Angela Gilliana, age 13, of Mesa, Az., for her question:
WHAT DID HELEN KELLER DO?
Helen Kelley is an excellent example of a person who conquered physical handicaps. She rose above her disabilities to become internationally famous and to help thousands of handicapped persons to live fuller lives.
When she was only two years old, Helen had a serious illness that destroyed her sight and hearing. The illness was diagnosed as brain fever. Because of this, she was unable to speak and was entirely shut off from the world.
But despite almost insurmountable problems, Helen went on to lead an outstanding life.
Helen's father took the young girl to Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, and he advised that the Perkins Institution for the Blind in Boston be contacted. Then, just before the child turned seven, a teacher from Boston named Anne Sullivan arrived to teach her.
Anne Sullivan was able to make contact with the girl's mind through the sense of touch. She worked out a sort of alphabet by which she spelled out words on Helen's hand. Soon the child was able to connect words with objects. Once she understood, her progress was rapid.
Within three years, Helen knew the alphabet and could only talk with the sign language of the deaf mute. She decided she would learn to speak and took lessons from a teacher of the deaf. By the time she was 16, she could speak well enough to go to preparatory school and college.
Helen was graduated from Radcliffe in 1904 with honors. Anne Sullivan stayed with her through these years, interpreting lectures and class discussions to her.
After college, Helen becomae concerned with the conditions of the blind and deaf blind. She appeared before legislatures, gave lectures and wrote books and articles. She started the Helen Kelley Endowment fund of $2 million. She brought new courage to millions of blind people.
Although Anne Sullivan later married a man named John Macy, she remained with Helen Kelley until her death. Then Mary Agnes "Polly" Thomson, who had been Helen's secretary, took her place.
An enthusiastic and untiring traveler, Helen lectured in more than 25 countries on the five major continents. During World War II, she worked with soldiers who had been blinded in the war.
Helen wrote many books including "The Story of My Life" (1903), "Out of the Dark" (1913), "Midstream: My Later Life" (1930) and "Teacher" (1955), which told the story of Anne Sullivan Macy.
A play and motion picture called "The Miracle Worker," told how Anne Sullivan made contact with Helen Kelley through the sense of touch.
Helen's books have been translated into more than 50 languages.
Helen was born in Tuscumbia, Ala., in 1880 and died at the age of 88 in 1968.