Helen Keller: A Life
By: Dorothy Herrmann
I really enjoyed this biography because Helen Keller was a very inspirational person. When she was about nineteen months old, she became extremely ill. She had eventually lost he lost both her vision and hearing. She soon became a role model for many people all around the world.
Helen Keller was born on June 27th, 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Her parents were named Arthur Keller, and Kate Keller.
When Helen was nineteen months old, she began to feel ill. Even today, nobody knows what was actually wrong with her. Some of the doctors called it brain fever. Some of the doctors in today’s world believe it to have been scarlet fever, or meningitis. Helen’s sickness had soon left her both deaf and blind. Because she became both deaf and blind at such a young age, Helen also became mute because she wasn’t able to hear the pronunciations of words.
The following years made it very hard for Helen’s family to cope with. Helen started to do destructive activities, such as: smashing plates and lamps, screaming and temper tantrums. Some of her relatives thought she should be put into an institution.
When Helen was six years old, her family starting losing hope about if she would ever see or hear again. They took her to a specialist in Baltimore who told them she would never gert back her hearing or sight.
Alexander Graham Bell suggested that Helen Keller should attempt to locate a teacher for Helen. He talked to Michael Anagnos (director of the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind) and asked if he could help find a teacher for Helen. Michael Anagnos suggested Anne Sullivan, a lady who had also became deaf and blind at a young age.
On March 3rd, 1887 Anne arrived at the Helen Keller’s house for the first time. Anne Sullivan began immediately teaching Helen to spell out words with her fingers. She started teaching her simple words like doll, and cake. Helen was able to copy these finger motions, even though...