problem sending text message from Iphone 5; unable to type info on the keyboard section of my Iphone

Hi, when I recieve a text message to my Iphone 5, I can read the incoming message. However, I cannot reply back to this incoming message by typing info. I cannot enter in any info from the keyboard. I use the touch typing style, however, when I try to type in a letter, I just hear a bonking sound. There is no focus on the keyboard. I even double touch the text section of the message to enter in data, however, I cannot enter any infomation. I can use the touch typing method on other applications, however, I cannot reply back to an incoming text message from my Iphone 5. This problem occurred after I upgraded to the latest IOS version a few weeks ago. I cannot even use the dictate feature because there is no focus on the keyboard section whenever I recieve a text message from someone. Should I make some changes in the setting section of my Iphone 5? Does anyone else have this issue with trying to reply back to an incoming text message? All of my other features work fine and the text message is my only concern. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? Is this a bug in the latest IOS release? I would appreciate any responses back to assist me with replying back to a text message by using the touch typing method on my Iphone 5.