Blind seven-year-old Lucas Murray is making the headlines with his ability to "see" using his ears.
Lucas, who has become one of the first in the UK to learn the technique, has been nicknamed 'batboy' after learning how to use echoes to picture the world around him.
He clicks his tongue on the roof of his mouth and the sound that comes back tells him the distance, shape, density and position of objects.
Lucas, from Poole in Dorset, who was born blind, can even shoot basketball hoops, rock climb and run around the playground with the technique which is similar to that used by bats and dolphins.
He tells distance by timing how long the echo takes to return, the ear the sound reaches first tells him location and he picks up the density and shape of an object by the intensity of the sound bouncing back. An object moving away creates a lower pitch and vice versa.
Lucas was taught by blind Californian Daniel Kish, 43, who founded the World Access for the Blind charity.
Lucas's parents Sarah and Iain saw Mr Kish on TV and asked him to visit.
"Lucas is one of the first in the UK to use this technique," said Mr Kish.
"He is able to click his tongue and determine where things are around him and what things are around him and he is able to travel comfortably without holding on to people. The click basically emanates a sound which bounces off the environment a bit like the flash of a camera."
He said Lucas determines the qualities of an object by the characteristics of the sound that comes back and added: "He does play basketball, he is able to make it in to the hoop by clicking, he is actually pretty good at that. He is doing very well and his mobility is amazing, the best for his age in the UK."
Wikipedia
Lucas Murray
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lucas Murray (c. 2002), from Poole, Dorset, was born blind, but is one of the first British people to learn to visualise his surroundings using a technique similar to bats and dolphins, called echolocation. By the echo caused by clicking his tongue on the roof of his mouth, Lucas can identify how close objects are, and what they are made of. He was taught the technique by another blind person, Daniel Kish from California.
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Biography
Lucas was born in Poole in Dorset with complex medical needs including Septo-Optic Dysplasia (S.O.D.). He was blind from birth but this was not confirmed until he was 5 months old. At this stage his parents, Sarah and Iain, went through a grieving process, as they believed his blindness would cause him a number of restrictions in his life.[1] However, Sarah and Iain watched a documentary about a young American called Ben Underwood[2], a boy who used echo-location that he had taught himself to a very high level. In the documentary, Daniel Kish, founder of the World Access for the Blind charity,[3][4] spoke about not only echo-location but the importance of a Long Cane. Many months after seeing the documentary on television,[1] Sarah discovered that Daniel would be visiting a Scottish Charity called Visibility,[5] so contacted him and asked if he could visit Lucas.[6] Daniel Kish, a 41-year-old blind Californian, alongside Brian Bushway from World Access For The Blind [7] taught the basics of echo-location and the importance of a suitable Long Cane to Lucas over the course of four days in 2007.[8] Kish said that people often find the skill much easier to pick up at a young age.[7]
Using Echolocation
At seven years old, Lucas' mother Sarah says his independence is improving almost every day, and can play with other children in sports such as rock climbing and basketball.[9][7][8] Lucas identifies the distance of objects by timing the time that the echo from him clicking takes to return, and from the sound which bounces back he can also tell the density and shape.[4][6] Lucas is one of the first British people to be taught to use advanced echo-location,[8][10][11] and was nicknamed "Bat Boy" by the UK's Sun Newspaper,[12]because of the similarity between echolocation and the use of sonar to picture surroundings used by bats.[13] Kish says that Lucas' "mobility is amazing", and that he is the "best for his age in the UK".[4] Lucas says that he really likes the system, but that it was difficult to learn.[8]Lucas also uses a Long White cane to find objects near his feet. He uses an AmbuTech Telescopic Cane because it is light in weight and has a ceramic tip. At the proper length, it comes up to his nose when upright.[1]
Personal Life
Lucas was born in Poole, to Iain and Sarah Murray. Both of whom were initially saddened when they found out he was blind when he was 5 months old, as they believed it would hinder him for life.[7] But Sarah says that the echo-location and "No Limits Mobility"[14]has given Lucas a "fantastic future".[7]
Lucas and his parents have set up a charity called Common Sense,[15][16] which aims to provide support for parents and carers of visually impaired children. They also offer long white canes to children in the UK, through The Common Sense Children's Cane Bank.
References
- ^ a b c "Lucas learns echo technique to ‘see’". Daily Echo. 7th October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
- ^ http://www.benunderwood.com/
- ^ http://www.worldaccessfortheblind.org/
- ^ a b c "Blind boy uses his ears to 'see'". BBC News. 5 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
- ^ http://www.visibility.org.uk/
- ^ a b "'Batboy' Lucas sees with his ears". The Press Association. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
- ^ a b c d e "The blind seven-year-old 'Bat Boy' who sees the world by clicking his tongue and listening for the echoes". Daily Mail. 6th October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
- ^ a b c d "Seven year old blind boy uses echoes to see". Telegraph. 5th October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
- ^ http://www.actionforblindpeople.org.uk/
- ^ "BLIND Lucas Murray has been nicknamed Batboy - after learning to "see" using his ears". The Sun. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
- ^ http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/blind-year-boy-sees-ears/story?id=8776553
- ^ http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/2667257/Blind-batboy-can-see-using-his-ears.html
- ^ "Blind seven-year-old boy learns to "see" using his ears". Mirror. 7th October 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-08.
- ^ http://www.worldaccessfortheblind.org/no_limits_public_awareness_campaign/index.html
- ^ http://www.commonsense.me.uk/
- ^ http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6476651991&ref=nf
