A Girl Named Helen

Special Invitations

In May 1888, seven-year-old Helen received an invitation to visit the White House to meet President Grover Cleveland. President Cleveland was amazed at what Helen had accomplished. Helen, a deaf and blind young girl, had shown the world how strong and smart she was. And there was more to come.

After visiting the president, Helen and Anne took a train to the Perkins Institute. While there, Helen was invited to speak at graduation. Many important people were there. Helen spelled a poem into Anne’s hand, and Anne spoke the poem aloud. The audience was awestruck and Helen felt very proud.

In October, Helen returned to Perkins as a student. Helen studied music, clay modeling, and basket weaving. Although Helen could read and write, she still couldn’t talk. When Helen was nine, Anne found a teacher in Boston to help. Helen learned how lips moved when someone talked by touching her new teacher’s mouth. She would practice and practice but no sound came out. One day Helen opened her mouth and said, “It is warm.” Her words were not clear, and only the speech teacher and Anne could understand her, but she was speaking. Although Helen would never learn to speak clearly, she had accomplished yet another goal.