Feral Child cases

What happened to Isabel the Chicken girl

Isabel was ten years old when she was found in a chicken coop. She had been left there by her mother and was described as having been raised by chickens. She could not speak, was not potty trained, communicated by beating her arms and drumming her feet, and was physically malformed.

How did Isabel differ significantly from an average 10 year old

Physically, she was described as malformed due to malnutrition. Socially, she was not potty trained and communicated by beating her arms and drumming her feet.

What happened to Kamala and Amala

Kamala and Amala were two girls who lived with wolves in India. Their behaviour was described as wolf-like: they howled, walked on all fours and ate directly from a bowl rather than using their hands.

What happened to Oxana Malaya

Oxana had been left in her family's dog kennel and was described as having been raised by dogs. She could bark and walked on all fours. The notes state that she later learned to walk and talk normally.

What happened to Genie

Genie was locked away in a private room by her father and had little to no human interaction until the age of thirteen. When found, she was unable to speak or walk. Although she made progress in forming human attachments, she never learned to speak fluently and lived in institutional care for the remainder of her life.

What general lesson about socialisation do the feral-child cases illustrate

They illustrate the importance of human interaction and socialisation in learning language, everyday behaviour and social skills.