What causes deafblindness?
Back in Helen Keller’s time, people who were deafblind were usually born with all their senses. They became deafblind as a result of childhood illness. The illness that Helen had when she was a year and a half old was probably scarlet fever. Today people still get scarlet fever, but it is easier to control with medications. Back then, another disease that could result in deafblindness was meningitis. Again, while the bacterial form is still with us, when caught in time it can be treated with antibiotics. Nowadays people who are deafblind are often born that way because they are extremely premature. This can cause a lot of additional problems, such as developmental disabilities, problems walking, or medical complications.
