Ragnhild KÃ¥ta

The Norwegian Ragnhild Kaata (actually: Ragnhild Torleivsdatter Kaata, including: Sami tent, ie Kota ) (* May 23, 1873, † February 12, 1947 in Hamar ) was one of the first early childhood deaf -blind people who lead a nearly normal life and was able to communicate with hearing and sighted people.

Disease

Ragnhild Kaata came as a healthy child. She was the eldest of eight siblings. At the age of four, she became seriously ill with scarlet fever and lost by the disease vision and hearing. Soon after, she also forgot the spoken language - but three words: " He Det Fält ", "It's awful / bad ", probably expressed the mood of the now severely disabled child.

1887 made ​​the writer and teacher Hallvard Bergh Ragnhilds acquaintance. Her story impressed him so much that he wrote Verdens Gang on Ragnhild in the Oslo newspaper. Ragnhild was known and in Norway and America money was raised for their education. In this way 7000 crowns came together.

School attendance

Further support was Ragnhild at the newspaper reporter Lars Havstad, which - even deaf - called for the introduction of compulsory education for the deaf.

1888 came Ragnhild Kaata in the school for the deaf in Hamar.

Until then, the deaf had communicated with the finger alphabet; in Hamar Institute they also learned the use of the spoken language. The Headmaster Elias Hofgaard decided to apply this method with Ragnhild. She learned to understand the spoken language of other people by touching their lips and throats and felt the lip movements and the vibration of the vocal cords. In this way, they won even back the spoken language.

Effects

Ragnhild Kaatas teachers had contact with those of Helen Keller and Ragnhild's ability to speak inspired 1890, the ten -year-old Helen to learn also talk " with your mouth " - but without much success, as they had much earlier lost the language and serious mistakes were made in the classroom.

After the confirmation Ragnhild returned home; However, her final years she spent in Hamar Institute, where she died in 1947.

  • Deafblindness
  • Norwegian
  • Born 1873
  • Died in 1947
  • Woman
Communication
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