Home


World Access for the Blind, Our Vision is Sound, Perceptual Navigation and Enterprise Consulting. Welcome to our archive. Please click here to visit our new .org and .com sites. silhouettes  moving against a background of blue and grey sound waves include Daniel Kish with full length cane, a woman hiking with a cane and trekking pole, two cyclists, and a child kicking a soccerball in a plastic bag.



Our Services: Personal, Group, Academic, Enterprise, Media, Tech. Our range of services helps individual families, companies and more to adapt to blindness in a positive way. Personal: Counseling, Guidance and Training based on the evaluated needs of the student. Group: FlashSonar workshops for blind and sighted students/families/instructor trainees. Academic: Advisory consulting services for Auditory & Vision research; School lectures. Enterprise: Accessibility (ADA) consulting, FlashSonar workshops, Keynote Speakers, Employee Learning and Development. Media: Expert consultants for Movies/TV; Keynote Speakers, Guests for Talk TV/Radio. Tech: Consulting services available for testing and evaluating Assistive tech apps and devices.

Help us share life-changing Perceptual Freedom. We depend on your support. Click here to make a donation. Photo of a light blue silhouette of Daniel Kish walking with a full-length cane against a deeper blue background.

World Access For The Blind Footer Banner shows the silhouette icon of Daniel Kish and the FlashSonar waves against expanding soundwaves and soundbars against a global map all in various shades of blue. Text reads: World Access For The Blind +1.866.396.7035 | info@waftb.org World Access For The Blind 650 North Rose Drive, #208, Placentia, California, 92870, USA Copyright 2000-2016 by World Access For The Blind | Click here to go to our new Home page.

WE ARE:
-Activators of Change
-Champions of Freedom
-Blind Discoverers
-Challengers of Limits
-Modern Scientists

David Tseng, a completely-blind former student, navigates mountain biking through the use of FlashSonar. David has gone on to graduate from UC-Berkeley with degrees in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science and is now a software engineer at Google.

Video: Catch a Glimpse of What We Do

World Access for the Blind is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit organization that facilitates the self-directed achievement of people with all forms of blindness, and increases public awareness about the strengths and capabilities of blind people.

We have served over 10,000 students in nearly 40 countries. We are a dedicated team who lead by example , as most of us are blind! Our unique, scientific method teaches blind people to see in new ways by activating the brain to gain images of the world through sound and touch - like lighting a match in the dark. We are known for our No Limits attitude, as we do not settle for the minimum requirements of functioning, but instead challenge ourselves and our students to reach beyond their limits. Our students understand that they can direct their own lives rich with quality, promise, and as much excitement and intrigue as they could wish for. By our approach, blind people can grow from being passive recipients, often marginalized and restricted, to active contributors free to achieve a quality of life of their own choosing. Through your generous support, we help more blind children and adults globally to improve their quality of life, to challenge poverty and social isolation, and to find freedom to realize their dreams.

Check us out on Facebook, Twitter and Youtube! Facebook icon Twitter icon Youtube icon

Picture 1: Daniel Kish, President of World Access for the Blind, leads a group of blind hikers. Recreational activities such as hiking are a valuable way for the blind to build confidence, improve their navigation skills, and fully participate in society. (Photo by: Volker Correll) Picture 2: Our instructor Brian Bushway works with 12-year-old student Jake Olson to help him navigate his neighborhood and to adjust to recently losing his vision. Jake is a strong and inspiring young man who was featured on ESPN

Featured News and Activities

Daniel Kish: Top Ten TED Talks for 2015,

TED: Truth and Dare, Vancouver - March, 2015

Daniel Kish Delivers a warmly stirring and personal perspective on his own life, blindness, and helping others to navigate their challenges.
"THANK YOU. you were wonderful! You've got an amazingly compelling way of speaking -- curiosity and intelligence and interest oozing out of every phrase that you utter. It's so listenable to! Some speakers talk as if they're sleep walking. You talk as if you're alive and thinking through every word, and I absolutely love that!" - Chris Anderson

‘We All Face the Dark Unknown’

SUCCESS Magazine - August, 2015
Shelley Levitt

"How Daniel Kish, who’s been sightless since he was 13 months old, taught himself to see through the blindness—to find vision in the echoes" Daniel's well received TED talk led to his interview with Success Magazine. This captivating article features Brian Bushway and Daniel illustrating the process of seeing with sound. It investigates how blind people learning to see are helping everyone learn to see more clearly to navigate life's unknowns with less fear and greater purpose. The article quotes generously from Daniel's TED talk.

Daniel Kish Voted Talk of the Day at PopTech

October, 2011

Daniel Delivers a genuinely personal perspective on his own life, blindness, and helping others to claim their freedom. Includes special videos. "THANK YOU, again, for your participation in PopTech this year. I heard nothing but great things about your talk" - Andrew Zolli, CEO and Head Curator

The New Age of Exploration: Modern Risk Takers

National Geographic Magazine - July, 2013

Daniel Kish is among a handful of modern explorers showcased to comemborate 125 years of National Geographic. Includes videos.

The Blind Individuals Who See By Sound

DiscoverMagazine - May, 2015
Berit Brogaard, Kristian Marlow

"How the human brain adapts to blindness and allows us to see our world through echolocation."

IS It Possible to See without Sight? - Brian Bushway

Discovery Canada: Daily Planet - April 9, 2015

Brian is put to the challenge of using his FlashSonar to describe a random sculpture for a forensic artist to draw, unseen. If video linked above is restricted, try this.

Seeing Through Sound

CNN International: Vital Signs - June 18, 2014
Sanjay Gupta

Touchingly thought provoking coverage of one of our Perceptual navigation instructors, Brian Bushway, and Daniel Kish conducting a family workshop with Juan Ruiz in Nuernberg, Germany. Includes some balanced controversy.

Activating Creativity: Lessons learned from the blind who have learned to see

Proctor And Gamble World Design Conference - October, 2013
Daniel Kish, Keynote

The Human Eclipse - J Louchart - Short Edit

The Weather Channel: Freaks of Nature - January, 2014

J Louchart, one of our Perceptual Navigation Coaches, demonstrates FlashSonar under strong wind and heavy snow conditions.

The Blind Man Who Taught Himself to See

Men's Journal - March, 2011

About Daniel Kish and his work through World Access for the Blind to help blind people to find sound vision. Voted 6th best read of 2011 by Reader's Digest.

Guinness World Records: Juan Ruiz

TV Italy - April, 2011

By invitation of Guinness Italy, Juan, who is totally blind, sets the world record for blind bicycling through a random obstacle course using only FlashSonar. He gave a stirring speech that made the audience cry.

John Pak on FlashSonar

TEDxCambridge - November, 2011

"John Pak helps us understand how to navigate a sighted world without sight." Gives a perspective on Daniel Kish's training his "super hero power" when he was an 11 year old boy.

Brain Awareness Week 2014

Prof. Mel Goodale (Brain and Mind Institute) and Brian Bushway (World Access for the Blind)
Keynote Speakers
The Center for Integrative Neuroscience: University of Nevada, Reno

Bat Navigation Inspires Charity's Method to Aid the Blind

Chronical of Philanthropy - October 2, 2011

"World Access for the Blind uses unconventional methods to help people walk, bike, hike, and play without relying on anyone else."