Comments on: Blind Children Can Learn Daredevil’s Echolocation

By: Allen Sale

Allen Sale — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:21:56 +0000

As an individual that has been blind since near birth, I do not find this young child's story inspiring. On the whole, it puts someone who has been improperly trained on the radar as being “the next big thing.” Echo location can be properly used by blind individuals who are shown how to use a cane. Organizations like the National Federation of the Blind (which does have a branch in Britain) provide blind individuals with the skills necessary to live as close to “normal' lives as possible. The notion that clicking one's tongue to the roof of the mouth is “acceptable” is disservice to the blind community. The question readers should ask when reviewing the material presented, “Is this normal?” If a sighted person were to perform the same exercise, he or she would be treated as an outcast. It would be preferred if this article also focused on the negatives rather than highlighting the so-called positives.

By: Allen Sale

Allen Sale — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 20:21:00 +0000

As an individual that has been blind since near birth, I do not find this young child’s story inspiring. On the whole, it puts someone who has been improperly trained on the radar as being “the next big thing.” Echo location can be properly used by blind individuals who are shown how to use a cane. Organizations like the National Federation of the Blind (which does have a branch in Britain) provide blind individuals with the skills necessary to live as close to “normal’ lives as possible. The notion that clicking one’s tongue to the roof of the mouth is “acceptable” is disservice to the blind community. The question readers should ask when reviewing the material presented, “Is this normal?” If a sighted person were to perform the same exercise, he or she would be treated as an outcast. It would be preferred if this article also focused on the negatives rather than highlighting the so-called positives.