Whether we like it or not, there has always been historical stigma surrounding disabilities such as blindness. Throughout the Enlightenment, philosophers questioned the nature of the blind’s understanding.
Then, throughout the 19th century, the Encyclopedia Britannica describes debates “over the degree to which the blind could be ‘rehabilitated’ or trained to take their place in the broader community as contributing citizens.” For all intents and purposes, the blind were not seen as people who could live functioning and independent lives— but one little girl helped change that stereotype.
On June 27th, 1880, Katherine Adams Keller and Arthur H. Keller welcomed a baby girl named Helen into the world. From the moment of birth, she developed quickly, learning to speak at just six months old.
Unfortunately, one year later, she would acquire “brain fever”— a condition which would steal her vision and hearing, forever altering the course of her life.
A few days after the fever, Helen’s mother noticed the girl wasn’t responding to sights or sounds. Like any toddler, the inability to communicate made Helen unruly and led to increasingly severe behavioral problems.
“She would kick and scream when angry, and giggle uncontrollably when she happy,” Biography explained.
“She tormented Martha [friend] and inflicted raging tantrums on her parents.”
It got to the point where relatives of the family were saying the girl should be institutionalized. Helen later discussed this period of her life in her autobiography (obtained via Perkins School for the Blind), writing:
“The need of some means of communication became so urgent that these outbursts occurred daily, sometimes hourly.”
When Helen’s mother learned of another deaf-blind girl named Laura Bridgman who had successfully been educated, she hoped her daughter could take the same path.
Consulting with the famous Alexander Graham Bell, Helen’s mother was directed to Perkins School for the Blind, who paired the unruly Helen with Ann Sullivan, a recent graduate.
At first, Helen was defiant.
She “hit, punched and kicked her teacher and knocked out one of her teeth,” the school claims. However, even when Helen started to cooperate, Ann could tell she wasn’t grasping the concepts. This frustration led to increasingly erratic behavior until finally, Ann insisted they be isolated for intensive lessons, and they were moved to a cottage on the property by themselves.
Ann continued to teach Helen finger spelling until she had an innovative idea. Bringing the girl out to the water pump, she poured the water through one of her hands while signing the letters “W-A-T-E-R” into the other.
Finally, everything came together. Helen learned 30 new words that day and her behavioral problems completely disappeared.
“That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!” she later wrote. “Everything had a name, and each name gave birth to a new thought.”
“As we returned to the house every object which I touched seemed to quiver with life.”
By age 10, Helen had learned braille, the manual alphabet, and how to use a typewriter. The young girl taught herself to speak well enough to attend prep school at the age of 24.
In 1924, Helen became the first deaf-blind person to graduate from college, after Ann spent every single lesson signing the words into her hand.
Helen went on to become an advocate for women’s issues, politics, and disabled rights.
She lobbied with the American Federation for the blind for 44 years before dying in her sleep at the age of 88. Helen’s incredibly legacy was noted by the famous writer Mark Twain, who said:
“The two most interesting characters in the 19th century are Napoleon and Helen Keller.”
During her lifetime, Helen won numerous honors and accomplishments, such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom and an election to the Women’s Hall of Fame. Still, as Ange-Marie Hancock, professor of political science at the University of Southern California, aptly noted: “Helen Keller will be remembered for really transforming the view of the blind and others with disabilities.”
“Prior to her life, people with disabilities were seen as people who did not deserve to live full lives.”
“Helen Keller’s activism— her life story really challenged the stereotypes.”
Hear her incredible story below!
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