Determined to communicate with others as conventionally as possible, Keller learned to speak and spent much of her life giving speeches and lectures on aspects of her life. She learned to "hear" people's speech using the Tadoma method, which means using her fingers to feel the lips and throat of the speaker.

What was Helen Keller's first word?

Although she had no knowledge of written language and only the haziest recollection of spoken language, Helen learned her first word within days: “water.” Keller later described the experience: “I knew then that 'w-a-t-e-r' meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand.

How did Helen Keller communicate?

As she got older, and with Sullivan constantly by her side, Keller learned other methods of communication, including Braille and a method known as Tadoma, in which hands on a person's face — touching lips, throat, jaw and nose — are used to feel vibrations and movements associated with speech.