Senses & Aging Symposium to examine blindness, Charles Bonnet syndrome

Daniel Kish, a blind orientation-and-mobility specialist known for teaching human echolocation, and Jaymes Squires, Kidron Bethel Village’s dining services manager, will present at the Senses & Aging Symposium from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, in North Newton, according to an event notice published by Bethel College Mennonite Church.

The biennial symposium, titled “Charles Bonnet Syndrome,” will be held in Kidron Hall at Kidron Bethel Village, 3001 Ivy Drive.

Kish, who has been blind since he was 13 months old, navigates by making tongue clicks and interpreting echoes reflected from nearby objects, a technique known as human echolocation. His official biography says he has worked with more than 1,000 blind students and tens of thousands of professionals and blindness-community members in more than 40 countries.

Squires is legally blind and works as dining services manager at Kidron Bethel Village. He graduated from Wichita State University in December 2024 with a Bachelor of General Studies, according to a university profile, which said he planned to pursue a master’s degree in orientation and mobility.

Charles Bonnet syndrome involves visual hallucinations in people with significant vision loss who generally understand that the images are not real. The condition is associated with reduced visual input and is not itself a mental illness, according to the National Health Service. A systematic review and meta-analysis estimated that it affects about one in five low-vision patients age 40 or older, although reported rates vary.

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