The Boy Who Sees with Sound : People.com

The Boy Who Sees with Sound : People.com: "
Blind since age 3, Ben Underwood skateboards, shoots hoops and plays video games. How does he do it? Just like bats and dolphins

The technique is called echolocation, and many species, most notably bats and dolphins, use it to get around. But a 14-year-old boy from Sacramento? While many blind people listen for echoes to some degree, Ben's ability to navigate in his sightless world is, say experts, extraordinary. 'His skills are rare,' says Dan Kish, a blind psychologist and leading teacher of echomobility among the blind. 'Ben pushes the limits of human perception.'



Kish has taught echolocation to scores of blind people as a supplement to more traditional methods, such as walking with a cane or a guide dog, but only a handful of people in the world use echolocation alone to get around, according to the American Foundation for the Blind. A big part of the reason Ben has succeeded is his mother, who made the decision long ago never to coddle her son. 'I always told him, 'Your name is Benjamin Underwood, and you can do anything,' ' says Aquanetta Gordon, 42, a utilities-company employee. 'He can learn to fly an airplane if he wants to.'"