Anne Sullivan or the Improbable Hero
Speech therapy is considered as a modern form therapy, since its form as we know today only exists since 1960s. In fact, the first official institution related to this field is the American Academy of Speech Correction, created only in 1926. However, how could a child with a communication disorder learn how to express himself or herself before that century? Anne Sullivan, a pioneer in speech teaching, deeply innovated that field of study and impacted many lives by her determination and passion to help others.
Johanna Mansfield Sullivan was born in Massachusetts, in 1866, from two Irish immigrants. Despite her real name being Johanna, the little girl was called Anne since her birth and is well-known under …show more content…
She didn’t only learn to Helen Keller how to eat properly or how to dress herself, she taught her how to discover the world. Through many months of efforts, Anne Sullivan achieved to break the isolation of the girl by teaching her hundreds of words in addition of mathematics’ basics. Eventually, Keller learned to communicate complex ideas and unexpectedly learn to speak because of the constant efforts of her teacher. Even more surprising, Sullivan spent hours to help her student to attend college, by spelling courses’ content in her hands and translating all her textbooks. Helen Keller thereby the first deaf and blind student to graduate from college in an age where women weren’t encouraged to get a diploma. Besides her major impact on her pupil, Anne Sullivan had an indirect impact on many disabled students, giving them hope to pursue a decent education and maybe a college degree. She proved to everyone that deaf and blind people can be taught and can become active members of modern society, destroying prejudices and stereotypes. She also impacted education on a general way, showing teachers and therapists that they should never give up on difficult and challenging students, but rather face every trial with patience and
Speech therapy is considered as a modern form therapy, since its form as we know today only exists since 1960s. In fact, the first official institution related to this field is the American Academy of Speech Correction, created only in 1926. However, how could a child with a communication disorder learn how to express himself or herself before that century? Anne Sullivan, a pioneer in speech teaching, deeply innovated that field of study and impacted many lives by her determination and passion to help others.
Johanna Mansfield Sullivan was born in Massachusetts, in 1866, from two Irish immigrants. Despite her real name being Johanna, the little girl was called Anne since her birth and is well-known under …show more content…
She didn’t only learn to Helen Keller how to eat properly or how to dress herself, she taught her how to discover the world. Through many months of efforts, Anne Sullivan achieved to break the isolation of the girl by teaching her hundreds of words in addition of mathematics’ basics. Eventually, Keller learned to communicate complex ideas and unexpectedly learn to speak because of the constant efforts of her teacher. Even more surprising, Sullivan spent hours to help her student to attend college, by spelling courses’ content in her hands and translating all her textbooks. Helen Keller thereby the first deaf and blind student to graduate from college in an age where women weren’t encouraged to get a diploma. Besides her major impact on her pupil, Anne Sullivan had an indirect impact on many disabled students, giving them hope to pursue a decent education and maybe a college degree. She proved to everyone that deaf and blind people can be taught and can become active members of modern society, destroying prejudices and stereotypes. She also impacted education on a general way, showing teachers and therapists that they should never give up on difficult and challenging students, but rather face every trial with patience and