When she was six years old, her father took her to Washington D.C., where she was examined by Dr. Alexander Graham Bell who helped the deaf communicate. Bell told Keller's father to write to Perkins Institution for the Blind, so that they could send a teacher who would teach his daughter. The school sent a teacher named Ann Sullivan. Miss Sullivan was very patient and taught her to read Braille. She took Keller to the Horace Mann School for the deaf and there Helen learned to speak English, French, and German. She also went to Wright-Hunason School and Cambridge for Young Ladies. In addition, she went to Radcliff College, and graduated with honors.

Miss Sullivan helped Helen throughout most of her life, and they remained good friends.

Helen was important because she helped the blind and deaf people all over the world. She raised money for the American foundation for the blind. She visited many countries and wrote many books. Helen Keller died at the age of eighty-eight, at her home in Connecticut.