Helen Keller was dependent on others before Miss Sullivan came. She was deaf, blind, and struggled to find independence when she was a young girl. When she could not, she became frustrated and threw tantrums. She communicated using a few crude signs, but she felt very limited. Helen described this time in her autobiography, The Story of My Life:
The few signs I used became less and less adequate, and my failures to make myself understood were invariably followed by outbursts of passion (Chapter III).
When Miss Sullivan arrived to be Helen's teacher, she worked with determination. It took many attempts before Helen learned to communicate using the manual alphabet. When Helen did finally learn the manual alphabet, her world changed. Learning how to communicate with others helped Helen overcome the helplessness she experienced for years. Helen became an independent woman when she was older. She was able to do this because of her strong communication skills.
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