The Most Famous Handicapped Person in the World
- Sep 3, 2015
- 3 min read
Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in Alabama. She was a born as a healthy baby, but when she was one and a half years old, she had a high fever and a bad headache for a few days. Although Helen survived, her parents soon realized that she had lost both her sight and her hearing. As Helen was growing up, she tried communicating with others by using simple signs. However, she would get frustrated because she realized that she was different and it was extremely difficult for her to communicate with others by using signs. As a result, she would sometimes throw tantrums.
Helen's parents soon realized her need for special help. They contacted the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston. The director suggested Annie Sullivan. Annie was a former student, and she had been blind, but had her eyesight was restored through surgery. Annie came to work with Helen on March 3, 1887 and became Helen’s companion for the next 50 years.
Annie started teaching Helen words by pressing the letters of words into Helen's hand. For example, she would put a doll in one of Helen's hands and then press the letters of the word D-O-L-L into the other hand. She also taught Helen a number of words.
However, Helen still didn't quite understand that. Until one day Annie puts Helen's hand into water coming from a pump. Then she spelled "W-A-T-E-R" into Helen's other hand. Something clicked. Immediately, Helen bent down and tapped the ground; Anne spelled "E-A-R-T-H" and that day, Helen learned 30 words. Helen would then, repeat the words into Annie's hand.
Then, Annie taught Helen how to read. Helen must have been very bright because Helen learnt to read books in Braille. It's truly incredible that despite being blind and deaf, Helen could still read. Annie too was an amazing teacher. By the time Helen was ten, she learnt not just to read, but also to use a typewriter.
Helen also learned to speak when she was ten by feeling her teacher's mouth when she talked. Often people found it hard to understand her, but she never gave up. Can you imagine that she learned to read French, German, Greek, and Latin in braille. At sixteen years old Helen attended Radcliffe College, the women’s branch of Harvard University in Massachusetts. Annie attended school with her and helped to sign the lectures into Helen's hand. Helen graduated from Radcliffe in 1904 with honors.
Helen began writing her experiences to a magazine called the Ladies' Home Journal. Later, these articles were published together as a book called The Story of My Life which was translated into about 50 different languages. A few years later, in 1908, she published another book called The World I Live In.
Helen also did research, gave speeches, and helped raise money for many organizations, such as the American Foundation for the Blind and the American Foundation for the Overseas Blind, which is now called Helen Keller Worldwide. From 1946 and 1957, she went around the world, speaking about the experiences and rights of people who are blind. She visited 39 countries on five different continents! Helen also inspired two Oscar-winning movies, and received dozens of awards, such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor that an American civilian can receive. She died in her sleep at 88 in 1968.
Adapted from Bio.
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