Helen Keller | ASLdeafined, Study notes of Sign Language

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Helen Keller

Early Life

● Helen Keller was born in June of 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama ○ Although she had been born hearing, when she was 19 months old a high fever left Helen Blind and Deaf ● While she was growing up, Keller’s parents indulged her, leading to her being a disobedient child. This was added to by her lack of the ability to communicate, causing her to become frustrated and have many outbursts. ● In 1887, Anne Sullivan entered Keller’s life as her teacher. ○ Anne was able to break through Helen’s barriers by teaching her fingerspelling in American Sign Language. It is said that Helen was feeling water through her fingers in one hand while Anne was fingerspelling the word W-A-T-E-R in the other and things clicked.

Leaving an Impact

● After graduating in 1904, Keller became a world traveler, lecturing, writing, fundraising and raising awareness about issues concerning the disabled, poor and oppressed. ○ She also visited wounded soldiers from World War II, encouraging those who lost their sight in battle to recognize that they could still live a full life. ● Keller was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom , which is just one example of the recognition she received for her efforts to improve the world around her.

Lesser Known Facts about Helen Keller

● Helen came to know other renowned individuals like author Mark Twain and inventor Alexander Graham Bell, and exchanged letters with several U.S. Presidents. ○ Famous people were in her family as well; Helen’s mother was related to John Adams, a founding father and second U.S. President, and her Grandmother Keller was General Robert E. Lee’s second cousin. ○ One of Helen’s Swiss ancestors was the first to teach the Deaf in Zurich and authored a book on the subject.

● Helen was also the person who introduced the Akita dog to the U.S. ○ After being gifted an akita by a Japanese police officer, she returned home with one, introducing them to the U.S, and then being gifted a second from the same litter upon the first’s death.

The End of Her Life

In 1968, just short of her 88th birthday, Helen Keller died in her sleep of natural causes. Helen left a huge impact on the world, and left the world with so many ideas.

“True education combines intellect, beauty, goodness, and the greatest of these goodness.”

“Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadows.”

“We all have limitations of one kind or another. The only difference is in the way we meet them with lifted head and smiling face.”

Sources

American Foundation for the Blind Web site: http://braillebug.afb.org/hkfacts.asp

Extraordinary People With Disabilities by Deborah Hent & Kathryn A. Quinlan

I Am Helen Keller by Grace Norwich

Perkins School for the Blind Web site: http://www.perkins.org

The Story of My Life by Helen Keller

To Love This Life: Quotations by Helen Keller