FLASH SONAR PROGRAM: helping blind people learn to see

By
Daniel Kish, M.A., M.A., COMS, NOMC
Copyright 2009, April Revision
By
World Access for the Blind
[This document incorporates materials from a document written by Daniel Kish an
d Hannah Bleier, M.A., COMS. Although this program in practice has been found qu
ite successful, the documentation of this program is still under development. Pl
ease forgive the rough edges.]
Before we begin, we'd like to present an excerpt from a letter submitted to a b
lind adult's listserve by a parent whose son received services from us. Among ot
her things, this letter speaks to the ease and acceptance of using FlashSonar. T
his letter is presented in its entirety at: {{http://www.worldaccessfortheblind.
org/common_questions_and_concerns/index.html#60697852}}
"... My youngest son, justin, totally blind, is five years old ... we introduced
Justin to a white cane when he was ea? months old, as he was already becoming v
ery physically active. Now ... he is very used to it and processes the informati
on he gains from it very effectively. Justin is a very active, outgoing fellow w
ho loves socializing and sports of any kind. ... We had already noticed Justin u
sing what we thought was echolocation to some degree ... the work [Daniel] has d
one with Justin has had tremendous results. ... Walls are easy for Justin to hea
r. He has moved on to identify parked cars, store displays, other solid objects
like newspaper boxes, bushes, and more all with the click of his tongue. ... if
I ask Justin to go and find a ... solid object that doesn't make noise, he will
click his tongue, and ... set off in that direction. As he nears it, he will act
ually pick up speed and become more confident ... He can then stop short of it .
.. The delight on his face when i tell him to reach out and see if he has found
and he discovers he has is unparalleled. ... The other day my husband asked Just
in to tell him when the type of fence changed along the street ... Clicking his
tongue, Justin could tell him when the fence changed from a brick to a wrought i
ron barred fence ... As i mentioned, we had seen Justin using echolocation on hi
s own as a toddler. ... I'm not sure how much Justin knew what he was doing, or
how much further he would have went with it. I know that I have heard a lot of b
lind adults say that they use echolocation to some degree, to varying extents. B
ut in Justin's case, with structured training his potential in this area is bein
g drawn out and he is learning to use echolocation more effectively than he woul
d have otherwise. ... We, like any parents, want the best for our son. We want h
im to be as independent and free as he can be. To give him that, we want him to
have access to all the options, so that he knows what is possible and can make h
is own choices. Echolocation training is most definitely helping to accomplish t
hat goal. ... 10 years ago it was unheard of to put a cane in the hand of a todd
ler. Our toddler is one little boy who has benefited hugely from being introduce
d to one at such a young age. How many people ten years ago, and even now for th
at matter, would have told me not to give my son a cane? Is the same thing true
to some extent of echolocation? Or are we open-minded enough to explore the idea
deeply enough to see if, just maybe, this is a relatively untapped area with tr
emendous potential? ... I strive to give my child access to all of the resources
I can to help him become who he wants to be. This is one such resource. ... pro
bably my greatest strength with my son is my ability to teach him social skills.
I have a very strong interest in this area, and it shows in who Justin is becom
ing. He is extremely well spoken, ... very outgoing, confident, and well-liked b
y his friends and classmates. ... a tongue click ... is hardly noticeable. In fa
ct, unless you were listening specifically for it, I don't know that you would n
otice it. Ok, well if you are blind you almost surely would, but I am commenting
as a sighted person. it is hardly noticeable at all. ... the tongue click in no
way resembles a blindism or mannerism. ... Today Justin does not exhibit any ma
nnerisms ... here is something positive that it does do. It keeps the head up ni
cely, because when you click to scan your environment you lift your head up inst
ead of hanging it down.... what does draw people's attention to my son is his ca
ne, more than anything else. Since he first started using it at ea? months, peop
le tend to watch us wherever we go. ... His cane by far draws more attention tha
n a tongue click ever would. It is what it is, and that is the reality of it fro
m our own experience. ... Tricia"
I. INTRODUCTORY COMMENTS:
A. Vision and hearing are close cousins in that they both can process re
flected waves of energy. Vision processes photons (waves of light) as they trave
l from their source, bounce off surfaces throughout the environment and enter th
e eyes. Similarly, the auditory system can process phonons (waves of sound) as t
hey travel from their source, bounce off surfaces and enter the ears. Both syste
ms can extract a great deal of information about the environment by interpreting
the complex patterns of reflected energy that they receive. In the case of soun
d, these waves of reflected energy are called "echoes."
To get these echoes, specialized sounds called echo or sonar signals are
generally sent out. These signals travel forth, strike surfaces in the surround
ing environment and return. The process is much like using a flashlight. Althoug
h sonar is much lower resolution than vi.n due to the use of much larger wavelen
gths, the listener can interpret information about surrounding surfaces that the
returning echoes carry, much as a sighted creature interprets patterns of retur
ning light. The echoes actually provide real, concrete images of space that we c
all auditory images, that bears a gross resemblance to the spatial characteristi
cs of visual images.
Blind humans can fill the darkness with dynamic images derived, not from
light, but from sound. A blind traveler can perceive multi-dimensional informat
ion from distances of many dozens of meters depending on circumstances. Echoes m
ake information available about the nature and arrangement of objects and enviro
nmental features such as overhangs, walls, doorways and recesses, poles, ascendi
ng curbs and steps, planter boxes, pedestrians, fire hydrants, parked or moving
vehicles, trees and other foliage, and much more. Echoes can give detailed infor
mation about location (where objects are), dimension (how big they are and their
general shape), and density (how solid it is). Location is generally broken dow
n into distance from the observer, and direction (left/right, front/back, high/l
ow). Dimension refers to the object's height (tall or short) and breadth (wide o
r narrow). Density refers to how solid or sparse, how reflective or absorbent an
object is. Just by understanding the interrelationships of these qualities, muc
h can be perceived about the nature of an object or multiple objects. For exampl
e, an object that is tall, narrow, and uniform from bottom to top may be recogni
zed quickly as a pole. An object that is tall, narrow, and solid near the bottom
while broadening and becoming more sparse near the top would be a tree. More sp
ecific characteristics, such as size, leafiness, or height of the branches can a
lso be determined. Something that is tall, very broad, and solid registers as a
wall or building, whereas something solid and broad, yet short in height, perhap
s waist high, would register as a retaining wall. Something broad yet sparse in
sound would register as a fence. Something short and fairly narrow, a little wid
er than a person, with a sparse, scattery sound might be a bush, whereas somethi
ng with a sparse, scattery sound but broad might be a hedge or tightly packed ro
w of bushes. Something that is broad and tall in the middle, yet shorter at eith
er end may be identified as a parked car. The differentiation in the height and
degree of slope at either end can identify the front from the back end; typicall
y, the front will be lower, with a more gradual slope up to the roof. Distinguis
hing between types of vehicles is also possible. A pickup truck, for instance, i
s usually taller, with a hollow sound reflecting from its bed. An SUV is usually
tall and boxy overall, with a distinctly blocky geometry at the rear. And final
ly, something that starts out close and very low, but recedes into the distance
as it gets higher is a set of steps. More or less concentrated scanning may be n
ecessary to make some of these determinations. But, by using this information, a
scene can be analyzed and imaged, allowing the listener to establish orientatio
n and direct movement within the scene. Natural scientists refer to this as scen
e analysis. As with the visual system, this process becomes unconscious.
B. The term "FlashSonar" is generally used throughout this program, rath
er than the more conventional term "echolocation." This is because the conventio
nal term echolocation has unfortunately come to represent and describe the more
conventional use of echolocation, which is typically rudimentary and far short o
f its actual capacity and scope. Many are under the impression that the echoloca
tion they teach or use represents the extent of its capacity, but we have found
this to be untrue in almost every case. Others feel that only a select few can l
earn the skill to a heightened capacity, but we have found this, too, to be untr
ue. We have found notable success with most students of all ages and backgrounds
including students with autism, hearing loss and cognitive impairments. We have
also successfully taught very young toddlers. What is sometimes taught and ofte
n used is only preliminary to the more advanced degree, scope, and complexity of
perception that echolocation can afford. Further, no systematic, comprehensive
training programs have been documented to our knowledge that support and facilit
ate the development of this valuable way of seeing. For this reason we have coin
ed the term "FlashSonar" to differentiate the strategic use of advanced, active
sonar from the more commonly applied forms of echolocation. This was partly insp
ired by the fact that, in all of nature, humans are the only animals to our know
ledge that tend to rely on more passive or incidental forms of echolocation. Act
ive echolocation, which is about to be discussed, is believed to be the standard
form of application throughout nature, and in almost all technical applications
.
C. This program is not yet complete. It is still evolving, but it provid
es a firm foundation in facilitating the perceptual adaptation process with rega
rd to FlashSonar.
D. This program is based only loosely on a method of sequenced skills de
velopment. As a developmental psychologist, I don't fully subscribe to the seque
nced approach. While rough developmental milestones and sequences may exist, the
y are heavily dependent on personal, social, and environmental factors. This is
particularly true for blind individuals whose developmental sequencing is even l
ooser than that of the general population. This is especially true when consider
ing that a much higher percentage of the blind population is faced with the chal
lenge of additional involvements. Given this, we have found that the application
of a sequenced skills curriculum often misses the mark. I would say that develo
pment and learning are only partly driven by developmental sequences that may be
more or less hard wired, and also largely driven by what we may call "salience.
" We are driven to learn and grow by what is salient to our interest, survival,
and attainment of resources. For example, children understand fractions long bef
ore they are formally taught the arithmetic operations as demonstrated by their
awareness of equity when it comes to cutting pie and pizza. They often understan
d money long before they are able to do percents, and all of us understand time
(base 12 or base 24) before we are even introduced to the concept of bases. Blin
d children are often observed to excel well beyond their sighted peers at certai
n skills, such as swimming, climbing, music, roughhousing, and auditory processi
ng, and research has shown them to develop abstract language well ahead of "sche
dule," as these various skills may be more salient to their style of exploring a
nd understanding the world. Thus, we have been unable to develop a step by step,
sequenced curriculum that we feel properly supports the perceptual adaptation p
rocess. This program is based more on salience than sequence. The instructor sho
uld be warned not to try to impose this curriculum on a student in a sequenced,
prescripted manner, but should first strive to understand the student's perceptu
al and environmental interaction style.
The key above all, is to maintain a student's interest in the tasks, and
motivation to learn. Some students may seem averse to self directed travel, but
 it is vital that this aversion be replaced by a desire to explore and discover,
even if assisted to do so. Helping the student maintain interest and motivation
is worth far more than the most carefully designed hierarchy of tasks. In our e
xperience, once the student's interest is lost it doesn't much matter what we do
.
E. This program is in no way intended to constitute a complete set of ac
tivities or skills that may be learned. The activities included are selected to
represent broadly the principal types of interactions that people may have with
the environment. They are also intended to provide focused opportunities to prac
tice developing certain specific skills. These activities must be adjusted or mo
dified according to student need and environmental determinants. It will also be
necessary to add other activities according to need. The sequence suggested her
e is only a very general guide, and will not apply to every student in all situa
tions. In fact, it really should not be thought of as a "sequence." However, gen
erally speaking, it is easier to learn to perceive one target before many target
s, simple targets before complex targets, and targets from a stationary perspect
ive before moving. Nonetheless, there are notable exceptions. Some students, for
instance, can't make head or tales out of the simple panel exercises before the
y've been able to experience it walking around in the real environment.
You can make a sonar exercise out of just about any activity. Many kids
love to play around with a tetherball. We would have them find tetherball poles
with the incentive that one of the poles had a tetherball. They loved it. Other
times it was "take me to the things you like to play on." These might be monkey
bars, swings, the slide, a merry-go-round, etc., that they were encouraged to fi
nd with FlashSonar. While it is often surprising what blind kids can do and lear
n, we were also surprised by what our students didn't know, like "how do you get
to the jungle-gym from the slide." Blind kids who just follow the sighted kids
all the time may not know. With one kid, I would pick him up and spin him around
in a toy airplane to get him totally disoriented. He had a blast. Then we would
practice finding the slide from where I set him down. He loved it!
F. We have found FlashSonar training to be applicable to almost anyone w
ho wants to learn, and who has opportunity for regular practice under challengin
g circumstances. The perceptual system is not necessarily tied to the communicat
ion or cognitive process, so many of these skills can be learned even when cogni
tion or communication is impacted. With students who are low verbal or cognitive
ly delayed, we use a more experiential approach, with less drill and less verbal
explanation.
II. Perceptual development considerations:
A. The ability to direct our interactions with the environment is connec
ted to the perceptual imaging system. The brain creates images through the perce
ptual system to represent everything we experience. The quality of these images
impacts how we interact with the environment. The brain uses perception to gathe
r information which feeds comprehension, which further improves our interaction.
Perception lies at the center of our ability to direct ourselves toward
achievement. Other processes, such as comprehension, psychology, and mutual soci
al engagement, are critical, but information supports the development and utilit
y of all other neural mechanisms underlying self direction. Without information
about the world, what is their to comprehend, who is their to engage socially an
d by what means, and with whom and how do we relate psychologically? We establis
h and execute intent by drawing meaning from what our senses register. The more
information we can access, the more adaptive and more varied is our interaction
with the world.
accordingly humans have developed integrated, adaptive brain function th
at anticipates information through the perceptual process in two principal modes
relative to movement - referencing and preview. Referencing refers to recognizi
ng and discriminating elements around us which allows us to set a physical goal
toward which movement can be directed, and to maintain orientation with respect
to surrounding elements. Preview refers to awareness of elements and their layou
t in advance of our position. This allows us to direct our course efficiently, s
afely, and gracefully. Both these modes of gathering information can be divided
into near, intermediate, and far.
We use this information about what lies ahead and around us to govern in
teraction. Without this information, the purposeful flow of movement is disrupt
ed. We struggle to apply other processes to interact with the environment in a m
anner that is adaptive and mutually meaningful to self and others. Broadly speak
ing, this usually disrupts the development of grace and confidence to direct our
selves toward achievement.
Neural development depends largely on self directed discovery based inte
raction with our environment. Directing our own interactions, rather than passiv
ely responding to others' directives, engages the nervous system most completely
; it matures best by understanding its relationship to the world through self in
itiated, self directed exploration. A strong perceptual process helps develop st
rong intentional action.
A robust operational image is rich in character derived from multiple da
ta streams of sensory experience and ideas. When vision is compromised, the brai
n naturally works to maintain image integrity by optimizing perception and self
directed discovery to heighten the quality of meaningful information gathered th
rough all senses. The compromised ability to see with eyes need not compromise a
chievement when the brain learns to "see" with an in tact and heightened percept
ual imaging system. Thus, self directed, intentional interaction greatly support
s brain development, especially for children with sensory impairments.
Although learning to see with compromised eyesight is natural for the br
ain, this process is easily disrupted by external forces which impose unnatural
conditions of restriction or experiential deficits. Chief among these may be the
imposition of surrogate functioning in which the functioning of the student is
taken over by external agents. Students with sensory impairments often remain re
latively passive while others take over without eliciting the student's self dir
ective input - motoring the student, remote controlling the student with excessi
ve verbal or physical guidance, choosing direction for the student. This can dim
inish opportunities for self directed interaction which is a key catalyst for ma
ny areas of development - especially for the perceptual and psycho-emotional sys
tem. Under these conditions, these systems either atrophy or become otherwise di
srupted. Poor capacity to mature through self direction compels the development
of perception and interaction with the environment through the leadership of oth
ers, rather than one's own leadership. Access to the world becomes relegated to
and mediated by proxy perceivers which commandeer a degree of autonomy that shou
ld develop naturally with support. This can foster a self concept of neediness.
Locus of control can become externalized, and achievement capacity is usurped by
lack of self efficacy. Or, the child may become extremely demanding and control
ling in order to have needs met or desires addressed by others in the absence of
their own capacity to do so. This becomes restrictive when assistance is not en
gaged in a mutual, give and take manner.
This pattern often develops understandably from the need to care for an
infant who may have presented very real fragility. The support system may have b
een compelled to provide every measure of support to ensure the infant's surviva
l. Decisions are made to address the most critical needs, and perspectives and p
hilosophies about the niceties of the future may be put aside by the real and im
mediate urgencies of the moment. Then, families may not encounter professional s
upport to ease this initially necessary and healthy pattern of dependency into a
process more supportive of natural growth toward interdependence, even when par
ents ardently desire this shift.
Two key requirements enable safe, efficient, and intentional movement:
remaining on a chosen course, and avoiding body contact with the environment. Th
e perceptual imaging system naturally endeavors to reference and preview surroun
ding conditions in order to plan interactions. We establish intent by drawing me
aning from what our senses register. When available, FlashSonar and the long can
e naturally provide reference and preview information to address these movement
requirements.
Although vision seems to be the default for gathering this information,
the latest in neural research suggests that, when vision is disrupted, the brain
may still anticipates and seeks this information. The mechanisms involved in se
lf direction can restore functioning by restoring these modes of information acc
ess despite vision loss. For both the blind and sighted brain, it is necessary t
o foster the brain's capacity to utilize referencing and preview in order to mai
ntain self directive capacity. For sighted people, this happens relatively natur
ally in sighted society. As visual functioning drops, tactual/kinesthetic and au
ditory channels must be more intensively stimulated and applied to restore these
modes of information access. Touch, hearing, residual vision, and attitude must
be respected and supported with perceptual enhancement training from the first
steps when patterns of self and intent are first being established. A self conc
ept of personal achievement must be fostered. Children must be supported to dis
cover their world without Nervous Nelley's hovering over every move. Mistakes w
ill happen, but all children, disabled or not, must learn from mistakes. Use of
the senses can be refined with instruction, but most important is that children
learn that their senses are tools for achievement. Professional instructors ar
e the sign posts, but the family is the vehicle to make this happen, and under t
he right conditions it does happen.
For blind people, hearing can become the dominant sense for conveying sp
atial information about the world at intermediate distances, and facilitating dy
namic interactions with the world. As determined by brain scan research, the cap
acity of audition to discriminate, recognize, and image multiple events in dynam
ic space, called scene analysis, is very pronounced. In addition, a wealth of wi
dely publicized anecdotal evidence indicates prodigious capacity. However, the a
uditory system remains little understood or applied. It can't be emphasized enou
gh that hearing in blind people must be recognized and carefully cultivated for
use to improve environmental interaction.
III. MATERIALS YOU MAY NEED: (For all target stimuli, transparency is ideal but
not required.)
A. Two, 1 gallon wide mouthed jars, and one jar about half the size of t
he others. It doesn't matter what the jars are made of, but they should be made
of the same material. Plastic will be easier to handle for the exercises, but no
t required.
B. Two large bowls or pots, at least 4 quarts. These can be salad bowls,
mixing bowls, or whatever. Plastic is easiest to handle but not required.
C. Three bottles of about a pint or quart - one medium mouthed and two n
ormal mouthed of the same size as each other. Health juices and sports drinks of
ten come in these sized bottles, with mouths slightly wider than is typical. Sim
ple water bottles may serve for the normal mouthed.
D. Five flat, solid, more or less square panels in the following approxi
mate sizes: 20 inches on each side, 16 inches on a side, 12 inches, 8, and 4 inc
hes on each side. (If circles are used instead of square, add about an inch diam
eter to each specification above.) Precision is not required, here. All panels s
hould be made of the same material, but the material doesn't matter as long as t
he panels are hard and solid. Cardboard works. This may be obtained from a throw
away box from a furniture or appliance store, or bike shop.
E. One 20 by 40 inch piece of cardboard, folded in half to a 20 by 20 in
ch square.
F. One small, portable AM/FM transistor radio. The radio is to be tuned
off station on the FM dial, so you just hear static or white noise.
G. A handheld clicker. These can be found at toy stores (in the shape of
bugs or small animals) or pet stores (used for animal training).
H. About 40 cubic inches of soft foam - enough to fill a 1 gallon jar or
large bowl. This is not stirafoam, but soft, sponge like foam like that called
"egg crate" foam laid over a mattress for sleeping comfort. Egg crate foam cut i
nto fist sized pieces may be used, or soft packing foam purchased from a shippin
g or mailing supply store.
IV. WHAT IS DETECTABLE: This varies widely among students and circumstances. The
 maximum resolution of sonic, unaided, human flash based sonar is about 9 square
inches (a circular or squarish target) at about 18 inches distance from the lis
tener with a solid target presented alone in open space under quiet conditions u
sing a sonar signal with primary frequency at about 3 kHz. This figure is genera
l, and drawn from a synthesis of the literature and our experiences as blind use
rs and teachers at World Access for the Blind. A pole of about an inch diameter
can be perceived at about two feet. A fire hydrant may be perceived from several
feet away, but not up close unless the student is very short. Likewise, a 4 inc
h curb is also easier to detect from distances of about 3 to 10 feet, but not to
o close. A chainlink fence may be detectable at 6 to 10 feet. A parked car may b
e perceived at 10 or 15 feet; add another 5 feet for a van or truck, another 10
feet for a bus or RVFOR me'. A tree may be detectable from 15 or 20 feet. A larg
e building is detectable for hundreds of feet with a strong sonar signal. While
features in terrains such as mounds, large rocks, up-curbs, or mud puddles may b
e detectable, drop-offs are almost impossible to detect. Low objects such as cur
bs seem taller than they are from several feet away. These may be difficult to p
erceive up close. Although echoes are quiet and subtle, echoes from large, hard,
nearby objects are extremely pronounced once you know what to listen for. It be
comes as ridiculous for blind people to run into a wall as it is for sighted peo
ple. Excuses for running into easily detectable things should not be made for bl
ind people anymore than sighted people.
FlashSonar struggles most with figure-ground distinction - distinguishin
g one object or feature from others. Elements tend to blur together - blending s
mall elements with large. Also, high noise levels or wind can mask echoes so tha
t they can be difficult to hear, requiring louder clicks and more scanning.
There are 3 primary considerations to teaching, using, and evaluating F
lashSonar. These are target distinction (how detectable are the targets), enviro
nmental variables (noise and clutter), and the perceptual factors in the student
(hearing issues, presence of vision, attention caapacity).
A. Target Distinction: Targets that are very narrow, such as a pole, may
not bounce back as much sound, and may be more difficult to detect. The more sp
arse (less dense or solid), the target, such as a fence, the larger it will prob
ably need to be to bounce enough acoustic energy back to a human listener to be
detectable and identifiable. Of particular concern with human sonar is figure gr
ound. This concept acoustically is very similar to this same concept as it relat
es to vision. It has to do with the extent to which the target can be distinguis
hed from its surroundings. Acoustically, we are talking about physical geometry
and texture of the target relative to its surroundings. These need to be quite d
istinct for a target to register to the human audible system, but experience, co
ncentration, and contextual clues can narrow this gap. It's hard to quantify thi
s distinction, but we get an idea of it from the resolution data above. If a tar
get needs to be about 9 square inches to be perceived at a distance of 18 inches
from the listener, this gives us a general idea of how distinct a target needs
to be in order to be registered, let alone identified. Objects that are too clos
e to each other tend to blur together, with larger, more dense objects predomina
ting. For example, while a person of average man size may be detectable at about
7 feet under normal conditions, that same person at the same distance may vanis
h if standing next to a wall or large column. However, he might still be detecta
ble against a chainlink fence. We always gage this by ear when working with stud
ents. Ground level targets are also an issue, as the presence of the ground, tog
ether with the distance from the ears and the relatively poor angle of perspecti
ve all tend to blur ground level targets, unless they present a large surface ar
ea, or are otherwise quite distinct. A 4 inch high curb may be detectable from 9
or 10 feet, but a park bench might only register at 5 or 6, and a coffee table
near a couch might not register at all. Incidentally, this is where children hav
e a huge advantage. Their reduced height has the effect of literally making the
whole world larger from the auditory perspective. They can detect shorter object
s much more easily than adults whose heads are further above these same objects.
B. Environmental Variables: Basically these include factors that increas
e or decrease target distinction. Noise in the environment will make sonar signa
ls harder to hear, so targets generally need to be bigger or more solid to regis
ter, and sonar signals need to be stronger. Reverberation can have a similar eff
ect. This could also include rain and strong wind. With strong wind, it can help
to scan left and right repeatedly with the head, or incline the head such that
the affect of the wind is minimized. Echoes are subtle and may be easily masked
by noise, although FlashSonar can be used to extract images through moderately h
igh noise levels. Clutter or congestion can obscure a target by causing it to bl
ur with other targets that are too close. When teaching students, we try to choo
se quiet, open spaces, or focus on highly distinct targets until students become
more advanced.
C. Perceptual Variables: Here, we're talking about things like attention
, visual functioning, auditory functioning, familiarity with the environment, an
d self confidence. We should remember that the three primary determinants for su
ccess are motivation, frequent and regular practice under self direction, and ap
plication under challenging circumstances.
Frequent and passive use of human guide will find FlashSonar more diffic
ult to learn. This is not to say that using human or dog guides in and of itself
will disrupt perceptual development, but passive dependence on guidance will. W
e work on students maintaining active and mutual engagement in the guiding proce
ss. Once learned, FlashSonar can be used to allow student more freedom to move a
round comfortably without a guide when necessary or desired. Or, it can be used
in conjunction with a guide to enrich the travel experience by heightening appre
ciation and awareness of the environment.
Echoes are subtle and require one to be able to attend or at least be mo
tivated to hear them.
Familiarity usually increases registration. It is always easier to find
a target when you know what you're looking for.
Broadly speaking, better hearing enables the highest potential for using
echoes. However, while high frequencies are required for the perception of smal
l objects and detail on surfaces, most useful sonar skills rely more heavily on
mid frequencies. Even if hearing sensitivity is reduced across large portions of
the spectrum, effective sonar navigation is often possible. Unilateral hearing
loss can make passive or active sonar very tricky. It is possible to echolocate
with hearing aids if the aids do not interfere with the penna.
Vigilance is perhaps the most important factor. Because there are many c
ues that must be analyzed and integrated for successful blind navigation, concen
tration is often divided among many elements. Since sonar information is relativ
ely subtle, it requires at least a moderate degree of continued concentration fo
r effective use.
Finally, it is our experience that congenitally blind students are often
already partly adapted to using the auditory system for imaging. However, they
are often unaware of it, and their skills are usually rudimentary. They can ofte
n express what is around then once the implications of the various stimuli are p
ointed out, such as solid vs. sparse, but they may not have used this detail to
govern their travel. They are often aware of minute stimuli, but often not aware
of what it means, or how it relates to them. For example, they may often accura
tely describe the elements of an object or scene, but not be able to put this in
formation together to form meaning. Once, we had a newly blinded woman participa
te in a workshop along side two congenitally blind rehab counselors. The congeni
tally blind participants would say things like, "There's a soft, kind of flattis
h thing in front of us, with some small, soft things behind it, and a big, hard
thing behind it further away." When asked what they were looking at, they someti
mes couldn't even guess. Whereas the newly blind woman, though she couldn't sens
e the elements, could guess accurately what they were once they were described,
"It sounds like maybe a fence with some bushes behind it, and maybe a building b
ehind that." The congenitally blind participants were hearing the elements, but
not imaging them. The newly blind woman was gaining images from the verbal descr
iptions. We aim to help students both hear the elements, and gain images based o
n the elements that are heard.
V. SONAR SIGNALING
A. Introduction: There are two kinds of sonar - passive and active. Pass
ive sonar is reliant on incidental sounds in the environment which elicit incide
ntal reflections, or sounds produced incidentally by the user, such as by footst
eps or cane taps. The images thus extracted are relatively vague. One can use th
is to gain information about large features or general layout, but one is relian
t on incidental noises that will not be ideal for detection of small features or
fine discrimination. Active sonar involves the use of a signal produced by the
listener. It allows the observer to direct actively a self generated signal into
the environment. It is like the difference between taking a picture in strictly
ambient lighting, or controlling the lighting by use of a "flash" or strategica
lly placed lighting. While esthetic appreciation may favor the natural look at t
imes, no one can argue that photos and video are always clearer and crisper with
sharper detail when the scene is brought under the control of the photographer.
The greater effectiveness of active sonar lies in the brain's control over and
familiarity with the signal which allows it to distinguish between the character
istics of the signal it produces from those of the returning signal. The return
ing signal is systematically changed by the qualities of whatever returns it, an
d these changes carry information about what the signal encounters. The relativ
e precision of active sonar is why it is used most widely in nature and in techn
ical applications. We use the term FlashSonar, because the ideal sonar signal re
sembles a flash of sound, much like the flash of a camera, and the brain capture
s the reflection of the signal, much like the film of a camera.
Perhaps the greatest advantage to FlashSonar is that an active signal ca
n be produced very consistently so the brain can tune to this specific signal ve
ry intently. This allows for relatively easy recognition of echoes even in comp
lex or noisy environments. It's like recognizing a familiar face or voice in a
crowd. The more familiar is the voice, the easier it is to recognize. The charac
teristics of an active signal can also be deliberately controlled to fit situati
ons. For example, there are two main applications of sonar in nature - orienting
and targeting. Sonar used for orientation usually take the form of signals prod
uced less frequently, and often at higher volumes. It is used to take stock of o
ne's surroundings, to track one's position within those surroundings, and naviga
te through them. Targeting sonar is used to fix one's attention on one or severa
l targets in order to gain information about the target, to intercept the target
, or to avoid the target. For this, sonar signals are emitted more rapidly and w
ith decreasing volume as the target is scanned and approached. These two uses of
sonar correspond to research observations made independently in the blindness l
iterature, that mobility can be divided into two categories - moving along (requ
iring maintenance of orientation), and moving toward (requiring location of a ta
rget). Finally, the brain is primed to attend to each echo by virtue of its cont
rol over the signal. Since it knows when it is about to produce a signal, the br
ain arouses to attend specifically to the results of that signal. It is unlikely
that arousal to attention of this magnitude can be continually maintained.
B. Some have raised concerns that clicking may be considered socially in
appropriate. Our focus is on the discrete use of a click, which the user adjusts
according to environmental situations. It is not generated louder or more frequ
ently than is needed, nor is it made with facial ticks. Although it is possible
to use sonar signals that are distracting, we have encountered very rare instanc
es of the general public expressing any concern about the use of a tongue click
for sonar with oup method. We have observed and our students report that the sig
hted public consistently does not seem to notice or care. This is true among chi
ldren and adults. What is noted is that active sonar users tend to carry themsel
ves with erect posture, they tend to interact with their environment gracefully,
and they tend to look engaged. Other blind people, of course, do notice the cli
cking. Because of emphasized auditory attention among blind people, we find that
blind people may assume that sighted people may be giving the clicks more atten
tion than is actually the case. What sighted people do notice, and what causes h
eads to turn more immediately than anything else, is the long white cane.
If arguments against the use of anything unusual had always been applied
, spectacles, critical to the visual functioning of so many people in today's wo
rld, might never have been used for fear of looking strange. One could apply the
same argument to using a cane, or a wheelchair, or any critical adaptive device
or technique that stands out as unusual, but also changes the lives of those wh
o use them for the better. Our perspective is that form should follow function,
not the other way around. Which is more awkward: a blind person who can't find h
er way efficiently, gracefully and safely from one point to another, or one who
gains the information needed to do so by clicking? To deprive a blind child of i
nformation that can be gained by clicking is tantamount to forcing a sighted chi
ld to go through life with eyes half-closed.
C. The active sonar signal is the basis for the FlashSonar approach. Unt
il technology allows us to produce a more ideal signal, we recommend certain typ
es of tongue clicks as the ideal signal. These are intended to be unobtrusive, h
ands free, and completely under user control without need for reliance on extern
al elements or circumstances.
D. In order for sonar to be optimized, four signal characteristics must
be present - user control over signal type and directionality, good alignment be
tween signal and ears, minimal masking of the echo, and familiarity of the signa
l to the observer. Only an active, self generated or specially designed signal c
an ensure that these four criteria are met. Cane taps and footsteps may give som
e information, but they are reliant on the travel surface, their directionality
cannot be controlled, and such signals may not possess ideal spectral characteri
stics. An active signal that is self generated and whose characteristics are str
ictly under user control present the advantage of allowing the brain to develop
a familiarity with the signal. It is always easier to register something that we
recognize. With familiarity, the brain can tune to the signal, and can therefor
e register it with less effort under broader conditions. It locks in most readil
y on signals that it recognizes. Also, since the signal is under the strict cont
rol of the user, the brain is always most sensitive to its effect. Bats always u
se active signals, and submarine technicians greatly prefer them.
E. Tongue Clicks: Phoneticists have classified and analyzed five distinc
t types of tongue clicks. Their names are not important. What we want is a sharp
, solid snap, click, or popping sound that the user can control to soft or loud
volume. This is usually produced by pressing the blade of the tongue (flat, midd
le part) firmly against the roof of the mouth, then pulling sharply downward to
break the vacuum. The tip of the tongue should stay more or less stationary and
NOT flop down to the bottom of the mouth to form a second "pop." When the tongue
does this, we call this the "cluck click." A tongue click should produce a sing
le, sharp signal, not a double click or clucking sound. Failing the sound being
produced by the blade, a respectable sound may be produced by the sides of the t
ongue against the mollers. This produces the "giddy up" click. Another click sui
table for temporary purposes is the "tsk tsk" click, the kind we often make to e
xpress disapproval. This is produced by the tip of the tongue against the top te
eth. Whatever the click, it should ideally not cause odd facial expression, or b
e used too often or too loudly without cause. Soft clicks should generally be us
ed to detect targets that are close or in quiet environments.
F. Students who use echoes are often unaware that they are doing so. Mor
eover, they can be unconscious of trying to elicit echoes by such behaviors as t
ongue clicking, hand clapping, finger snapping, foot scraping, cane banging, or
yelling. What they are really trying to do should be called to their attention.
If their endeavors are obtrusive, they should be redirected to more discrete and
more useful behaviors.
G. Tips for Teaching:
1. Most students can make a suitable click without much training
. Students can often learn by modeling. If students hear it enough, they eventua
lly come to do it. For kids, we teach parents and siblings how to make the sound
if the student can't do it. Usually, they can.
2. It may help to use a popcycle stick, tongue depressor, or spo
on to show the students where to place their tongue. Tongue depressors come ster
ilized and individually wrapped. They are available from medical supply stores;
some pharmacists may carry them. A doctor's office may provide a few as samples.
Spoons are easy to obtain. Enlisting the help of a speech and language therapis
t may also help, if one is available. (They may also have some tongue depressors
.)
3. A click that we try to avoid is what we call the "cluck click
." This is a double click in which the tip of the tongue slaps against the botto
m of the mouth. We want a sharp, single click similar to a finger snap or the po
p of chewing gum.
4. For students who struggle to make a click, we teach tongue aw
areness. We identify two parts of the tongue - the tip (the forward part used to
make sounds like "t," "d," and "l", and the blade of the tongue, used to make s
ounds like "k", "g," and "ng" combination. Have the student make these sounds. H
ave the student try to make a click sound while the student very gently presses
a spoon or something beneath the tip of the tongue, just to provide some feedbac
k to remind the tongue not to drop. Sometimes, this alone helps the student make
a useful click.
5. If not, we inform the student that the click we may be lookin
g for is formed with the same part of the tongue and mouth used to make the "k,"
"g," and "ng" sounds. Have the student hold the tip of the tongue still with th
e spoon while making these other sounds. Have the student try to alternate betwe
en making these other sounds, and a tongue click. Typically, a student can do th
is. It may help the student to imagine that a blob of peanut butter is stuck on
the roof of the mouth, and he must use the blade of the tongue to pull the peanu
t butter away. The center of the tongue should be pressed to the roof of the mou
th to create pressure, then pulled away quickly and forcefully, producing a dist
inct click. If a click is juicey or "sloppy" to begin with, it will usually tigh
ten up or sharpen with a little time.
6. If the student just can't make any suitable click at first, h
ave them produce a "ch ch" sound.
H. Handheld clickers may be used for certain circumstances. The clicker
should be cupped in the hand, button facing outward and forward, and activated b
y the thumb. Clickers should be sounded either at waist level or above the head,
never near the ears. At least 1 second should span between press and release of
the button. Clickers should never be activated rapidly, and should only be used
out of doors or in open environments.
I. For very beginning exercises, some students may benefit from making a
continuous "shshshsh" sound, or just using their voice. Some students may not h
ave the breath support to make long "shshshsh" sounds. If this is the case, the
transistor radio tuned off station (see III-F) may help. This should be held jus
t below the student's chin.
VI. INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES.
A. Introduction: We believe the brain learns to see by using systematic
stimulus differentiation. This natural process may be sped up with formal instru
ction. The process of helping someone to learn FlashSonar involves tickling the
brain into registering and processing subtle stimuli that may be beyond the cons
cious experience of the student. These stimuli often flow through our perception
without conscious awareness, and the neural system may not have developed the f
ull capacity to register or react to these stimuli. As instructors, we must help
the student to "hook in" to these stimuli so that channels of processing these
stimuli can be opened and made alive. The opening of these channels is often acc
ompanied by a spontaneous sense or expression of excitement or sudden realizatio
n - the "ahha!" experience. This involves helping students to register and proce
ss stronger or more intense stimuli so that the brain may then open to processin
g subtler and finer stimuli. Perception of and reaction to the stimuli is key. F
or this to happen, the instructor helps the student to develop a relationship wi
th the stimuli. Six strategies may help to do this - stimulus sensitization, sti
mulus clarification, stimulus comparison, stimulus association, stimulus shift,
and refocusing. we'll give a general discussion of each strategy, and then more
specifics as they apply to the specific activities.
 B. Observation: It is important to know what passive or active sonar ski
lls the student is already using. Take plenty of time to observe the student's e
xisting sonar skills. This can be done during other lessons. For example, instea
d of requiring him to trail along a hallway, allow or encourage him to walk down
the hallway in his own way. See if he is able to direct his course between the
two walls. See if he seems to be able to perceive when a wall or door is in fron
t of him. Observe if the student stops independently or hesitates before contact
ing objects in the environment. How directed are his movements? If the student i
s able to do these things, he may be demonstrating some basic sonar skills. Some
children demonstrate good skills at an early age with no instruction, but good
instruction always helps improve skills.
C. Stimulus Sensitization: As this term implies, we are helping students
to "sensitize" to subtle stimuli, helping students to "hook in" to the experien
ce. We start with sensitizing students to echoes, usually by having them detect
and locate targets that are easy, such as large plastic panels or bowls. This he
lps them get a sense of what echoes sound like. Once this is established, we mov
e to subtler and more complex stimuli. We find the level of stimuli into which t
hey can "hook", then gradually move to subtler stimuli. Many students will pass
through the earlier, more obvious stimuli very quickly, while others will need m
ore time.
1. Noticing Strong Echoes. When the student is moving around the
house or other environments, help her to notice the presence of strong echoes.
For example, many children who are blind love to play sound games in highly reve
rberate environments such as rest rooms, breeze ways, or stair wells. Encourage
the child to sing, repeat words after you, or clap in the bathroom or garage or
other large, uncarpeted places without a lot of furniture or other objects that
absorb sound. If the child makes noise in places with strong echoes, she can not
ice that her voice sounds different in these places than in other places. You ca
n also make a noise in the bathroom and then move quickly out into the hallway w
here there is less echo, and make the same noise there so that the child can com
pare. Corners in a room also usually emit stronger echoes than other areas of th
e room.
2. The bottles are intended to give clear examples of hearing di
fferences in the environment. They're used to prove a point. One can make the po
int that the sounds made by musical instruments, even though they may sound huge
ly varied to us, are actually the result of very minor changes in the instrument
itself. A very small shift of one's finger on a guitar or position of a bow on
a violin, or change of fingering on a flute produces a huge change in the experi
ence of the ear.
a. The student should be able to tell by ear when a liqu
id is reaching the top of the mid mouthed bottle or glass without touching. Liqu
ids may be poured at different speeds to ensure the student is listening, and no
t just timing.
b. Put slightly different amounts of water in each of th
e two standard mouthed bottles. The student should be able to hear the differenc
e when blowing across the bottles, even if it is very slight. Only an extra tabl
espoon of water in one of the bottles will make it sound noticeably different. S
tudents should be able to tell which one is the higher or lower pitch. If the st
udent can't, increase the difference a little more at first. Again, the point is
simply to begin heightening auditory sensitivity to changes that are more obvio
us before moving on to those which are more subtle.
3. The phase effect:
a. Using the radio at low volume or a "shshsh" sound, or
continuous vocal tone "aaaaaaah", move the large, solid panel from above or beh
ind the student's head, to directly in front of their face. The panel should see
m to appear suddenly before them. Don't move the panel too quickly, as the sound
of your arm or the wind burst from the panel may arouse the student's attention
. Be sure they can tell the difference between the panel being there vs. not the
re. If they can't, then move to the solid bowl (see stimulus clarification - Vi-
D), or the jar. Once the student can hear the presence, then do the same thing w
ith the large, flat panel further away.
b. Next, try slowly waving the panel toward and away fro
m the student's face. Discuss the change in phase as the panel moves. Can the st
udent tell when the panel moves? Can they tell when it is just about to touch th
em? If not, try with the bowl, then move back to the panel. (This is an example
of stimulus clarification.)
c. Finally, move the panel from in front to the left, an
d from in front to the right. Have student say which way it moved. Keep the flat
surface of the panel facing the student's head. In other words, don't just move
the panel laterally along a plain from left to right, but move it along a circu
mference circumscribing the student's head such that the surface is always point
ing at the student. Have the student practice scanning to hear when their "shshs
h" sounds different. Or, by this time, the student may already be using a tongue
click. This is encouraged.
d. Note: While clarifying the stimulus (see Vi-D) using
the salad bowl can be helpful, we don't always start out these particular sensit
ization exercises with the salad bowl, because the concaved surface, while more
intense, can blur the clear phase shift affect that we want students to tune int
o. It's better if they can get it without resorting to the bowl, but not a crime
if they need the bowl.
4. Stimulus Target Presentation: These include the jars and vari
ous panels (see III). These are always presented to students with the instructor
standing behind the student so that the instructor's presence does not interfer
e with the detection of the stimulus targets. These exercises should ideally be
done in a large, open, nonreverberant, fairly quiet space (not absolutely quiet;
about the noise level of a quiet day in a suburban residential neighborhood). I
f there are constant noises in the area, such as air conditioning or traffic, it
's ideal if the noise is more or less evenly diffused throughout the environment
so that it lacks directionality. If the noise is directional, then it should be
placed behind the student so that sound shadows do not interfere with cuing of
reflected sounds. If the exercises are performed in a large room, be sure the st
udent is not facing a wall or corner that is too close to them. The stimuli are
presented around the head as quietly as possible. It is best for the instructor
not to wear long sleeves, because clothing rustles. When presenting a stimulus t
o one side of the head, the instructor should move both arms, including the empt
y one, but keep the elbow of the empty arm bent so that that arm is kept out of
the student's auditory view. Moving both arms will keep the student from just cu
ing off the arm that moves, since they both are moving. But by bending one arm,
the student won't be distracted or confused by the presence of the empty arm.
In general, these basic stimulus sensitization exercises move fr
om presenting the jars first, then the bowl, then the flat panels. We generally
move from the large flat panels to the smaller ones over time. We start at very
near distances before moving to arm's length. Even if students seem well ahead o
f the game in their sonar, it isn't a bad idea to just zip through all the easy
exercises anyway. It can give material to refer back to when the exercises get m
ore complex. We always start with teaching the student simply to detect the pres
ence or absence of stimuli, before moving on to location (left, right, high, or
low). The various stimuli can be brought up later to represent real features of
the environment - chambers of various sizes, alcoves, corners, and walls. The st
udents will often be slow and methodical at first in giving their answers, but w
e want them to reach the point when they can instantly and almost casually give
the correct answer without hesitation or second guessing.
a. Sample Exercises:
(1) Present single large jar at various location
s, and test detection. Discuss the sound. Start close, then move further back. T
hen, discuss the difference in sound between the large and small jar. First, pre
sent them individually, then present both at the same time, one to each side, ha
ving the student turn his head side to side to click or make some suitable noise
into each. Discuss the difference between the size. Next, fill one of the large
jars with foam, and repeat the stimulus differentiation exercise, discussing th
e difference.
(2) Compare the "bowl" sound to the "jar" sound.
The jar may sound more hollow than the bowl, more like a chamber. Also, present
the large bowls to each ear simultaneously but at different distances. Have stu
dent state which is further, which is closer. Start with very different distance
s, then reduce the difference.
(3) Repeat above exercise template using the fla
t panels, but don't compare size; compare panel to bowl, bowl to jar, panel to b
owl or jar, etc. It may help to present both stimuli together to right and left,
rather than alternating. Student can say, "the bowl is on the right; the panel
is on the left." Or, "there's a panel above me and also one to the right." Discu
ss the differences in sound. Again, the bowl should sound more hollow than the f
lat panels. Also, the panel exercises should be done interspersed among other ex
ercises (see below), not in an unbroken series. Encourage students to scan with
their heads to differentiate the presence from absence of the panel from one sid
e to the other. When doing distance differentiation, never use different sized p
anels, but always the same size.
(4) After doing a few of the exercises above, pr
esent the long piece of cardboard folded at 90 degrees as a corner, but don't te
ll the student what it is. Discuss what it sounds like, and what environmental f
eature it may represent.
(5) The exercises above can and should be repeat
ed using real environmental features, such as blank walls, fences, and rooms of
various sizes. Students can place their back, front, and each shoulder to a wall
or fence after being disoriented. Start at a distance of about a meter, then in
crease to perhaps 20 meters. Note that some students may find sonar characterist
ics easier to hear at first from greater rather than lesser distances. Real envi
ronment exercises needn't be put off until all panel exercises are complete. The
y can be conducted between and among the panel exercises for the sake of variety
and stimulation. It is often useful to the student to start to see the applicat
ion of these exercises early in the program as this may not be self apparent, es
pecially for young ones. In fact, young ones may not stand long for these silly
drill exercises; they will probably need a more experiential approach involving
real features most of the time. In general young ones do learn better when movem
ent is involved.
b. Special Considerations:
(1) If students can't do a tongue click (see V),
have them use a "ch ch" sound instead.
(2) If students have difficulty detecting these
targets using a pulsed signal, try using "shshsh" or the radio at low volume pla
ced at chin level. It may help to move the panel toward and away from the face w
ith the continuous signal, and discuss the sound of the change. Can the student
tell when the panel or bowl moves? Can they hear it move from side to side, and
which side?
(3) If students don't seem to be able to hear th
e objects, try detection of large walls at distances of 15 or 20 feet. Discuss w
hat the sound is like, a distinct echo, as we turn in different directions. Disc
uss how the sound changes as we get closer or further away. A pulsed signal gets
closer or further from its echo. As we get real close the echo merges with the
signal. Once the student understands the sound of presence, go back to the panel
s.
D. Stimulus Clarification: When students are unable to register or descr
ibe a stimulus consistently, it may be that the stimulus needs to be clarified.
There are generally three ways to do this.
1. Representation: a similar but more detectable stimulus may be
used. For example, if a student cannot detect an opening in a wall, say an open
door, find a room that is highly reverberant (larger or less furnished) that th
e student can hear more clearly as he or she passes the opening. Another example
might be if a student has difficulty locating interior corners, he will likely
be better able to find a large alcove. One can discuss the sound of an alcove, a
nd relate it to the similar but less "hollow" sound of a corner. Alcoves and cor
ners tend to be easy to detect and locate, because they throw back most of the a
coustic energy to the sonar user.
2. Intensification: Bring the student closer to the stimulus, or
use a larger version of the stimulus, such as increasing the size of the open d
oor or branching corridor. This serves to intensify the stimulus under investiga
tion.
3. Elumination: use a different sonar signal for that exercise.
If the student can't detect the stimulus with a pulsed signal, such as a click,
perhaps she can with the radio or clicker. This strategy sheds a different "ligh
t" on the stimulus that may cause it to stand out so the student can detect it m
ore easily. Then, go back to using a tongue click.
E. Stimulus Comparison: It may help to compare directly one stimulus wit
h another. This is particularly useful when instructing registration of feature
characteristics - dimension (height, breadth), location, and density (see IV). I
t may help the student to register these signature types when they have a basis
for immediate comparison. For example, if a student is having difficulty registe
ring foliage, confusing it with various types of fencing, it may help to find a
location where both types of stimuli are immediately available. One can find loc
ations to compare trees to poles, retaining walls to hedges, a car to a truck, a
building with an awning to one without, a wall to steps, a wroughtiron fence to
chainlink, etc.
F. Stimulus Association: Stimulus association is the conceptual version
of stimulus comparison. Instead of comparing elements in the environment, we are
comparing them in our minds by drawing upon mental references. For example, whe
n facing a hedge, a student might say, "It sounds solid?" I might reply, "as sol
id as the wall to your house?" "No, not that solid," she might reply. "As sparse
as the fence of your yard?" "No, more solid than that," she might answer. Now w
e have a range of relativity to work with. "Does it remind you of anything else
near your house, maybe in the side yard?" "Bushes?" she might query. "But what s
eems different from those bushes?" "These are sort of flat like a fence." If she
can't put the word to it, we have her touch to determine that it's a hedge, and
we may discuss why it sounds the way it does. This strategy is often used in di
scussing and describing stimuli. As students build up more of a repertoire of ex
perience and understanding of acoustic imaging concepts, they can draw on this e
xperiential base to understand and work out new stimuli. For example, when a stu
dent is having difficulty identifying or describing a feature, such as a palm tr
ee (because of its seemingly solid, flat branches), one might ask "what does it
remind you of? What are its characteristics?" We might discuss other trees we've
encountered, and talk about how this one seems similar and different. When we a
re learning to find entrances to buildings, we often discuss what alcoves sound
like. When finding open doors, we may discuss what branching corridors sound lik
e. When learning to cross a street toward a building on the opposite corner, we
may talk about what it was like to cross the open field or parking lot to a buil
ding on the other side. We often refer to beginning exercises when coming to und
erstand the more advanced ones.
G. Stimulus Shift: The stimulus shift paradigm is used by psycho-physici
sts to teach a student (subject) to register and respond to one stimulus by subs
tituting another, more powerful stimulus, then fading that stimulus gradually so
that perception of the subtler stimulus builds. For example, a student may have
difficulty finding and approaching a tree trunk. The canopy of the branches can
obscure the trunk. It may help to place the radio at the trunk, and have the st
udent approach that at first. The student gains experience orienting toward and
approaching a sound source. At first, the student is reliant on the sound source
. But, the sound source is reduced gradually in volume. Without realizing it, as
if by magic, the nervous system gradually keys into the echo stimulus as if the
radio were still on. It's a kind of neurological bate and switch - a way of tri
cking the brain into thinking it's responding to one stimulus, when it has reall
y learned to adapt to and register and respond to another.
H. Attention Stabilization: Many students may not be accustomed to placi
ng their motor system under the guidance of their auditory system. Also, congeni
tally blind children often tend to focus their attention into their heads, or on
to matters of cognition other than the physical environment, such as the social
environment. They often focus on what we call "in the head" environment, or foc
us on social engagement with a high degree of linguistic rather than spatial pro
cessing. There's nothing wrong with these focuses, but we'd like to encourage a
balance. Recent blindness, or long time lack of self directed movement will exac
erbate these tendencies. The perceptual system often becomes disrupted by passiv
e reliance on guidance on the part of supporters and professionals. The inter-co
nnection between the motor and visual systems is well established, but the inter
-connectedness between the motor and auditory systems, other than for balance th
rough the vestibular system, is much less understood. It is often assumed among
perception experts to be of no great affect, but there are notable disagreements
on this point, and this controversy is beginning to fade with new data. Whateve
r the case, it is probably true that the auditory-motor connection is more tenuo
us than the visual-motor connection. For this reason, the auditory-motor connect
ion often appears to benefit from an "assist" development. In trying to work out
this connection, the perceptual system may become confused or overloaded at tim
es for some students, requiring a moment of pause and refocus. This can be facil
itated by an instructional agent. For example, when asked to locate an object or
to move in a circle around one, students may begin to meander near or around th
e object, eventually wandering away from it without realizing it. They may do th
is even when they know where the object is. It often helps simply to bring the s
tudent's attention back by asking, "where is that pole?" Or, it may help to inst
ruct them to "stop, face it, now go for it." Students can do this surprisingly w
ell. On one occasion, we were working with a sighted person under blindfold for
a TV segment. He was learning to find a minivan in an empty parking lot up to 20
feet away from his starting position. He had had two or three successful finds,
and we had increased the distance. As he was searching, we could tell by his bo
dy movements that, consciously or not, his perceptual system had registered and
noted its location, though still tenuously. But, the presence of the camera man
was pulling his attention off track, and he began to wander. I told him, "You kn
ow where it is. Don't let the camera man pull you're attention away from your ob
jective. Re-establish your course. Trust in what you know." At that his wavering
reduced, and he pendulumed his way back on track as if drawn by a distant magne
t until he reached the van. He reported that helping him refocus at that crucial
moment was essential. Helping the student stop and refocus before they get too
far off track can actually help them to adopt good perceptual habits of presence
of mind, attentiveness, maintenance of conscious awareness, and self-trust. Usu
ally, this is best achieved by asking strategic questions or dropping thought pr
ovoking hints, rather than by giving directives, descriptions, or explanations.
Some students' attention just seems to be everywhere but on the activity
at hand or the environment around them. Many students develop a coping mechanis
m of accessing the environment through others, rather than by their own self dir
ection. To an extent, this can be adaptive as long as it doesn't limit the stude
nt's opportunities for activity, or pose an undue burden to others. Again, we lo
ok for balance. Other students may just be stuck in perseverative language about
anything and everything except what's happening now. Or, they may get stuck on
a sound or texture, and be unable to move on in their attention. With some stude
nts, we may set down parameters of interaction. For example, we may explain to t
he student that we will engage the student's conversation when that conversation
pertains to the immediate activity, or to the immediate environment. Conversati
on about anything else will not be engaged.
Another approach often found helpful is placing a bean bag on each shoul
der, or perhaps the top of the head. This often has an amazing affect on the stu
dent's ability to slow down and focus. Rather than pose a distraction, the proce
ss of keeping the bean bags from falling seems to heighten attention globally. I
t has been found useful in remediating certain reading and learning difficulties
in sighted kids. It may do this by causeaing an automatic bio-feedback loop, wh
ich gently encourages attention. It can also keep those bouncey, jiggley kids fr
om bouncing and jiggling too much. Placing the bean bags in spare plastic produc
e bags may increase the affect, because it's easier to hear the bag when it fall
s. For students who are reluctant to do this, We may make it a kind of game by w
earing the bean bags ourselves, and seeing who can do it the longest. We let the
students know that we are willing to engage in whatever task or activity we pos
e for them; that's only fair.
I. A Couple Instructional Considerations:
1. For cane users, it is our experience that the program is most
effective when conducted with the student using a cane. At first, we separated
auditory and cane training, but have sense found that combining them has best re
sults. It is true that the student may find the exercises easier without the can
e, but we feel that for most students the pay off is usually greater and speedie
r if the cane is used from the beginning. It can be quite frustrating for both s
tudent and instructor to have students perform the exercises well without the ca
ne, only to have their hard earned performance fall apart when the cane is re-in
troduced. Use of the cane facilitates self directed discovery and, for most stud
ents, there is much to be said about the stimulating affects of self directed di
scovery on perceptual development.
2. Visual functioning generally interferes with sonar informatio
n as it tends to dominate the attention (for better or worse). However, it is su
rprising how motivated many partially sighted students can be to learning FlashS
onar. They often know just how dependent they are on the little vision they have
, and when the lights go down, they go down hard on these students. FlashSonar s
eems to be particularly helpful to students who have visual field loss, as stude
nts can learn to use it to fill in these gaps. For these students, FlashSonar wi
ll often serve to allow the students to register objects or features outside the
ir visual field. Then, they may bring their vision to bear on the target to gath
er more information. This method can reduce the need for constant visual scannin
g. For partially sighted students, we find that it seems more effective to isola
te and integrate. At least 50% of lessons should be done under blindfold. During
auditory image training, the visual system is literally adapting to process non
visual information to extract spatial images. For this to happen, the visual sys
tem seems to need a period of disconnect from the eyes. It seems to be hard wire
d to receive and process images from the eyes by default, so it needs to be insu
lated from the eyes in order to foster new connections and operative pathways fo
r nonvisual information. Since partially sighted students are using their vision
most of the time between lessons, they tend to learn auditory imaging more slow
ly. However, they sometimes have an advantage in that they may have visual image
s to draw upon in learning how to image nonvisually. In other words, the imaging
system seems to be able to apply previous visual experience to developing a non
visual imaging process. Students with light perception or visual memories often
confuse sonar images with visual images. They seem to "see" what they hear. They
may say: "I can still see the wall," even under a blindfold. The brain can inte
rpret sonar sensation in a visual reference - causing confusion between the sens
ory channels. With the exception of very young children, you must explain to stu
dents the difference between what they see, and what they hear. The strategic us
e of blindfolds and isolating headphones or earplugs can be helpful here. Some w
ith poor vision will strain their eyes. But when their use of echoes is brought
to their attention and refined, they may find it less necessary to strain. This
is especially beneficial to those with fragile eye conditions.
3. Although the basic principals are pretty much the same for al
l students, there may be some differences working with recently blind adults, as
opposed to those blind for a long time. For adults, research has shown, and it
is our experience, that a neuralogical adaptation seems to take place, at least
in part, over about 5 years. For children, this may occur in only a year or two.
It is as if the nonvisual channels have warmed up. However, these channels may
be sluggish for recently blind adults. The situation may be somewhat reversed fo
r newly blind adults, vs. congenitally blind people. In the former, the imaging
system may be in tact, craving and reaching for information, ready to assimilate
it into a dynamic, operational image, as it was accustomed to doing with vision
. Yet, the nonvisual channels through which to gather this information may not b
e forth-coming as yet. On the otherhand, congenitally blind people may have mode
rately active channels for conveying nonvisual information, more or less, but if
the student is relatively dependent or restricted, the imaging systems may be u
nder-developed. For recently blind people, the full complement of abilities shou
ld be learnable to a functional level of proficiency. But, this will likely take
longer and require more diligence on the part of the student. Developing these
nonvisual channels may need to be addressed with care so as not to discourage th
e student. However, within a few hours, many students report and express an "ahh
a!" moment in which the echoes flash at them. They often report this as visual,
and sometimes become quite delighted at the experience. Here they are seeing som
ething when they had resigned themselves to never seeing anything again. We ofte
n foster this development by addressing their strengths which usually lie in an
in tact imaging system. I will provide two examples:
First, during a workshop, I worked with a blind woman who had lost her v
ision only a few months before. She was still quite emotional about it, but she
was very motivated and enthusiastic. It was a struggle to foster development of
even the basic skills. She was one who didn't warm up to the panel exercises. Fo
r sensitization work, we had to clarify those stimuli by using actual walls and
corners. One of the exercises involved having her walk along a library book shel
f, and stop where the shelves were empty (which gave off a decidedly hollower so
und. If memory serves (this was 7 years ago), this was her first "ahha!" moment.
Her exclaiming "ahha!" is what gave this technical term its name. Though she ma
de huge progress and expressed her appreciations most wholeheartedly, she did no
t reach the more advanced abilities. The audience of attendees asked two congeni
tally blind rehab counselors from among them if they wouldn't mind undergoing so
me training in the advanced skills, to which they graciously agreed. Here's wher
e the imaging differences were demonstrated. When it came to auditory scene anal
ysis, the congenitally blind adults were good at detecting and describing variou
s stimuli, but couldn't articulate the scene. Whereas the recently blind woman,
once she heard the others describe the stimuli, could do so. For instance, when
looking at someone's front yard, the congenitally blind adults might say, "There
's something broad, tall, and sparse immediately in front of me. Behind it, ther
e seems to be something tall but not so broad, maybe broader near the top. It so
unds more solid. Then, behind that and further away, there seems to be something
large and very solid." But, they often couldn't hazard a guess as to what they
were looking at from a "big picture" perspective. The recently blind woman would
then chime in and say, "Wouldn't this maybe be a fence with a tree behind it, a
nd maybe someone's house behind that?"
On another occasion, I was working with a teenaged boy blind for one yea
r. I began with him by having him show me around his neighborhood in which he'd
grown up. I instructed him to call to mind everything around him as vividly as h
e could remember. "Take me on a tour, and describe everything as if you were see
ing it." This process seemed to stimulate his receptivity to the opening of nonv
isual channels, and I posit that this may be true for many. Don't be afraid to g
et very visual with your recently blind clients, while at the same time applying
the exercise activities to open nonvisual channels.
4. When working with congenitally blind kids, we do not
spend much time specifically on body concepts, backwards chaining (tactile landm
arking), or focusing on the minutia of things like doors, chairs, or whatever el
se we might falsely assume the child doesn't know "because they can't see it." O
ur focus is on child directed (but adult facilitated) discovery. My spatial move
ment skills as a boy were impeccable, as were most of my gross and fine motor sk
ills. I could find my way around anywhere, and take anything apart and put it ba
ck together. Yet, I probably would have scored low on things like body concept,
had there been anyone to assess such a thing (God forbid). I didn't know my righ
t from my left till I was 8. I couldn't tie my shoes till I was 9. When I swung
my arms hard enough, my hands touched something behind me. I don't know how long
it took me to figure out that my hands were just touching each other. I was abs
olutely convinced for ages that the deep end of the pool had no bottom at all, a
nd would have screaming fits if they tried to make me go there. I believed that
there was a hill at every stop light. (Ever notice the car seems to pitch forwar
d when you put on the brakes?) Yet, my travel skills were top notch even at 3 ye
ars old. Not only do we not think that body concept training is particularly imp
ortant, we don't really think we have any way of assessing it properly, or deter
mining what the results of such assessments actually mean. It seems to be assume
d a priori that congenitally blind kids will have problems with body and other s
patial concepts. We have not found this, if the blind child has plenty of opport
unity to explore and discover. This is the basis of many of our lessons with con
genitally blind kids, and of our work with their families. It is in no way based
on the things they shouldn't be doing, but on the freedoms they should be enjoy
ing.
5. Working with very young children: We're not much of believers
in instruction that is very structured. We take a perception/discovery approach
, rather than a skills based approach. This tack seems to work particularly well
with very young children. The youngest child we've taught cane training to was
18 months. The youngest child we've taught FlashSonar to was 2. However, We don'
t believe there's a minimum age. We might ask ourselves "how young can a child s
tart to learn to see." The answer is that children start to learn to see from bi
rth. Likewise, learning to "see" without sight can begin at birth with the right
support. In general, we would say that experiential lessons in discovery are mo
st effective with children. Engage children in what they like to do, which is us
ually play, and work sonar experiences into these. Also, we can't emphasize enou
gh how critical and successful we have found working with the family. Family buy
in can increase the student's success 10 fold. The following few examples may b
e helpful:
a. Find the box: Very young toddlers or infants often li
ke to crawl into or under things. Find a large container, maybe a rubbermade sto
rage container, or an open cardboard, and position the child near it. Entice the
child by talking or making funny noises into it to get their attention. "See ho
w boomy it sounds. Rrrrummmm." Then, see if you can get the child to find it the
mselves. The first time should be easy, because they heard you talk into it. But
then, place the child at different distances and different angles, and encourag
e them to find it.
b. Hide and seek: For older children, we might set up a
game of hide and seek. This works well for groups of blind kids. The rules are t
hat one child counts to whatever while the others hide. They must hide near, und
er, or behind something that is at least as big as they are. This means that the
y have to find such objects. Then, the seeker has to "look" for objects of a cer
tain size, and check if anyone is there. If the seeker has trouble, she can ask
for a hint. The hiders must clap their hands once, and the seeker needs to keep
track of where she heard the signals coming from. You can set a limit on how man
y hints the seeker can ask for. We've found that kids generally very much enjoy
this game.
c. Ball play: You can audify a ball quite easily by plac
ing it into a spare grocery bag, and tieing the handles together loosely around
the ball. Then, we may bounce the ball against the wall, and intercept it as it
comes back. If the student has to chase after the ball, he must maintain echo aw
areness to return to a point within tossing distance from the wall, and square h
imself so the wall is in front. Otherwise, the ball will just continue to bounce
away eskew.
d. Explorer: Here, there is no real goal to the lesson,
other than to explore. We find an area or large building that we think will be o
f interest to the child. Children often like large buildings with lots of corrid
ors, stairways, elevators, and rooms of different types. We try our best to find
everything interesting, and we try our best to keep track of where we are. We l
isten for differences in our surroundings, and keep track of whether things soun
d familiar or different. This exercise can also be performed in an intriguing ou
tdoor area, such as a park. If this park has a playground or nice trees to climb
, so much the better. In one park, there were large stone monuments, and a large
 fountain with steps that went up and around it - quite fascinating to explore,
and wonderful to play hide and seek in.
e. One student liked to ice skate. We practiced having h
im ice skate around the rink while keeping track of the outer railing, and liste
ning for others around him. Another young student liked to ride his tricycle, so
we found an area which had a very long wall, which had some twists and turns in
it. He could ride his tricycle along the wall as much as he liked, and as fast
as he liked. He could even venture away from the wall, as long as he could hear
it well enough to return to it.
f. Counting: Many students like to count things. By usin
g FlashSonar, students can count poles, parked cars, trees, bushes, or open door
ways. To do this, they need to be able to detect and discriminate what the objec
ts are.
VII. Key Components of Instructional Methodology: The following may be preachin
g to the choir for many of you, but we offer this in friendliness.
A. Student Centered Instruction: Based on the person centered approach
of Dr. Karl Rogers, we make every endeavor to place primary emphasis on the stu
dent's style and need of learning, rather than instructor's agenda or body of kn
owledge. The student is the nucleus of instruction, not the instructor. We beli
eve not so much in teaching a student our knowledge, but in fostering a student'
s ability to learn. It is more about drawing out the learning process, The empha
sis, therefore, is on how students learn and what seems salient to them, not on
what the instructor feels they should teach, although instructors do share their
body of knowledge and perspective as appropriate. Also, communication is carefu
lly fostered with the student to understand the student's phenomenalogical frame
of reference - how does a student perceive his world, himself, and others aroun
d him through his senses and his mentality.
B. Self Directed Discovery: This is the most natural way for the brain
to learn, and allows most generalization to the most varied situations. Effecti
ve teaching is about helping students develop a dynamic means of establishing a
relationship with the world for themselves based on their direct awareness of th
e environment through their own senses. In this way, they form their own compreh
ension of what is accurate, effective, adaptive, and what gives them the best ac
cess to what they want and need. We help students to acquire a set of achievemen
t oriented, self directive abilities through their active participation in and d
irection of the learning process. It occurs in challenge situations which may be
engineered or facilitated by the instructor which the student must discover a w
ay to address. Thus, the instructor can help to reinforce and generalize the dev
elopment of this array of self directive abilities. It is done in a more constru
ctivist and less didactic method. The student's intrinsic perceptual feedback an
d comprehension processes are the primary source of learning rather than extrins
ic feedback from the instructor. Thus, control of the learning process rests pri
marily with student centered factors.
C. Strategic Questioning: In general, the best instructor feedback to
students is thought provoking questions. "What can you tell me about that? Wha
t do you think it is? Where do you think it comes from? What does it seem like
? What brought it here? What can you do or not do with it?" and so on. Rather
than giving away information, it is usually best (although not always practical
or feasible) to encourage the student to discover answers through investigation
and critical thinking. "Shall we go find out? How do we get there?" This appro
ach respects what students have going on in their head, and respects and nurture
s their capacity to learn and grow from information they acquire for themselves
from the environment. Questions to students that promote discovery tend to enga
ge and develop the higher brain functions of cognition and perceptual processing
, whereas informative feedback or directive prompts (telling the student what's
around and what to do) tends to trigger and reinforce more primitive brain activ
ity associated with action and reaction. Stimulating higher brain function leads
 to better self direction toward higher achievement in a complex, modern world.
To this end, as a rule, our interactions tend to take the form of questions abo
ut 3 times more often than answers or directive prompts.
D. Commitment to Sovereign Student Right to Accessing Societal Resource
s: Our approach assumes a priori that all students have the sovereign right to
opportunities to participate equitably in society at all levels, according to in
formed choice and personal responsibility. These rights are broken down accordin
g to access to the physical, symbolic, social, psychological, physiological, and
spiritual environments with reference to societal engagement. This does not mea
n that it is society's responsibility to facilitate a blind person's ability to
engage every aspect of the world equivalent to everyone else. We recognize that
blindness can present fundamental challenges to accessing many aspects of the en
vironment. Vision makes use of light which provides a level of detailed resoluti
on that no other sense can come close to matching under circumstances in which l
ight is particularly useful. It is not necessarily society's responsibility to c
hange that basic fact. However, to the extent to which society makes itself and
its exchange of goods, services, and companionship available to its members, we
affirm that it is in society's best interest to make every effort to involve all
its members, including blind people, equitably in this exchange process. Thus,
we consider access to societal resources to be a sovereign right. Full access to
these resources optimizes self directed, achievement in society, and quality of
life. Our goals and objectives are not about what a student needs, because the
needs are already self evident - all students "need" to have their sovereign rig
ht to access societal resources honoured, respected, and facilitated as necessar
y and appropriate. Our goals and objectives are about strategies to meet these n
eeds. We assume that these needs can be addressed respectfully for all students
whose learning style is understood, regardless of the extent of impairment, give
n appropriate strategies and recognition of basic challenges. We further assume
that most students are capable of learning when the learning style is understood
, and that the motivation of most students can be encouraged or triggered by a r
espectful recognition of the student's potential, and commitment to their need f
or access. When we maintain sight of the basic need, our strategies remain true
to that need, and do not become obscured by factors not relevant to the student.
E. Rapport: There is a necessity for rapport based on trust, respect, a
nd amiability. This is imperative, because this provides the student with the se
curity to help them face challenges with improved adaptation. There is a differe
nce between tension and stress. The healthy tension of facing challenge can help
us access the psychological and physiological resources to assimilate new infor
mation in order to meet challenges. Stress or distress can impede access to thes
e same resources. In other words, a distressed organism tends not to be able to
adapt to a novel situation and regain equilibrium. When there is good rapport, t
he student can tune into the relative stability of the teacher, and learn to acc
ess these resources by a kind of empathic modeling. The teacher can also scaffol
d the discovery process and provide reassurance where appropriate. By providing
a kind of security through camaraderie, the teacher frees the student to engage
the equilibration process to face the challenge more adaptively.
F. Teachers are Learners First: The most effective teachers are the mos
t willing learners. One way to help maintain respect for the student's learning
process is to see ourselves always as learners first, and to open ourselves to l
earning from and with our students as much as we teach. We remain always engaged
in the discovery process with our students, rather than conducting the process
for them. If we are not learning as much as we think we're teaching, than we may
not be teaching as much as we think.
G. Systems Dynamics: In respecting the student as the nucleus of the i
nstructional process, we address dynamics of the entire system connected to the
student. This includes their immediate family (first and foremost), extended fam
ily, friends and associates, immediate community (school, work, neighborhood), a
nd anyone working with the student in a professional capacity. The dynamics of t
he system will always maintain more impact on a student than a single instructor
. Therefore, we consider it essential to address the entire system to cultivate
a fertile, broadly supportive context for student learning and growth. Most lear
ning does not occur during instructional sessions, but in the application outsid
e instructional sessions. When the system dynamic is open to and supporting of t
he learning process, opportunities for learning greatly increase in quality and
quantity.
H. Accessing similar perspectives: We make sure in our work with student
s, wherever possible, that we access individuals who have extended and experienc
e similar to the student's condition. We try to enlist people with certain type
of partial vision that may resemble the student's, total blindness, or other hea
lth complications. Where possible, we try to involve these individuals and the d
evelopment and implementation of the instructional process. For example, having
a partially sighted person help in teaching a monocular lesson, or lesson in usi
ng a CCTV, Or gaining insight into how a partially sighted student might see and
why.
In short, do not settle for the minimum requirements for functioning, bu
t instead reaches for the limits beyond our limits. We work with our students to
help them understand that they have the ability to direct their own lives rich
with quality, promise, and as much excitement and intrigue as they could wish fo
r. They need not passively rely on the good graces of others, but can make it on
their own good graces, and share these graces in a worthy manner with others.
VIII. ESTABLISHING ORIENTATION RELATIVE TO POINTS OF REFERENCE
A. Maintaining various facing relative to a flat surface (see exercise V
i-C-4-a-(5)).
B. Orienting to and moving toward an object: Position student about 8 fe
et from a wall and ask him to approach the wall directly. Increase the distance
over time to 60 feet or more. Some students may need to be reminded to face the
wall first before moving toward it. If student has difficulty with this, it may
help to place a sound source (the radio) at the wall, and gradually reduce the v
olume of the radio so that the sonar sense will take over (see VI-G). It may als
o be easier for some students to localize and approach walls more distant first,
then closer. For some students, the time delay aspect of sonar at distances is
easier to hear than phase cancellation at close distances. Students should also
learn to approach smaller objects, such as a pole, tree, or bush. It is common f
or children to meander around an object, even when they know where it is. It is
as if they're nervous system hasn't attached movement to auditory perception, su
ch that auditory perception can guide movement. The student may need to practice
turning first, then moving toward the pole. Finding the trunk of a tree may als
o be done, but the presence of the canopy may reduce the figure ground of the tr
unk.
C. Student should practice moving toward a wall from a distance, then gr
acefully turning before reaching the wall and walking parallel to the wall.
D. Alcove and interior corner location: This is simply an activity to le
arn to find a corner. A corner is needed with at least 3 meters of clear space b
efore it. This may include detection of alcoves, such as an entrance alcove. Thi
s can be done in an auditorium setting. The student is positioned so that he is
facing oblique to the corner. The student practices turning and moving directly
to the corner. Some students may need to be reminded to turn their body first to
face the corner, then move toward it. Distance should increase to about 15 feet
. One can have a student move from one corner of a room diagonally to the other,
sensing the opening of the corner behind them as they move away, and the closin
g in of the corner in front of them as they move toward. The room can be 15 by 1
5 at first, but then larger rooms should be used. It can also help to place vari
ous obstacles in the way, between the corners. The student may not be expected t
o detect all the obstacles without touching them, but should be able to maintain
orientation and direction from one corner to the next while navigating among th
e scatter of obstacles.
1. Students should first be able to turn toward and travel direc
tly to a blank wall from 20 or 30 feet.
2. If student is having trouble, it may help to position student
about 5 feet away from the corner such that she is exactly facing the corner. H
ave her feel it with her cane. Then, ask her to turn and face "the right wall",
then "the left wall" just as if turning her head to the panel or wall. It may al
so help to have students find the alcove first before finding a corner. She may
wish to practice finding the opening to a large alcove, and traveling into and o
ut of it.
E. Tracking Course Boundaries: This involves being able to guide one's m
otion auditorily along borders and boundaries, such as walls, fences, a row of p
oles, lines of foliage, hallways, or aisleways in stores and parking lots. Start
with solid, continuous surfaces before moving to sparse or intermittent feature
s. Also, start with shorter distances before increasing distance. Distance may b
e increased to about 30 feet; wide corridors may be found in transit stations, a
irports, and suburban alley ways. When boundaries consist of clusters of element
s, such as tables and chairs in a restaurant, individual elements of the path bo
undary may not be discernable, but these often cluster or aggregate to become de
tectable as a unit. For example, when winding one's way through a food court or
restaurant, one may easily be able to thread one's way pretty gracefully among t
he furniture with minimal contact, without necessarily being able to distinguish
or recognize any given piece. Encourage students to move at a moderate or brisk
pace, as this will make this exercise easier. If they have trouble, it may help
to use the radio pointed at the wall. It may also help to use the stimulus shif
t paradigm (VI-G) - placing the radio at the end of a long stretch of wall at th
e same distance that the student is to walk from the wall, such that the student
walks directly toward the radio. Lower the volume over time so that the sonar t
akes over. Have student turn an exterior corner and maintain parallel distance.
Some students may find it easier to travel straight down a corridor before paral
leling a single wall. Also, it may help some students to do the centering exerci
se (see Viii-F).
F. Centering: Here, students learn to center themselves between two surf
aces. Find or arrange two more or less flat surfaces about 8 feet apart. The two
surfaces should be approximately similar in nature. It is best if the two surfa
ces are in an otherwise open area. They could be tables stood on end, or parked
cars, or trash bens, or a wide corridor, or easels holding large boards. (The su
rfaces don't necessarily need to be precisely flat, but they should be uniform t
o each other.) Situate student midway between the two surfaces, and explain that
she is centered. Have her feel the equal distance with her cane. Then, disorien
t and re-situate with the student much closer to one side, and ask "which side a
re you closest to." (Young children often cannot answer this question when put t
his way, even when they know the answer. It often helps to ask "which side can y
ou reach right out and touch?" Or, "go to the side you can touch the easiest or
quickest.") Then, re-situate students so that they're near the center, but defin
itely not centered, and ask them to center themselves. They will often get close
and say they are. It very often helps to then simply say, "You're close, but yo
u're closer to one side than the other. Which one?" Nine time out of ten when as
ked this question, the students can state correctly which side they're closes to
, and center themselves more closely. We don't expect exact centering right away
. If they're within a few inches, we just tell them they're good. I don't push f
or "exact" centering until they've advanced considerably. Increase the distances
between the two surfaces to about 50 feet apart. (For this, the surface should
be large, like between two buildings.) If they really can't get it, then refresh
using flat panels "which one's closer?" (see VI-C-4-a). It may also help to ski
p to the surfaces far apart first, then move to the closer ones.)
G. Circling: The student should be able to walk in a circle around a lar
ge-ish object in either direction, and stop at the point of beginning. It doesn'
t need to be a circular object; it may be a minivan, large column, kiosk, a disp
lay case, a tree, or whatever. The object being traveled around should stand in
otherwise pretty open space. Large objects should come first before smaller obje
cts, such as poles or bushes. There should be some defining feature that indicat
es the starting point. It can be the presence of another object, such as a dista
nt building, or it can be another noise, such as traffic sounds. A student might
even be ask to use a compass or the sun, or the wind, or some unique characteri
stic in the ground. Otherwise, the space should be fairly open at first, but can
be more congested later. Some beginning students may wander far and wide from t
he circle, not realizing they've lost it, because it fades gradually out of thei
r perception. When a subtle stimulus fades gradually, one often doesn't realize
it's fading until it's gone. Stabilizing attention often helps, here. We may ask
, "Where's that (thing)?" Students can often reorient themselves quite well just
by this question. They may need to stop, reorient, then continue.
IX. NEGOTIATING OBSTACLES:
A. The traveler can learn to move among obstacles, maintaining goal dire
ctedness, with little or no physical contact with obstacles through body or cane
. We generally start by approaching and avoiding a single, large, solid, station
ary obstacle first, before advancing to smaller, sparser, possibly moving obstac
les. We further advance to threading one's way among obstacles, while maintainin
g orientation. Obstacular environments may include department stores, furniture
stores, parking lots, restaurants, classrooms, forests, or any cluttered space.
Children may have the advantage here, because their reduced height makes everyth
ing around them perspectively larger and more detectable.
B. Precision detection exercises can help to develop this skill. For exa
mple, have a student pass through a doorway on repeated occasions while slowly c
losing the door (thus narrowing the gap) with each trial. The student needs to d
etermine the breadth of the opening, and ease through it without touching the si
des. Also, having a student locate, reach for, and touch a pole without fishing
for it can foster precision movement.
C. An advanced form of this skill involves what we call agrogating one's
surroundings. When threading one's way through dense patches of obstacles and m
aintaining one's goal directedness, one does not need to distinguish and identif
y every single obstacle in order to be able to go around it. One should learn to
chunk or agrogate the obstacles in order to get better cues about alignment. Th
is can improve tracking course boundaries, especially if the boundaries are comp
rised of disjointed features rather than a solid border. A group of 3 or 4 table
s might become one line. A bush with a tree or bench might become another line.
A sign with a planter box and a mail drop box might become a third line, and so
on - or all can be followed as one long line. It is like mentally drawing a line
connecting multiple points; one can't take a line very well with just one point
. In this way, the student isn't overwhelmed or disoriented by each obstacle, or
lost between obstacles.
X. IDENTIFICATION OF FEATURES AND ELEMENTS: All objects, features, and events in
space are constructed of dimension (height, breadth), location (distance, later
ality, elevation), and density (solid, sparse, absorption). (See IV.) We can use
this language to help students describe what they are hearing. A pole, for inst
ance, is tall, uniformly narrow, and solid. A bush is sparse, broader, and short
. A tree is narrow and solid near the bottom, but becomes broad and sparse with
increased elevation; its breadth and laterality increase. Stairs are solid and n
ear toward the bottom, but get further away with elevation. Here is where stimul
us association, clarification, and comparison can really help students to unders
tand what they're hearing, and learn to register and describe subtler characteri
stics. The question, "what does this remind you of," (association) can often sti
mulate realization about an event being beheld. Sometimes densely pact foliage w
ill register as solid, because of the strong reflection of acoustic energy, unti
l it is directly compared with something solid.
XI. ENVIRONMENTAL LAYERING / SCENE ANALYSIS (we also call this gestalting): A st
udent can learn to describe and image multiple events and layers of the environm
ent. An example might be a bush in front of a wall, or a tree behind a fence, wi
th a wall building behind that. The student should be encouraged to describe wha
t she can hear most clearly, clarify that image, then concentrate on other eleme
nts. It's all in awareness of depth and distance cues, combined with distinction
s in density. Distinctions in density may be likened to color contrast perceptio
n. Density distinctions can serve to make some objects really stand out from oth
ers. "What is close to you? What seems further away? How are they different?" Th
en, given what the student describes of the entire scene, what is their overall
impression? "What is the picture? What are we looking at?" In our experience, mo
re recently blinded people may be better at the imaging, the overall picture, ev
en if their actual perceptions are more dull than students blind early in life.
We believe this is because they have a lot of visual experience of the way scene
s are arranged in the world. A long blinded person may be able to describe a sce
ne quite accurately in terms of its characteristics, but still not be able to id
entify the object or scene the way one who has "seen it all" can. Of course, bl
ind kids who were free and encouraged to explore their environment prolifically
can usually identify scenes quite well.
XII. DYNAMIC ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION (self orientation): Here, we put it all t
ogether. Ultimately, we want to foster students' ability to establish orientatio
n and direct themselves through space. We move through the environment in a goal
directed way, registering and processing all the elements.
A. Street crossing: The student can learn to register elements part way
or all the way across a street, and use this information as a kind of beacon to
guide movement while crossing. It is like crossing to a wall, except that we are
processing other stimuli (traffic) as well. The attention is NEVER taken away f
rom the traffic; that must be the primary cue. But, sonar goal direction can be
closely secondary. We start with quieter streets first, then move to noisy. Sona
r and sound shadowing can also help to register quiet cars at rest, and warn aga
inst large quiet vehicles in motion. It isn't necessarily the complete answer to
"what do we do with silent cars", but it can provide an additional layer of war
ning and protection.
B. Crossing a parking lot: This is a combination of orienting toward an
object (a far off building) and negotiating obstacles, both stationary and movin
g. Once we near the building, other features of the building can be determined t
o help us direct our course to the entrance. The entrance is often located in an
alcove. Of course, there may also be other auditory cues suggestive of the entr
ance.
C. Self Orientation: Students can learn to orient themselves to any new
area. The exercise might go something like this:
1. Choose a large, complex space - a park, school or college cam
pus, transit station, playground, or shopping center.
2. Establish a highly audible, distinctive point of reference, o
r point of departure. This is often a large alcove or corner where two buildings
meet. It should be detectable from 50 feet away or so.
3. The students practice leaving the point of reference, and loc
ating three to five distinct elements of the environment. They should be distinc
tive from each other. Student may touch them for varification, but should identi
fy them, or at least describe them first. The student should then return to the
point of reference, then go back to locate and identify each of the elements the
y had found. Students should not just keep to pathways, but should be encouraged
or even required (as part of the exercise) to cut across open space. (That's wh
ere the most fun is.) Objects might include distinctive trees or poles, park ben
ches, trashcans, pavilions, fences, retaining walls, other buildings of unique c
haracter, steps, bushes or hedges and other plants, distinctive arrangements of
objects, a particular vehicle in a nearby lot, etc. The student should be encour
aged to repeat the exercise with larger numbers of elements or different element
s - not more than 10, but the elements should be further and further from the po
int of reference. Ultimately, the student will establish other key points of ref
erence relative to each other, and objects or features of smaller detail relativ
e to those. Students may use other aids to help, such as a compass. The student
may also make occasional use of public assistance if they've lost their bearings
in returning to the reference point. Engagement of public assistance is an acce
ptible means of wayfinding. However, for sonar exercises, we encourage use of so
nar as the primary means of information gathering and self direction. So, we ask
that engagement of public assistance be kept to a minimum at first, until we fi
nd the sonar sense developing. Obviously, if the student continues to struggle w
ith this advanced despite all instructional efforts, mutual engagement of public
assistance can become the primary means of wayfinding for some students. This c
ould even be a great GPS exercise where students practice mapping their environm
ent. In fact, a very advanced student may create a tactile map of what they find
. This process can be applied to orient oneself confidently and enjoyably to any
type of space.
XIII. GROUP ACTIVITIES: Some of these exercises, particularly the last few, can
be quite conducive to student groups. Students can help each other to register o
bject characteristics and identify objects, image scenes and discuss what is per
ceived, and actively find their way around new spaces. The group energy often he
lps and encourages students to reach heights they might not otherwise reach. The
group dynamic can serve as a tremendously motivating process. It's very interes
ting and powerful to observe a group of students come to consensus about what th
ey perceive, and how best to find their way.
XIV. Self Exercises for Stimulating the Sonar Perception: Although these exercis
es are meant for those working with students to stimulate your own sonar sense,
you can do any of these with your students as beginning exercises.
A. Procure a large and small wide mouth container. Glass jars are good;
seashells are excellent. Speak into the open air, then into each container. Note
how the containers sound different from the open air, and from each other. Clos
e your eyes, and have someone hold the containers in front of you as you speak.
Try to hear when the container is in front of you, and which one is the smallest
or largest. Have someone else speak, and, with eyes closed, you guess which con
tainer is which.
B. Hold the mouths of the containers to your ear. What do you hear from
them? Do you recall the "ocean in the seashell" phenomenon? It is only sound ref
lecting inside the container. Can you hear the difference between small and larg
e containers? Put each container at each ear simultaneously. Can you hear how ea
ch sounds different? With your eyes closed, have someone present the containers
randomly to each ear. Can you tell when the container is present or absent? Can
you tell which container is which, large vs. small?
C. Position yourself about a foot from a blank wall. Take a deep breath,
and, with closed eyes, pivot your body while slowly exhaling in a "shshsh" soun
d. What happens to the "shshsh" sound as you turn your face away from the wall?
How about toward the wall? While pivoting, try to hear when you are facing direc
tly toward the wall. If the "shshsh" doesn't work for you, try an "aaaaaah" soun
d.
D. Position yourself about 4 feet from the wall. Take a deep breath, and
, with closed eyes, approach the wall while slowly exhaling a "shshsh" or suitab
le sound. Now, step away from the wall while exhaling. See if you can bring your
self to within 6 inches of the wall without touching it. How about 3 inches?
E. Stand in the middle of a sparsely furnished room with your eyes close
d, and turn slowly while exhaling the "shshsh" or suitable sound. See if you can
locate the a corner. Begin walking, and see if you can find the corner.
F. In a car find a residential street with several vehicles parked along
it. (A parking lot will not do for this exercise.) Open the window, and, as you
drive, listen carefully to the sound of the car every time you pass a parked ve
hicle. The sound fluctuates. If you can get someone else to drive, try this with
closed eyes, and listen through the passenger window. The effect is more pronou
nced here. You may even be able to tell by listening whether the street is heavi
ly lined with parked cars, or sparsely so.
G. In an area familiar to you, try walking with a blindfold and long-can
e. Try perceiving things around you by echoes. Do not try to ascertain exact loc
ations of things, just strive for a sense of things flowing about you as you wal
k. Try clicking your tongue. Do you hear the shifting directions and distances o
f things as you move among them? Mobility instructors may find that doing this a
t least once or twice a week will help them in sonar training with students, and
to comprehend their own cognitive process struggling to integrate nonvisual inf
ormation for efficient travel. Your students do this all the time.
H. Try accompanying your better students under a blindfold in an area fa
miliar to you. Practice sonar navigation with them. Let them help you. They will
love it, and you will both learn something.