Perkins School for the Blind

Founded in 1829 Perkins School for the Blind was the first school in the United States dedicated to helping people with visual impairments the ability to learn the skills needed to live a fuller life. The schools concept came from a man by the name of John Dix Fisher after he had taken a trip to Paris to the National Institute for the Blind. Perkins was home to a few famous people who suffered from either being blind and or deaf. One of these people was Laura Dewey Lynn Bridgman; she was the first blind deaf person to achieve a great education despite being stricken with blindness and deafness after she had battled scarlet fever. Fifty years after Bridgeman, another famous woman by the name of Helen Keller. Helen Keller was also blind and deaf but that did not stop her from achieving a Bachelors degree. Perkins is located in Watertown Ma on a 38 acre plot of land where it continues it on going determination to provide the highest quality of education and training for the visually impaired.

 

 

 

John Dix Fisher

Founder of Perkins School for the Blind