and achievement to equal that of sighted people.

We will develop and demonstrate the effectiveness of a modern, holistic approach to blind movement and navigation based on knowledge of human perception, and a philosophy of No Limits. We will establish a new paradigm of instruction, and pioneer a new approach to delivering these modern strategies. We will also help to mobilize resources, facilitate collaborations, and provide specialized expertise in nonvisual human perception to guide and focus the development of effective and respectful strategies and technologies to expand nonvisual capabilities.

More About Who We Are

What we aim to accomplish.

How we delineate the challenges faced by blind people, and how we aim to help blind people face them.

The Need

According to the 1995 census there are over two million people in the U.S. whose visual impairment is severe enough to cause significant impact on the course of their daily living. Specifically they cannot drive or read standard print, and their ability to move around may be compromised. About twenty-five percent (25%) of that group is totally blind or without usable vision. World wide, the visually impaired population is estimated to number in excess of 37 million people (World Health Organization, 2003).

Bruno Dacquay, MS
Vice President Surgical Instrumentation
Research and Development
Alcon Irvine Technology Center

Prof. Rosemary G. Fahey, Ed.D.
Associate professor, Chapman University
School of Education, graduate studies

Carla Herrera
Founder/Former President, El Centro De Estudios Para Invidentes
President of Board of Directors, El Centro De Estudios Para Invidentes

Prof. Steve Mann, PhD.
Faculty, University of Toronto

Professional Bio

More About Daniel Kish

More About Our Team

World Access for the Blind, Alcon Labs Corporation, NEC Foundation, and J.R. Control Corporation have established a philanthropic partnership to address the needs of blind people whose vision cannot be preserved or restored. Alcon Labs leads the medical field world wide in the design and production of surgical instrumentation to preserve and restore vision. NEC Corporation is a leading manufacturer and distributor of computer accessories, best known for their exquisite monitors. J.R. Control is a lead company in circuit board manufacture. Alcon Foundation contributed a $50,000 grant, and NEC Foundation $20,000, to complete and distribute the next version of SoundFlash (our FlashSonar enhancement device), together with instructional materials. J.R. Control Corporation agreed to design and produce all prototype SoundFlash circuit boards, resulting in a potential savings of thousands of dollars. Dozens of Alcon volunteers from all expertise including engineers, graphics designers, communication technologists, and human resources have joined our ranks. Over twelve thousand dollars have been graciously donated by Alcon staff including donations in memory of Jack Prescott, one of our volunteer engineers.

As the result of providing a total of 3 weeks of instruction to blind students and instructors in México, World Access for the Blind has established a formal partnership with El Centro de Estudios para Invidentes A.C. - CEIAC - (Study Center for the Blind). CEIAC is the only nonprofit organization in México known to provide training and equipment to support mainstream education, recreation, and vocation for blind people. besides promoting much needed professional exchange between México and the U.S. regarding blindness, this partnership will spawn the first mobility certification preparation program in México. It will also open the Spanish speaking America's to innovative alternative perception approaches, and mobilize a long awaited campaign to bring the needs and strengths of blindness into the eye of the Hispanic public. This will be done by garnering press coverage and by disseminating information about blindness education, rehabilitation, and child-rearing to key agencies and service clubs throughout Spanish speaking America.

World Access for the Blind has aligned in partnership with the well established Oregon Research Institute (ORI) to exchange expertise in human sonar and virtual reality computer models. ORI has designed and put in place the only virtual environment that can be accessed nationally by children in wheelchairs - a system found effective in instructing and promoting recreation and mobility for children who face orthopedic challenges. Our long term objective is to design and distribute a comprehensive computer program to provide supplementary instruction in hearing and orientation using a virtual reality simulation. This program will accomplish the following:

• provide blind students and instructors with a powerful tool to expand options for delivering services in this severe shortage of instructors.
• improve access for blind people to computerized educational programs to which they currently have almost none.
• provide a means of exposing students to all forms of auditory based assistive technology (such as sonar systems with sonic feedback, Talking GPS systems, talking compasses, audible traffic signals, and Talking signs), as well as additional options for instruction in the use of this technology.
• provide a method of testing auditory based prototype technologies (such as alternative perception systems and modern way finding devices).

World Access for the Blind has joined forces with the Institute for Innovative Blind Navigation (IIBN) and the Cybernetics Research Center (CRC) of Toronto University to lay the ground work to design a fully functional, high definition alternative perception system.

IIBN, Directed by Dr. Doug Baldwin, Optometrist and Mobility Specialist, globally monitors advances in way finding for blind people and has faced the mobility profession nation wide with a modern and higher standard by holding the first way finding conferences, establishing the first listserves for mobility professionals and blindness product inventors, publishing prolifically in scholarly journals, and bringing together top experts to make good things happen.

The CRC is the first center to specialize in research and development of cutting edge micro-computing technologies that allow people to sense and process information far beyond the limits of the unaided brain. Prof. Steve Mann, Director, is known as the Father of Wearable Computing. He holds over 3 dozen patents, has authored several textbooks and hundreds of articles, and has presented keynotes and invited seminars throughout the world on every subject related to computer expanded consciousness.

Having established the feasibility of such an ambitious undertaking, this partnership is gathering an elete consortium of world class scientists, sensory specialists, and other experts to move dreams and science fiction into state-of-the-art reality. Alternative perception technology will stand as the crown jewel in a comprehensive approach to replacing an expanding vision with other ways of seeing - bringing the field of blind rehabilitation into its final frontier where blind people may see as they choose.

Our first undertaking has been to partner with the National Federation of the Blind, American Printing House for the Blind, Sendero Group, and Louisiana Tech University to stage the first annual World Congress on Blind WayFinding in Oct. 2005. Innovative pioneers and top experts related to the field of blindness across a range of disciplines including perception, engineering, funding, and information management and dissemination are coming together to exchange information and perspectives, and work toward a more focused union of efforts to revolutionize blind WayFinding.

Inspirations: Daniel Kish

Everything Blind - August 2009

How to realize our dreams? How to achieve success? We can apply our collective decades of world gathered experience in educational and rehabilitative programming to help you plan for the best possible outcomes. We help blind people, parents, and institutions put pieces together to implement the most effective programs, or refine existing programs. If you want success, we will help you achieve it. In the interest of positive action and student respect, our approach to effective programming is not just based on remediation of student weakness, but augmentation of student strengths. Being blind ourselves and with much experience with all sorts and combinations of involvements, we have lived and learned the process of making it work in the face of significant societal and administrative challenges. <Check out our credentials> Whatever your situation, however complicated, we specialize in innovative resolutions to the most intricate and exciting challenges. After an initial free consultation, we will provide you a free proposal of how we can help you. <click here to view a sample proposal>

We offer comprehensive, detailed assessments of functional living and personal achievement. We do not poke and probe with a critical eye. Our assessments do not just highlight or innumerate student weaknesses. We learn who the student is by a process of respectful involvement, interaction, and exchange. We believe assessment has three purposes - to learn who the student is, to communicate that knowledge clearly and respectfully, and to propose an effective program of positive action based on those findings. Our assessment process rests on three principals:

1. The student does not have special needs, but the same needs as all students - the need for full, self-directed access to the opportunities of all aspects of society.
2. The intent of our assessment is not to determine what's right or wrong with a student, but to determine how to optimize the student's self-directed access to society. The key question is, what needs to happen in order for the student to gain full access?
3. Student strengths are as important as student challenges, and a service program will capitalize on these strengths as well as address challenges.

Before agreeing to conduct the assessment, we deliver a free consultation which includes an assessment price quote based on anticipated time to completion.  Click here for sample assessment reports.

You are fed up! You've thrown up your hands! You've had it up to here! Enough is enough! Or, maybe you just want a little direction, and experienced ear to bounce things off of. We can certainly help you. We have a unique, non-abrasive way to help you untangle the tangles, straighten out the messes, set the confusions straight, and find firm direction. Being blind ourselves, we have lived through the troubles, and we have learned to straighten them out in a way that can strengthen rather than further damage your relationship with your service agency. How do we do this?

We can provide sound information and guidance to any blindness project. Are you planning a project about blindness in research, legal proceedings, assistive technology development, a film or documentary, a book or article, a disability awareness program, a class project, a fund raising campaign? Do you want your project to address blindness respectfully and accurately? Do you want to avoid mistakes made so often that denigrate or threaten the integrity of blind people? Much harm has been done to blind people out of good but mis-guided intentions. Our approach to blindness is clear, broad, and respectful. It is unparalleled in its focus on self-reliance and possibility. It is based on capability, not deficiency; achievement not struggle. It is based on the latest research in human perception, and rooted in the exemplary experiences and successes of many blind people. World Access for the Blind is one of the few organizations in the world inspired by blind people, built by blind people, and led by blind people, and we are known throughout the world for our ground breaking and effective work. We know about blindness. We know about the realities of achievement through ingenuity, adaptation, and perseverance. We are uniquely capable of helping you infuse your project with a solid understanding of blindness, and it is our pleasure.

How do we dare to dream, and make our dreams real? Let's learn to challenge what we think we know. Learn to see without sight, to live with No Limits. In two hours, World Access for the Blind combines hard science, inspiration, and hands-on experience to open the eyes of everyone to a new way of seeing. Video and real life demonstrations, unforgettable tales of personal achievement, and instructional activities challenge and change what we think we know. Everyday blind people share how they can see through darkness - riding bikes and climbing mountains by ourselves, playing sports, and living our dreams with self-reliance. Everyone, blind or not, should enjoy the freedom and strength of character to seek and discover our own limits and strengths, without suffering limits imposed on us by the presumptions of others. We show you how to banish limits. You will learn to see in the dark using innate senses within us all. By learning to do what seems impossible, we learn to change our lives and the lives of others. Shown across the world through TV and publications, we bring you a New Light. We extend to you the opportunity to share what you learn with others through a community activity or raising funds. We can help you help others. You receive concrete video updates on the impact you make. A follow-up ceremony can be arranged in the eyes of the local community and press to award a shining token of mutual achievement and enduring partnership. Sharing the New Light gives children an unparalleled sense of gratification, self worth, personal power, and camaraderie. Adults are drawn together into a powerful spirit of solidarity and purpose. Help blind people see. Help sighted people see better. Join us in the New Light, No Limits way of life.

This program outline is broad in scope. It is modular in nature and addresses the needs of blind and low vision students of all ages and levels of functioning.

This program outline is broad in scope. It is modular in nature and addresses the needs of blind and low vision students of all ages and levels of functioning. Student needs are addressed and strategies for meeting these needs are approved by the service team. It is expected that the student will emerge from this program with the ability to function in all listed domains comparable to age or developmental peers in the "mainstream", and attain and maintain an overall quality of life comparable to age peers.

Alternative perception refers to the development and use of one's full perceptual system to perceive one's environment more completely and accurately. For the visually impaired, this means developing one's remaining vision and non-visual perceptions to "see" without sight. Thus the term "alternative" refers to alternative ways of "seeing" the environment. When vision is reduced, distorted, or absent, one's functioning in a sighted world can be challenged by substantial changes to how one must access information.

About the perception basis of our approach and the theoretical framework supporting it, and how our approach differs from the traditional "mechanical skills" based approach more commonly used to instruct blind people.

This essay by Paulette Kish, presented at a professional conference in 2000, gives a heart felt and level headed view of raising two blind children to lead the lives they wish to lead with achievement and purpose.

"We want to thank you so much for having us at your seminar. We all learned so much."
-Tracey

"I have been teaching O&M for 35 years ...this presentation, in my opinion, is a "MUST" for all O&M specialists. It was the best presentation I can remember ever attending in my career."
-Dona

World Access for the Blind has helped over 5,000 blind people, their families, their instructors, and members of their communities in 18 countries worldwide by delivering Mobility/FlashSonar workshops, public awareness events, and Perceptual Mobility Therapy. Our new and unique method teaches blind people to see in new ways by training the brain to gain detailed images of the world through sound and touch - like lighting a match in the dark.

Collaborative Bridges

World Access for the Blind is bringing the pieces together. We are taking a lead position to mobilize resources and expertise to make the right things happen for blind people. We are moving beyond hit and miss solutions to problems that either don't exist or are too little understood. We are drawing together people who really know about blindness, people who really know about human perception, people who really know how to build things, and people who know how to obtain the resources.

Extraordinary People: The Boy Who Sees Without Eyes

Part 1 of 5

Part 2 of 5

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Daniel Kish appears with Jay Squires (former Junior Coach) in the Washington World Newspaper riding a mountain bike, and discussing echolocation and KASPA (invented by Dr. Leslie Kay).

An article on TEAMBAT is published in the Ripley's "Believe It or Not" book.

Daniel Kish discusses KASPA (invented by Dr. Leslie Kay, Director of SonicVision) in "Popular Science."

Daniel Kish and Andrew Griffin of the Blind Children's Learning Center appear with students in "Mountain Bike Action Magazine" to demonstrate the TEAMBAT project.

Daniel Kish appears with students while mountain biking on NBC news to demonstrate KASPA, and SonicVision product invented by Dr. Leslie Kay.

Daniel Kish appears on the Sallie Jessie Raphael show, featured with students on Ripley's "Believe It or Not" This national appearance demarks the official opening of this web site. World Access for the Blind is officially open for business.

Jan. 10, 2001: One of technological devices that World Access for the Blind was featured in an article on PBS. KASPA, an ultrasonic sonar device created by Dr. Leslie Kay, was part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) radio series. You can hear the entire article (90 seconds).

One of technological devices that World Access for the Blind uses was featured in an article on PBS. KASPA, an ultrasonic sonar device created by Dr. Leslie Kay, was part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) radio series.

Daniel Kish describes some of the goals of World Access for the Blind in an article in BusinessWeek. You can read the article here.

Sept. 28, 2000: The diverse members of our organization incorporate into a single non-profit entity called "World Access for the Blind."