A Small History on Helen Keller and Her Triumphs

"They took away what should have been my eyes(But I remembered Milton's Paradise).They took away what should have been my ears,(Beethoven came and wiped away my tears).They took away what should have been my tongue,(But I had talked with God when I was young).He would not let them take away my soul -Possessing that, I still possess the whole."-Helen Keller

Helen Keller was a very strong willed individual. Even as a child she fought a fever that should have killed her. She was born on June 27, 1880. The fever took Helen's eyesight and ability to hear. Many people tried to get Helen's parents to send her away. They would not. They had faith in her ability because they knew Helen was a strong fighter.

Helen learned to use the senses that she was left with to guide her. Her sense of smell and sense of touch were what she used to teach herself how to get around. She knew to touch the faces of people to recognize them. If not their faces she would touch their clothing. She also used her sense of smell to recognize her father's friends. She did this because she could recognize the smell of tobacco.

Although the fact that Helen had taught herself a type of sign language was wonderful, she had turned into somewhat of an unpleasant child. She would throw terrible temper tantrums if she did not get her way. Her parents were enabling the behavior because they felt sorrow at the loss she had endured. Helen would throw things when her parents would not do her bidding. If she wanted a certain food or drink and did not get it, Helen would be an absolute terror. There were times when she could not communicate her exact need and would become violent due to her rising frustration.

About this time Anne Sullivan came into the Keller household. Ms. Sullivan was blind and had come from a poor upbringing as well. She did not put up with Helen's antics. Ms. Sullivan became a strict enforcer of rules and regulations. This was the best thing that could have happened to Helen. Her teacher, Anne Sullivan, is remembered as "the Miracle Worker" for her lifetime dedication, patience and love to a half-wild southern child trapped in a world of darkness. (Coles, 2009) It took Ms. Sullivan awhile but she eventually learned how to discipline Helen without destroying her character. After seeing Helen go into violent tantrums, Ms. Sullivan knew that something had to be done to stop her. Ms. Sullivan soon taught Helen that there were pieces of candy in a hall trunk. Ms. Sullivan was able to spell this out to Helen on her palm. The candy was a great motivator for Helen.

"The greatest problem I shall have to solve," said Sullivan in a letter to Hopkins, "is how to discipline and control Helen without breaking her spirit. I shall go rather slowly at first and try to win her love." (Anne Sullivan, 1888)

Although Ms. Sullivan was austere, her methods were successful. The hard start to these methods proved to be disastrous for Ms. Sullivan. In the first week of her new punishment methods, Helen managed to get into such a rage that she knocked two of Ms. Sullivan's teeth out. Arthur and Kate Keller did not have any idea of what to do. However, they were not as tolerable toward the physical punishments that Ms. Sullivan handed out. Ms. Sullivan simply stated that it was her way or Helen would never improve. The parents seemed to agree with this but Ms. Sullivan still noticed that her work was being neglected due to the parent's inability to stick with the rules and not give in to Helen. For instance, Helen was allowed to eat off of anyone's plate during meals. This was unacceptable to Ms. Sullivan.

The teacher and student ended up moving out. This was after Ms. Sullivan threatened the family. She told them that she was either going to take Helen away for a period of time or she was going to leave. The parent's were against the idea at first but then finally agreed. This was one of the best moves for Helen Keller. Ms. Keller only improved from then on.

Ms Sullivan was a positive light in Helen's life because Ms. Sullivan understood why Helen was such a fright. She understood that Helen was not a horrible child but a perturbed one. Ms. Sullivan knew that Helen would become very distressed when she could not communicate and that she had no way of showing her anger. Ms. Sullivan also believes that this caused Helen much fear as well. This small child was in a dark and silent world that no one else could understand.

We see that Helen's parents, like Helen, were not quitters. They would not send her away as so many had tried to get them to do. They would not give up on their child. Helen proved she was the same as her parents by beating the fever. She also adjusted well and learned to compensate for her detrimental disabilities. Her parent's strength led them to hire Anne Sullivan. Anne Sullivan was another strong role model for Helen who would not give up on her no matter what. All of these strong influences added with Helen's intelligence and willingness to overcome allowed her to become the woman she became.

One will see the behavioral theories at play when it comes to Helen Keller's life. Ms. Keller's contact with her parents and Ms. Sullivan proved to be a deciding factor in her personality. She had a strong personality and would keep trying no matter what. Her willingness to succeed always prevailed even if it took years to catch on to one small piece of the large and long puzzle she was a part of.

On the opposite spectrum of the personality theories, one will also see trait theories come into play when it comes to Helen Keller. As mentioned many times before, one will see that Ms. Keller was not a quitter and was very strong willed just as her parents were.

In Helen Keller's situation Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy would have been the closest to a theoretical approach used. Unlike the psycho dynamic theory, the cognitive behavioral theory uses a more physical approach. The person, in this case, Helen Keller must work on improving herself. She would have been responsible for practicing the different techniques taught by Ms. Sullivan. Failure was never an option for Ms. Keller so she would not have risked failing in her journey through cognitive-behavioral therapy.

Another way that Helen Keller's "therapy" would have been most like cognitive-behavioral is in the fact that she was made to think positively. This helped her to succeed. She was never allowed to think that she would not succeed. She had very positive driving forces behind her for support.

In conclusion, Helen Keller would not have made the strides without the positive reinforcement of her parents and caretaker Anne Sullivan. There is no doubt that she would have tried to become everything she could but without the three people who stood behind her she would never have come as far as she did. She was even able to help other deaf/blind/mute children. One such child was Tommy Stringer. He was a deaf and blind 5 year old who had been sent away because his parents did not have the funds to help him. Helen raised the money and had him sent to Boston to find a teacher. He was soon accepted into the Perkins Institution after Helen raised $1600 for the boy. (Wepman, 1987)

Helen Keller is a role model to this day. Many look at the life she led and the time in which she lived and realize how very important her role was to our modern societies. There have been numerous medical advancements including psychological due to Helen Keller's life and achievements.

References

Coles, B. (2009). Helium. Retrieved November 10, 2009 from Anne Sullivan: How she taught Helen Keller to speak: http://www.helium.com/​knowledge/​213023-anne-sullivan-how-she-taught-helen-keller-to-speak.

Snodgrass, Mary Ellen. "Keller, Helen." Encyclopedia of Feminist Literature. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. American Women's History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE42&iPin=EFL283&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 9, 2009).

Wepman, Dennis. "'Morning'." Helen Keller, Women of Achievement. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. American Women's History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE42&iPin=WAHK03&SingleRecord=True (accessed November 9, 2009).