Helen Keller: A Historic Deaf Activist
Historic Deaf Figure
I am writing this essay about Helen Keller and also what I have learned during this course. Helen Keller was born on June 27th, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama.
She is both deaf and blind which doctors call brain fever which is still a mystery today but she made her life extraordinary while she could. She is one of the 20th century humanitarians. Helen in her early years was the first born in her sisters; Arthur H. Keller and Katherine Adams Keller. She had two step brothers also. Her father served in the Civil War. They were not very wealthy. Helen was not born with brain fever she was a happy baby with both her vision and hearing. She began to talk at six months old and was already walking at one. The brain fever was …show more content…
thought to be caused by high body temperature. A couple days later after the fever broke her mother realized Helen was not reacting to certain things like the dinner bell or a hand waving in her face. At just nineteen months old she had lost both her hearing and vision. The family cook was very helpful to find ways to communicate with Helen. At the time she hit age seven her cook had created over sixty signs. Many of her family members had thought she should be institutionalized because she would throw insane tantrums that would cause her parents to act crazy. Helen would have some very happy moments and laugh a lot. On March 3,1887 a teacher named Sullivan came to the home before she had learned many signs and eventually got Helen to work with her separated from the family. She had a very hard time listening to Sullivan so she would have to force the learning. The best way Helen learned was when the teacher made physical connections with the word and an object. She would have Helen near or on the object and draw out the sign on her hand. This repeated until she understood what was being drew. In 1890 Helen took a speech class at Horace Mann School for the deaf. It took twenty five years for her to learn to speak for others to understand. In 1896 she attended a college just for women called Cambridge. There was when she began to get noticed and started to meet famous people. She met the famous writer Mark twain who became great friends. He then introduced her to his friend Henry H. Rogers who worked for an oil company. He was so amazed by her he made the decision to pay for her to go to Radcliffe College. Sullivan helped during that time interpret classes.She had mastered the art of fingerspelling, speech, and typing. She had graduated from cumlaude in 1904. After college her story spread around.
This was the time she was getting noticed and a well known celebrity by sharing her story during lectures during classes. Helen was very determined to help others and make the women be noticed. She was involved in women's suffrage, birth control, and pacifism. She was a part of founding the American Civil Liberties Union in 1920. She was doing many things to help the case of being blind. A while after she had graduated college in 1936 her teacher and friend for many years Sullivan passed away. In 1946 a counselor of the international relations of the american Foundations of the blind found Helen and he wanted her to spread her story. In that time she had traveled to 35 different countries. When she turned 75 she went on one of her longest trips over 40,000 miles across Asia spreading her inspiration to millions. Her inspiration caused a television show called The Miracle Worker based off her autobiography. In 1961 Helen was suffering through many strokes. During that time she stayed in Connecticut where her home was. During her life she had won many awards. On June 1, 1968 she died during her sleep a couple weeks before her birthday. Helen Keller was an amazing woman with many talents disregarding her
condition.
Learning and researching this story about Helen Keller has really made me want to believe in myself. It helps me realize what can be accomplish even if you are deaf and blind. Finding Helen's story has really shown be how amazing people are and even being in that position you may have some difficulties but in the end you will make it through extraordinary.
Helen Keller. (2016, November 30). Retrieved April 21, 2017, from http://www.biography.com/people/helen-keller-9361967
I am writing this essay about Helen Keller and also what I have learned during this course. Helen Keller was born on June 27th, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama.
She is both deaf and blind which doctors call brain fever which is still a mystery today but she made her life extraordinary while she could. She is one of the 20th century humanitarians. Helen in her early years was the first born in her sisters; Arthur H. Keller and Katherine Adams Keller. She had two step brothers also. Her father served in the Civil War. They were not very wealthy. Helen was not born with brain fever she was a happy baby with both her vision and hearing. She began to talk at six months old and was already walking at one. The brain fever was …show more content…
thought to be caused by high body temperature. A couple days later after the fever broke her mother realized Helen was not reacting to certain things like the dinner bell or a hand waving in her face. At just nineteen months old she had lost both her hearing and vision. The family cook was very helpful to find ways to communicate with Helen. At the time she hit age seven her cook had created over sixty signs. Many of her family members had thought she should be institutionalized because she would throw insane tantrums that would cause her parents to act crazy. Helen would have some very happy moments and laugh a lot. On March 3,1887 a teacher named Sullivan came to the home before she had learned many signs and eventually got Helen to work with her separated from the family. She had a very hard time listening to Sullivan so she would have to force the learning. The best way Helen learned was when the teacher made physical connections with the word and an object. She would have Helen near or on the object and draw out the sign on her hand. This repeated until she understood what was being drew. In 1890 Helen took a speech class at Horace Mann School for the deaf. It took twenty five years for her to learn to speak for others to understand. In 1896 she attended a college just for women called Cambridge. There was when she began to get noticed and started to meet famous people. She met the famous writer Mark twain who became great friends. He then introduced her to his friend Henry H. Rogers who worked for an oil company. He was so amazed by her he made the decision to pay for her to go to Radcliffe College. Sullivan helped during that time interpret classes.She had mastered the art of fingerspelling, speech, and typing. She had graduated from cumlaude in 1904. After college her story spread around.
This was the time she was getting noticed and a well known celebrity by sharing her story during lectures during classes. Helen was very determined to help others and make the women be noticed. She was involved in women's suffrage, birth control, and pacifism. She was a part of founding the American Civil Liberties Union in 1920. She was doing many things to help the case of being blind. A while after she had graduated college in 1936 her teacher and friend for many years Sullivan passed away. In 1946 a counselor of the international relations of the american Foundations of the blind found Helen and he wanted her to spread her story. In that time she had traveled to 35 different countries. When she turned 75 she went on one of her longest trips over 40,000 miles across Asia spreading her inspiration to millions. Her inspiration caused a television show called The Miracle Worker based off her autobiography. In 1961 Helen was suffering through many strokes. During that time she stayed in Connecticut where her home was. During her life she had won many awards. On June 1, 1968 she died during her sleep a couple weeks before her birthday. Helen Keller was an amazing woman with many talents disregarding her
condition.
Learning and researching this story about Helen Keller has really made me want to believe in myself. It helps me realize what can be accomplish even if you are deaf and blind. Finding Helen's story has really shown be how amazing people are and even being in that position you may have some difficulties but in the end you will make it through extraordinary.
Helen Keller. (2016, November 30). Retrieved April 21, 2017, from http://www.biography.com/people/helen-keller-9361967