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By
Diane Forrest
There is a movie called The Miracle Worker. It is the story of a woman who became the
tutor of a young girl. No one believes
this child could learn anything. You see
she was both deaf and blind as a result of a childhood illness, probably
scarlet fever or meningitis. Had she
been born to another family, we might never have come so far so fast in the
field of teaching the deaf and blind how to communicate. Her father was the editor for an Alabama
newspaper, and her family line included Robert E. Lee, and Charles Adams, a
general for the Confederate Army during the Civil War.
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They would not allow their daughter to be put in some
institution to live the remainder of her life, instead they hired Anne Sullivan
to move in with them and tutor their daughter.
Her name - Helen Keller. Through
time, patience and meticulous instructions, Helen was able to learn to
communicate with those around her. Ms.
Sullivan remained with Helen until her death.
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Helen went on to become an advocate for people with
disabilities, she was a suffragette, and went on to become a writer who supported
the working class. She met every
president from Grover Cleveland to Lyndon B. Johnson and was friends with many
famous figures, including Alexander Graham Bell, Charlie Chaplin and Mark
Twain.
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Medical Science has made great strides since the days of
Helen Keller. There are many medical
solutions as well as scientific solutions for helping those who are deaf and
blind.
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The Perkins Institute, where Helen was a student and the
first deaf/blind person to receive a Bachelor's degree, is still in existence
and is still teaching those who are deaf and blind. The Helen Keller institute not only helps
those who are deaf and blind, but also does research for these conditions as
well. This week is Helen Keller Deaf
Blindness Awareness Week. Please visit
these sites and find out ways you can support this important research.
http://www.hknc.org/
http://www.helenkeller.org/
http://www.perkins.org/news-events/news/deafblind-awareness.html
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