Ben Underwood's Running Away

Can humans learn echolocation, a technique bats and dolphins use to see and communicate? An African American Californian boy has mastered it and taught others to as well. Ben Underwood, a child who went blind at the age of three, learned to cope with his disabilities and learned how to see using echolocation, inspiring blind children all over the world. Although Underwood is blind, his disabilities hardly inhibited him from acting like a regular teenager, playing sports and enjoying life. Underwood used clicks from his tongue to echo off objects, warning him where the objects were located. This process is called echolocation. This allowed him to act and seem like a boy without a disability. He was also able to play PlayStation, memorizing the sounds the game makes, which allowed him to play the game without actually seeing it. Essentially, he saw with his ears, a skill common to bats, but unheard of in humans. Underwood’s mom, Aquanetta, pushed him to his limits, and inspired

Although his family was grieving over Underwood’s death, his mother decided to look for a light in the dark in the terrible event. She decided to write a book about raising such an exceptional child. She felt strongly that parents of exceptional children can learn a great deal if they simply pay attention to their kids. Children with disabilities perceive the world in an entirely different way than others, and through sharing his story, Ben’s mother felt she could help to prevent others parents from overlooking this fact. Although he was no longer sharing his courage with the world, his mother’s book aimed to continue to share his gift. Underwood knew his life was far from ordinary, and he was never afraid of his death. When Ben was told by his mother he might die from the cancer, he bravely stated, “You just get ready to meet me