Tuesday 13 January 2015

Ben Underwood: The Boy Who Sees Without Eyes

The story of Ben Underwood, who despite being blind is able to map a detailed mental plan of his environment.

Diagnosed with retinal cancer at the age of two, American Ben Underwood had his eyes removed at the age of three.

He taught himself echolocation at the age of five. He was able to detect the location of objects by making frequent clicking noises with his tongue. This case was explained in 20/20: Medical Mysteries. He used it to accomplish such feats as running, playing basketball, riding a bicycle, rollerblading, playing football, and skateboarding. Underwood's childhood eye doctor claimed that Underwood was one of the most proficient human echolocators.

Underwood died on January 19, 2009 at the age of 16, from the same cancer that took his vision.

 

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