Helen Keller
by Parsia V.

Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Helen was the first
child of Kate and Arthur Keller. In 1882, Helen became very ill from a high fever and
lost her sense of sight and hearing. As a child, Helen had a quick temper. Because Helen did not express herself or understand anyone, she was often angry. She would hit, bite and pinch other people.

In March 1887 Arthur hired Annie Sullivan to tutor Helen. Helen soon learned to read
and write the manual alphabet and Braille. At the age of thirteen, she was already
famous. Stories were on the media about Helen the amazing child who was deaf-blind, who could read and write. Helen and Annie could communicate with each other at amaz ing speed. However, Helen was not satisfied. She was not happy talking with only her fingers. She wanted to be able to speak with her lips. Helen asked Annie to teach her. At the age of nine, Annie took Helen to the Horace Mann School where Helen learned how to speak. Teaching a death-blind child is not easy. A blind child learns to speak by listening to speeches and repeats what he or she hears. A child who is deaf uses his or her sense of sight and touch. But a deaf-blind child has only his or her sense of touch to count on. Helen soon learned how to speak and read lips. However, Helen never learned to speak clearly. In 1904 Helen graduated from Radcliffe University (which was a part of Harvard).  Unfortunately Annie died on Oclober 15, 1936. Helen and Annie had been of companions for over fifty years. Helen lived for thirty-two more years after Annie died. Soon  a popular movie called The Miracle Worker presented the story of Helen's life. Helen died on June 1, 1968.

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