Helen Keller is well known as one of the few handicapped people who managed to overcome their handicap and go on to live normal lives. Born on the 27th of June 1880, she developed a high fever at the age of 19 months.

As a result, she lost the ability to hear and see. her world became silent and dark. She was a clever child yet she found learning difficult and frustrating. No one could get through to her and her frustrations led her to be branded as a 'wild child'. Her rescuer came in the form of a teacher who herself had poor vision.

It was a struggle at first for Anne Sullivan, the teacher, to communicate with Helen. She had to find  way to make Helen understand words and sentences. she did so by signing the letters of words onto Helen's hands. It was laborious and the results were not encouraging at first. It was only when Anne signed the letters for the word "water" that Helen finally "saw" what the letters meant. They were both thrilled and on that day itself. Helen learnt 30 words that made sense to her. her cleverness shone through and she went on to learn more words and then, sentences. With a lot of determination, this 'wild child' went on to attend college and became famous for her 'never-say-die attitude'.

QUESTIONS

1. Why is Helen Keller famous ?
2. What caused Helen to lose her hearing and sight ?
3. Why was she frustrated ?
4. How did Anne succeed in teaching Helen words ?
5. What does 'never-say-die attitude' mean ?

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