Daniel Kish (born 1966 in
Montebello, California
Montebello (Italian for "Beautiful Mountain") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located just east of East Los Angeles and southwest of San Gabriel Valley. It is an independent city. east of downtown Los Angeles. It is ...
) is an American expert in
human echolocation
Human echolocation is the ability of humans to detect objects in their environment by sensing echoes from those objects, by actively creating sounds: for example, by tapping their canes, lightly stomping their foot, snapping their fingers, or makin ...
and the President of
World Access for the Blind
World Access for the Blind (WAFTB) is an international non-profit, non-governmental and educational organisation based in California, United States. The organisation was started to strengthen the physical, mental and personal development of peopl ...
(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
Eye neoplasms can affect all parts of the eye, and can be a benign tumor or a malignant tumor (cancer). Eye cancers can be primary (starts within the eye) or metastatic cancer (spread to the eye from another organ). The two most common cancers th ...
, 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
Developmental psychology is the science, scientific study of how and why humans grow, change, and adapt across the course of their lives. Originally concerned with infants and children, the field has expanded to include adolescence, adult deve ...
and
special education
Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...
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
The University of Alcalá ( es, Universidad de Alcalá) is a public university located in Alcalá de Henares, a city 35 km (22 miles) northeast of Madrid in Spain and also the third-largest city of the region. It was founded in 1293 as a ...
in
Madrid, Spain
Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
, 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."
Kish was named an
Ashoka Fellow
Ashoka (formerly branded Ashoka: Innovators for the Public) is an American-based nonprofit organization that promotes social entrepreneurship by connecting and supporting individual social entrepreneurs. Their stated mission is "the creation of a ...
in 2017. Fellows are leading social entrepreneurs recognized for their innovative solutions to social problems and potential to change patterns across society.
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Poptech demonstration
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kish, Daniel
1966 births
Living people
American educators
Blind people from the United States
People from Montebello, California