Ragnhild Kåta

Ragnhild Tollefsen Kåta (May 23 1873 – February 12 1947) was the first deafblind person in Norway who received proper schooling. Despite being deafblind, she learned to talk, inspiring Helen Keller to do the same.

Early life

Ragnhild Kåta was born in Norway on May 23 1873 at Kåtaeiet in Vestre Slidre. At the age of three and a half, she lost her sight, hearing, sense of smell and taste, possibly due to scarlet fever.

After meeting Ragnhild in 1887, teacher and author Halvard Bergh wrote a passionate piece about her tragic plight in one of the major newspapers. The piece was read by Lars A. Havstad (1851 – 1913), himself deaf, and a pioneer when it came to education of the deaf in Norway. Lars Havstad’s brother-in-law, Elias Hofgaard, was the administrator of The Hamar Institute for the Deaf, and Havstad wrote to Halvard Bergh suggesting he contact him.

Elias Hofgaard agreed to accept Ragnhild as a student, and the state agreed to pay for her. On January 15 1888 her father followed Ragnhild to school for the first time. She was fourteen and it was a difficult transition. She was suspicious of all strangers, and did not tolerate being touched. At times she bit, screamed, and clawed. Undeterred Hofgaard finally managed to calm her down and she eventually trusted first him and then others to be around her.

Hofgaard had employed the “speaking method” on very talented deaf students with good results, still it surprised many when he declared that he would use the method with Ragnhild. He reasoned that a deaf and blind child would have most use of learning to speak (rather than using e.g. the finger alphabet).

Hofgaard first taught Ragnhild to pronounce the letters, then to combine two letters into a syllable, and finally multisyllabic words before trying to attach meaning to what had until then been presented as a complicated game. The first words used were: "ur" (watch), "fot" (foot), and "bord" (table). The words were associated with the objects over several days until Ragnhild understood that the words named the object. After that there was no stopping her. She learned to understand others by placing her hand on their lips as they spoke, she learned to write, and to read Braille.

When she met with Ms. Lamson (Helen Keller’s teacher) during the summer of 1889 she could already speak simple sentences.

Later life

Ragnhild became accomplished in embroidery, as well as knitting and weaving. She received honorable mention for a couple of pieces she sent to an exhibition in Skien in 1891, and later in life she made enough money through her crafts to support herself.

She went through confirmation in June 1897 which meant that she had to leave school. Her development stagnated, and Hofgaard managed to get permission for her to come back and live at the school for another couple of years. She is listed at the school in census data from December 3 1900. When Ragnhild left school, her development was similar to a talented deaf (but seeing) person, something previously believed to be impossible.

Ragnhild’s father died while she was at school. After she left school she went home to live with her mother. Hofgaard visited her regularly until a biking accident made travel impossible in 1904. Elias Hofgaard died in 1906. After her mother died, Ragnhild moved in with one of her sisters, and the last ten years of her life she lived at “Døves Vel” at Hamar.

She died February 12 1947 after a bout with bronchitis.

She was described as almost always smiling and good humored, talkative, and with an unshakable faith in God.

References

"Ragnhild Kåta: et sant eventyr" (Ragnvald Hammer). De døves blad, 1954. - 23 s.