Helen Keller and Her Advocacy for Braille

On June 27, 1880, Helen Adams KELLER was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama — a small town that would soon become famous because of her. Before she was two years old, an illness left her both DEAF and BLIND, cutting her off from the world of spoken and written language. At the time, most people assumed that a child who could neither hear nor see had little hope of learning to communicate. Helen's story would prove them completely wrong. Her life became one of the most powerful examples in American history of what a human being can achieve against seemingly impossible odds. Understanding where she came from is the first step toward understanding why her advocacy for Braille changed the world.