what was helen keller first word of speech
She taught her the names of things by writing the words on Helenâs hand. Helen's first word was water. She learned this word when Anne put Helen's hand under some water and wrote W,A,T,E,R on her hand. Then she learnt the words with this method. In 1890, Helenâs family sent her to the Perkins Institute to learn how to speak and communicate.