Even Disabilities Can't Slow the Desire of Literacy

Even Disabilities Can’t Slow the Desire of Literacy

The meaning of the term literacy has expanded and continues to grow as our world constantly changes. Becoming a person who is literate is no longer a simple meaning of being able to read and writ, but several different areas of knowledge. There is a growing purpose for more people to become literate so that they can function in society. That purpose is even more stressed upon people who have a disability that causes them to have more of a difficulty to learn. Several studies and learning programs have been developed in order to reduce this problem for people with disabilities to not be able to become literate. As it is very difficult for many disabled people to become literate, there are several people, who have overcome their disabilities. They are also very highly intelligent individuals and have succeeded in society. Many disabilities cause people to have difficulties in literacy, but from various individuals it is possible to persevere through disabilities to become an intelligent and literate person.

There are many disabilities that may cause a person to have difficulty in learning, but none might be more difficult than that of Helen Keller. Helen was born into the world being both blind and deaf. These two disabilities made it very complex for her to learn how to do anything. Where would one begin to teach a person how to read or write if they cannot see or hear words? Even more alarming how would she be able to figure what words are? Her teacher Anne Sullivan approached these concerns. Before Sullivan, Helen described herself as a “ship…without a compass or sounding-line and had no way of knowing how near the harbor was.” (Hirschberg 230) Being that one of her only functional senses was sense of touch Anne Sullivan would make sign language symbols into her hands so she could feel it. This would allow her to know that the signed symbols were words. Learning and becoming literate did not come easy to Helen it many hours of practice to finally understand what is out in the world. There were times that Sullivan would try to teach Helen and no progress was made. Helen’s disabilities were making it very difficult for the messages to get through to her. Finally one day when Helen was feeling water flow through her hand Sullivan signed into Helen’s other hand water. After all the practice of trying to learn the light finally went on for her. “…a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that w-a-t-e-r meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand.” (Hirschberg 231) Helen went on to graduate from Radcliffe with honors. She was awarded numerous awards and helped many people with similar difficulties