Question

describe childhood of helen keller ?

Answer 1

Helen Keller was born as Helen Adams Keller on 27 June 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama, USA. Keller’s family lived in a land and home which was owned and built by Helen’s grandfather. Helen was born to father Arthur H. Keller who was attached as an editor for the Tuscumbia “North Alabamian” and had served as a captain for the Confederate Army and mother Kate Adams who was the daughter of Charles Adams who had fought for the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, earning the rank of brigadier-general.

Helen’s father’s family origin traced back to Swiss ancestor Casper Keller. According to reports one of Helen’s Swiss ancestors had been the first teacher for the deaf in Zurich. Helen had mentioned this coincidence in her first autobiography, stating “that there is no king who has not had a slave among his ancestors, and no slave who has not had a king among his”.

Helen had not been born as a deaf and blind child but had been affected by an illness which her doctors stated as “an acute congestion of the stomach and the brain” which now is believed to have been either scarlet fever or meningitis. The illness did not remain with her for long but brought in deafness and blindness in her. As a child Helen could only communicate with Martha Washington who was Helen’s family cook’s daughter. Martha understood much of Helen’s signs. Helen used 60 of her home signs while communicating with her family. In 1886 Helen was sent by her mother while being accompanied by her father to seek the help of Dr. J. Julian Chisolm, an eye, ear, nose, and throat specialist in Baltimore, for advice. This was the first time that Helen was sent for a professional learning process and her mother had taken this step after getting inspired by inspired by an account in Charles Dickens' “American Notes” of the successful education of another deaf and blind woman, Laura Bridgman. Dr. J. Julian Chisolm referred Helen and her father to Alexander Graham Bell, who was then working with deaf children at the time. Bell further made Helen and her family go to Perkins Institute for the Blind where Laura Bridgman had received her formal education. Helen had found her instructor in Perkins’ former student Anne Sullivan (who was visually impaired for 20 years) who was personally referred by Michael Anaganos, Perkins’ director.

Answer 2

Helen Keller was born in a small town called Tuscumbia, Alabama, on an estate called Ivy Green. Her birthday was June 27, 1880, and her parents were Kate Adams Keller and Colonel Arthur Keller. Theirs was a house full of words; Helen's dad was the editor of the local paper, The North Alabamian. But silence fell on this house in February 1882 when 19-month-old Helen became extremely ill and lost her ability to hear and see.
Learning was tough for Helen. Because of her deafness and blindness, no one could get through to her, and she could not communicate with others. Basic rules and lessons made no sense to her, and she was called a "wild child." Then, in 1886, her mom heard about the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston from Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone. Helen reminded Bell of another girl named Laura Bridgman, who was deaf and blind. Kate wrote to the head of the Perkins School to ask for a teacher for Helen and they sent their star student, Anne Sullivan. The day she arrived—March 3, 1887—Helen's life changed.

Anne Sullivan was born on April 14, 1866, in Agawam, Massachusetts. Her family had very little money and could not take care of her. When she was 10 years old she was sent to live in a home for poor people. Anne also had very poor vision. At the age of 14, she was sent to the Perkins School for the Blind to receive training to be a teacher for children who were blind.

Anne had to figure out a way to make Helen understand words and their meaning. She began to teach Helen letters, by signing them into her palm. Then just one month later, everything clicked. Anne held Helen's hand under a pump while signing W-A-T-E-R into her palm. Helen's whole face lit up. The word came to life, in one moment. That day, she learned 30 words.

Now Helen was too busy to be wild, and her brainpower shone through. Quickly, she learned words and then sentences. Soon she was able to communicate by signing the manual alphabet. But Helen wasn't satisfied with signing alone. She wanted to learn to write. In addition to learning to write in braille, Helen placed a ruler on the page as a guide and drew very square block letters.

n 1888, Helen left home for the first time. She and Anne attended the Perkins School for the Blind as a guest of the director, Michael Anagnos. Helen became an overnight celebrity. However, her friendship with Anagnos suffered when she was accused of plagiarism (which means copying someone else's writing and calling it your own). Helen had written a story entitled "The Frost King" for Anagnos's birthday. It was a lot like a story Helen had heard once, long before, and perhaps she remembered parts of it without realizing it. Some people said Helen's writing was just too good for someone who couldn't see or hear nature with her own eyes and ears.