Helen Keller was a significant figure in history. She influenced many people, deaf, blind and everyone alike. Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880. In February of 1882 she became extremely ill and lost her ability to hear and see. Growing up was different for Helen Keller. She could not communicate with others and no one could get through to her. Because of this she was called a "wild child". When Helen was seven, Anne Sullivan arrived from the Perkins School for the Blind, and changed Helen 's and her family 's lives. Anne also had poor vision and was sent to the Perkins School to learn how to teach blind children. She began to try to teach Helen words and their meaning. Anne would sign letters into Helens palm and later everything clicked when she signed "water" on Helens hand while she held it under the water. She was soon able to sign the whole alphabet. In addition to learning to write braille, Helen learned to write the alphabet and words by using a ruler, although her letters were very square. Most of Helen 's childhood was …show more content…
She traveled many places with Polly helping the blind. Even though she could not hear or see, she could help people who could not see. Helen wrote hundreds of articles and published many books in her lifetime. She typed almost all of her own letters, with a regular and a braille typewriter. Helen, along with Polly, visited 39 countries! Her examples of what a person with disabilities could do influenced many people who had disabilities. Just because you have a disability doesn 't mean you are limited from living the life you want to live! Books, plays, and movies were made based on Helen 's life. She loved everything about life, she believed everyone from any race or culture deserved the same rights. Polly Thomson died in 1961 and after her death Helen lived a quiet life at Arcan Ridge. Helen died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 87 in