Diagnosed with retinal cancer at the age of two, Ben Underwood had his eyes removed at the age of three.

Encouraged by his family, Ben learned how to apply human echolocation. This is the ability to sense objects by hearing echoes from them. Here is how echolocation is described on the site devoted to Ben: This ability is used by some blind people to navigate within their environment. They actively create sounds, such as by tapping their canes or by making clicking noises with their mouths. Human echolocation is similar in principle to active sonar and to the animal echolocation employed by some animals, including bats and dolphins.

He used echolocation to accomplish such feats as running, playing basketball, riding a bicycle, rollerblading, playing football, and skateboarding.

Ben traveled around the country speaking to young people and encouraging them to never give up. Even though problems will come and we will have obsticles, never lose faith that you can do it!

Sadly, Ben passed away a week before his seventeenth birthday, by the same cancer that first took his eyes. Although his life was short, he left behind a legacy of hope, courage and inspiration only a few can match.

Due to his success in beating his blindness, many organizations were encouraged to teach his technique to blind children around the world, who are now learning how to build up detailed images of the world around them by clicking their tongue and interpreting the sound as it echoes back, just like Ben did.

According to bibalex.org and benunderwood.com