What impression do you form of Helen as she learns to cope with her deafness and blindness? What steps do Helen's parents take to make her life as...

The impression that the reader forms of young Helen is that she is a very bright child who is at first trapped by her handicaps, but she bravely overcomes them.

Since she was only a small child when she lost her hearing and eyesight, Helen's recall of her life before her illness is understandably only a series of impressions and small memories in which fact and fantasy are mixed.

A few impressions stand out vividly from the first years of my life; but "the shadows of the prison-house" are on the rest. (Ch.1)

Naturally, young Helen has felt trapped in the dark world into which she is plunged after her illness. However, she does recall the various appearances of objects, the smells, and the sensations that she has experienced before she was sick. Having lost her sight and hearing, Helen has become dependent upon others and is limited in what she can do; nevertheless, there are some small tasks that Helen is able to perform for her mother. Also, she has a playmate in the servant girl Martha Washington.

Because Helen is an intelligent child, she becomes aware that her mother and others move their lips when they wish to communicate. However, she does not understand why no one knows what she wants when she imitates their lip movements. Few comprehend her hand signals, as well. In this state of frustration, Helen often breaks down "in tears and physical exhaustion" (Ch. 3).  Finally, aware of Helen's increasing frustrations, her mother recalls having read of a deaf and blind girl who had been successfully educated.

My mother's only ray of hope came from Dickens's "American Notes." She had read his account of Laura Bridgman, and remembered vaguely that she was deaf and blind, yet had been educated. But she also remembered with a hopeless pang that Dr. Howe, who had discovered the way to teach the deaf and blind, had been dead many years. (Ch. 3)

Later on, Helen's father learns of an eminent oculist in Baltimore who had been successful in restoring sight in some who were considered hopeless cases. So her parents decide to take her to Baltimore. Once there, they consult with Dr. Chisholm; unfortunately, he can do nothing for Helen. Nevertheless, he suggests that they consult Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, who may be able to refer Helen to schools for the deaf and the blind.

The Kellers confer with Dr. Bell, who suggests that they write to a Mr. Anagnos, director of the Perkins Institution in Boston, because he may have a teacher for Helen. In reply, Mr. Anagnos advises the Kellers that he has a teacher for their child. This teacher is the tenacious young Anne Sullivan, who unlocks Helen's mind by teaching her sign language.