In Act 3 of The Miracle Worker, Annie has been teaching Helen in a place apart from the family. When the Captain and Mrs. Keller arrive early to pick Helen up, Captain Keller sees Annie finger spelling with Helen.
When Helen realizes her dog is in the room, she tries to teach the dog to finger spell. Captain Keller notes, "Teaching a dog to spell. The dog doesn’t know what she means, any more than she knows what you mean, Miss Sullivan. I think you ask too much, of her and yourself."
Helen's parents don't believe she can have any real understanding of language any more than the dog can. Her overall behavior has improved: when she was with Annie, she stopped the tantrums, ate without throwing food, and bathed herself.
But at this point in the play, Captain Keller has a point. Helen hasn't had the breakthrough yet to really understand what the movement with her fingers means. That comes later.
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