– I make a clicking sound, listen for the echo, and find it. The twins Luca and Noah were born seven years ago. Noah could see, but Luca was blind. Nevertheless, the little boy can see – in his own way. There are few others in Norway who know the method Luca uses to find his way around. Photo: Frida Brembo / news Since he was nine months old, he has used a cane and sonar signals, or clicking sounds, to find his way around. – My body sees things for me, explains Luca. But there is hardly anyone in Norway who can teach this method. As a bat At Evenes Vision and Coping Center in Nordland, Luca learns the method called echolocation. It means interpreting the physical surroundings using reflected sound. Most objects emit an audible echo. It is the same technique that bats use to find their way around. They also make clicking sounds to orientate themselves. The reflections reveal information about, for example, distance and matter: German Dave Janischak is self-taught and uses the method daily – Ridiculous that blind children don’t learn it earlier The method was developed by American Daniel Kish. He is also blind, and learned as a child how to navigate without sight. news has previously featured Daniel Kish, who was the first to learn this method. This has made him a world leader in the technique. Some facts about partially sighted and blind people It is believed that more than 320,000 people lived with visual impairment in Norway in 2018. Around 80 percent of sensory impressions come from sight. The number of practically blind people in Norway is almost 9,300. Well 37 million of the world’s population are blind and 124 million are partially sighted. Every year, 1.5 million blind and partially sighted children are born in the world. Source: Blindeforbundet Recently he was in Northern Norway to teach the method. He had Thomas Tvedt with him. Tvedt is the first in Norway to train as an instructor in the method. Daniel Kish, Luca’s father and Thomas Tvedt helps Luca learn the echolocation technique Photo: Frida Brembo / news – Very few know anything about how hearing and vision work, says Tvedt. He first met Kish as a 22-year-old. Then he learned the technique that changed the world for him. – Everyday life before and after has changed radically. I went from 5 percent vision to almost “seeing” everything. I stopped going to rubbish bins, for example, says Tvedt. But the fact that he had to wait 22 years was far too long, he thought. CLICK SOUNDS: Since Luca was 9 months old, he has been using sonar signals, or clicking sounds, to find his way around. – I think it is completely ridiculous that blind children do not learn this as early as possible, says Tvedt. Now he will be available to everyone else who wants to learn echolocation in the future. Marthe Berg, vision and mobility educator at Evens is happy to have Tvedt at the centre, but she would prefer to have more instructors who know echolocation. – There is a reason why we want echolocation on family courses. We want parents and children to become familiar with the methods so that they can choose for themselves whether it is something they want to learn. I don’t think it will take over for the blind. It is assumed that there are approximately 10,000 blind and partially sighted people in Norway today. About 1,000 of them are under the age of 50, according to the Association of the Blind. Federation leader of the Blind Association, Terje André Olsen, says that it is good that Norway is now getting its first authorized person in echolocation. – Although it is said that you get better at not using your hearing when you are not seeing, there is no automaticity in that you get the sense of space with your hearing when you are not seeing. Terje André Olsen, leader of the Norwegian Association of the Blind, says it is not a given that people are only positive about using clicking sounds to find their way around. He believes that this will also be a trade-off for whether echolocation becomes widespread in Norway. Photo: Tom Egil Jensen – These are things that require training, or that you have been used to it over a long period of time. But even if there are now more people learning the technique in Norway, the head of the federation does not believe that echolocation will take over for the blind any time soon. – I think those who benefit from it will also benefit from combining it with other aids such as a cane that helps at close range. Echolocation works more at a distance. The children need time to learn the method. Kish believes there is still a long way to go in getting enough instructors within this method in Norway. – The most important thing is that they get the opportunity to test the method. You can’t learn it if you don’t get the opportunity and the freedom to practice, says Kish. Therefore, the instructors spend a lot of time explaining to parents that they must support their child in exploring the technique. Luca’s father, Preben Mathieu-Bjerke, agrees. Luca practices locating himself with clicking sounds together with the instructors Kish and Tvedt and their fathers. Photo: Frida Brembo / news – Especially now that he is getting older, he uses sound more and more, but he is like most seven-year-olds and knows best himself. Still, they motivate him as best they can. – We think it’s great that he gets the opportunity to learn more about echolocation from the leading capacity in the world. This can change the lives of blind people, says Mathieu-Bjerke.
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Blind Luca (7) clicks his tongue to see – Norway has got its first instructor in echolocation – news Nordland
