Though Helen could no longer hear after she became deaf, she could feel the vibrations of sound. She loved to placed her hands on an object or living thing as it was making a sound. Helen had lost her memory of words and could not hear herself speak. Despite these difficulties, she still made audible noises and placed her hands on her own neck to feel the vibrations caused by the sounds. Doing this fascinated Helen. In her autobiography, The Story of My Life, Helen described how she enjoyed the feeling of sound:
I was pleased with anything that made a noise, and liked to feel the cat purr and the dog bark. I also liked to keep my hand on a singer's throat, or on a piano when it was being played (Chapter XIII).
This fascination with sound led Helen to seek instruction in speaking. She had heard of deaf people who learned how to talk, and Helen desired this for herself. With Miss Sullivan's assistance, Helen sought the help of Miss Sarah Fuller.
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