Chapter 3 Summary

Helen's desire to express herself grew, and so did the severity of her tantrums. It got to the point that she raged every day or several times throughout the day. Most of her family and friends felt that nothing could be done for her. Tuscumbia was so far away from any school for the blind and deaf, that most people in her world were not aware of any such resources. Kate (her mother) read about a blind and deaf student named Laura Bridgman, though, and that gave her some hope for Helen.

In the summer of 1886, Helen's parents took her to a famous eye doctor in Baltimore. She enjoyed everything about the trip – the train, the new people and the change of routine. "During the whole trip," she writes, "I did not have one fit of temper; there were so many things to...