Helen Part 1

Many are familiar with the story of Helen Keller and how she, through the help of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, learned how to communicate and write through the use of sign language. She wasn’t born without sight or hearing. In fact, she was said to have been a very bright child. According to The Faith of Helen Keller, she had “a quick mind and the joy in life that only the very young can know.” It wasn’t until she was 19 months old that an illness gradually took her hearing and sight. The very last word she ever spoke was “water.” Imagine being plunged into a world of darkness without a sound at such a young age. She later spoke of this difficult time and said, “I felt as if invisible hands were holding me, and I made frantic efforts to free myself. I struggled — not that struggling helped matters … I generally broke down in tears and physical exhaustion.” She spent five years in darkness and silence before the miraculous happened.

“The most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher came to me.”

—Helen Keller

One day, while Hellen Keller’s mother was reading Charles Dickens’s American Notes, she found hope in the realization that there were places that existed to help the Blind. One of these places was the Perkins School for the Blind. According to the Perkins School for the Blind website, “The Kellers’ search for help ultimately led to educator Alexander Graham Bell, who recommended that the Kellers contact Anagnos at Perkins School for the Blind. Having long admired [Anne] Sullivan’s intelligence and indomitable determination, Anagnos immediately thought of her as the best candidate to teach the seven-year-old girl.”

Anne started teaching Helen the names of objects she would touch by tapping the letters of the manual alphabet onto her hand. It took time and patience, but eventually, Anne signed her first word — water. The last word to leave her was the first to come back. From that moment on, Helen began to learn rapidly. She not only learned how to sign but eventually learned how to read and write in brail and even began writing on the typewriter. The Faith of Helen Keller puts it best by saying, “With determination, insight, and compassion, Anne literally took young, rebellious Helen Keller by the hand and led her into life.” And what a life she had. Helen sought to reach others with similar disabilities and give them hope. She went on to tour the United States, “lecturing, visiting, talking, and praying for the handicapped.”