Boy Who Sees Without Eyes, The
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Synopsis
An extraordinary technique developed by an extraordinary young boy

Ben Underwood has been completely blind since the age of three when he lost both eyes to retinal cancer. Yet he zooms around on a skateboard, shoots basketball hoops and dodges lampposts and parked cars unaided; all thanks to an extraordinary sound technique he has developed.

He’s learned to perceive his surroundings and accurately locate objects by making a series of clicking sounds with his tongue. He listens for their echoes as they bounce off any surfaces around him. Soft echoes mean metal surfaces, dense ones indicate wood and sharp ones tell him if something is glass. Judging by how loud or faint they are, Ben is able to gauge distances with incredible precision. The technique is called echolocation – used in a highly developed form by bats and dolphins. Ben lives with his large, outgoing family in Sacramento, California. Mum, Aquanetta is 42 and a fantastic larger-than-life character, who has always taught Ben he can learn to do anything. When he lost his eyes she told her infant son “you can see me with your hands, you can see me with your nose, you can see me with your ears” and has never let him think of himself as disabled. She fought for him not to use a white stick and attend a normal school. Like any other 14 year old boy Ben is into music, skateboarding and girls. But Ben’s life will change. Currently he’s in his comfort zone – he’s got his family, his friends and a familiar community. Like any adolescent he wants greater independence, but he is daunted by the thought of the day when he leaves home for college. The key to Ben’s success will be his use of echolocation which, during this programme, will be examined, tested and developed.

Duration
1 x 50'
Definition
SD
Genre
Factual
Subgenre
Extraordinary People
Producer
Dragonfly Film and Television Productions, formerly Firefly Productions