How Did Helen Keller Get Blind
Blind and deaf from a nearly fatal illness at 19 months old helen keller made a dramatic breakthrough at the age of 6 when she learned to communicate with the help of her teacher annie sullivan.
How did helen keller get blind. Helen keller worked for the american foundation for the blind for more than 40 years. In 1882 helen keller was struck deaf and blind at age 19 months by a febrile illness that she said her doctors described as acute congestion of the stomach and brain historical accounts of. As helen grew from infancy into childhood she became wild and unruly.
As she so often remarked as an adult her life changed on march 3 1887. Helen keller was blind before the age of 2 her mom noticed when she was in the cradle she wasn t blinking so she tried clapping in her face and did things similar so then she took a lamp and. A brief biographical timeline.
Helen s parents hire anne sullivan a graduate of the perkins school for the blind to be helen s tutor anne begins by teaching helen that objects have names and that she can use her fingers to spell them. Still she would go on to learn to communicate through signs as. Few could have imagined the leading role she would go on to play in many of the significant political social and cultural movements of the 20th century.
Following a bout of illness helen loses her sight and hearing. Together they shattered society s expectations for what deaf blind people can achieve. She was the first deaf blind person to earn a bachelor of arts degree.
The story of keller and her teacher anne sullivan was made famous by keller s autobiography the story of my life and its adaptations for film and stage the miracle worker. On june 27 helen keller is born in tuscumbia alabama. Helen adams keller june 27 1880 june 1 1968 was a groundbreaking exemplar and advocate for the blind and deaf communities.
At the age of 19 months helen became deaf and blind as a result of an unknown illness perhaps rubella or scarlet fever. The organization s original name the permanent blind relief war fund for soldiers sailors of the allies was eventually changed to helen keller international in 1977. Helen keller was just 19 months old in 1882 when she developed a mysterious illness that would rob her of her hearing and sight.
She was born in tuscumbia alabama on june 27 1880 and became deaf and blind at 19 months. By the time helen keller arrived at the perkins institution in 1888 she already had begun a friendship with her teacher and tutor miracle worker anne sullivan that would last for almost 50 years.