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Daniel Kish    

President of World Access for the Blind & Expert in Human Echolocation

Daniel Kish is an American expert in human echolocation and the President of World Access for the Blind (WAFTB), a California-registered nonprofit organization founded by Kish 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 a form of echolocation to at least 500 blind children around the world. Kish, who had to have his eyes removed before he was 13 months old because of eye cancer, 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 master's degrees in developmental psychology and special education from University of California Riverside.

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, Spain, ten sighted subjects were taught basic navigation skills within a few days. The study aimed to analyze various sounds which can be used to echolocate 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."

Speech Topics

LET US ALL CHALLENGE WHAT WE THINK WE KNOW

Most of what we think we know is based on assumptions that have been programmed into us by a society which doesn't necessarily have our best interest at heart. This blinds us to new possibilities, limits us to charted territory, and enslaves us to the dictates of others. If we challenge what we think we know, we can break out of this dependency conditioning and touch what is real.

CHALLENGE IS FOOD TO THE BRAIN

Imagine what blind people can learn to do when we apply every moment of every day to navigate the darkened challenges of life and livelihood. Most of us avoid challenging ourselves too much. We tend to rest in our blindness box, and repeat the same routines. But every time we present a challenge to our brain, our brain responds by adapting and growing.

ACTIVATING CREATIVITY AND POSITIVE TRANSFORMATION: LESSONS LEARNED FROM BLIND PEOPLE WHO HAVE LEARNED TO SEE

Creativity can be defined as bringing something new or distinctive into being. Positive transformation can be defined as catalyzing the evolution of something into something more. In order to bring something new into being, we must renew ourselves. Newness created within us spreads from us into the world around us. The answer lies in activating renewal and change in our own brain.

BLIND VISION

Daniel tells the story of how restriction, limitation, lack of freedom, and fear can cripple people with sight and without. His presentation guides the audience through the inspiring story of innovation and hope, and how lives are being changed.

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