Helen Keller: Deaf-Blind Communication

When I was little, I used to walk around my house with my eyes closed to see what it would be like to be blind. Even in my own house, where I knew where everything was I’d still bump into numerous things every time. In high school I began to take American Sign Language, and I constantly wondered what it would be like to be Deaf. Then, my American Sign Language class took a trip to the Helen Keller Center, and ever since I’ve wondered how different life would be without sight or sound. This has brought me to the question of how people who are Deaf-Blind learn to communicate with one another and what communication devices are most important in their lives. I have some background knowledge in this area because of the trip to the Helen Keller

The other journal article I read was titled “Unearthing ‘the Original Helen Keller’” (Ruak, 2001). Although Helen Keller is known to be the first Deaf-Blind person to learn language, this is incorrect. Laura Bridgman was born a half a century before Helen Keller and also learned language (Ruak, 2001). People were amazed by Bridgman’s success in communication, however when Helen Keller overcame language, Bridgman was soon forgotten. Ruak (2001) believes part of the reason of the loss of interest in Bridgman’s success in learning language had to do with Keller’s book and the fact she began to speak, while Bridgman only signed. However, when Bridgman was learning language, Braille was not around like it was for Keller, making it somewhat easier for Keller to write her book and learn more language (Ruak,

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Ruark, J. K. (n.d). Unearthing 'the original Helen Keller.'. Chronicle of Higher Education, 47(30),