Akram Youth Obstacles, Do they hold you back or Spur you on ? | Page 9

sign language, and by the time Keller
was 7, they had invented more than 60
signs to communicate with each
other. In 1886, Keller and her parents
visited the Perkins Institute for the
Blind in Boston, Massachusetts.
There, the family was introduced to
one of the institute's most recent
graduates, Anne Sullivan. And so
began a 49-year relationship between
teacher and pupil.
In March 1887, Sullivan began by
teaching Helen finger spelling,
starting with the word "doll," to help
Keller understand the gift of a doll she
had brought along. At first, Keller was
curious and then defiant, refusing to
cooperate with Sullivan's instruction,
yet Sullivan kept working at it,
encouraging Helen to go through the
regimen.
In a dramatic struggle, Sullivan taught
Keller the word "water"; she helped
her make the connection between the
object and the letters by taking Keller
out to the water pump, and placing
Keller's hand under the spout. While
Sullivan moved the lever to flush cool
water over Keller's hand, she spelled
out the word w-a-t-e-r on Helen's
other hand. Keller understood and
repeated the word in Sullivan's hand.
By nightfall, she had learnt 30 words!!
In 1890, Keller began speech classes at
the Horace Mann School for the Deaf
in Boston. She toiled for 25 years to
learn to speak so that others could
understand her. As her story became

known to the general public, Keller
began to meet famous and influential
people. One of them, Henry H. Rogers,
a Standard Oil executive was so
impressed with Keller's talent, drive
and determination that he agreed to
pay for her to attend Radcliff College.
There, she was accompanied by
Sullivan, who sat by her side to
interpret lectures and texts.
By this time, Keller had mastered
several methods of communication,
including touch-lip reading, Braille,
speech, typing and finger-spelling.
Keller then wrote her first book: The
Story of My Life. After college, Keller
set out to learn more about the world
and how she could help improve the
lives of others. She became a wellknown celebrity and lecturer by
sharing her experiences with
audiences, and working on behalf of
others living with disabilities.

No pessimist ever
discovered the secret of the
stars or sailed an
uncharted land, or opened
a new doorway for the
human spirit.

Always be an Optimist.
- Helen Keller
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