Genie
Genie is the pseudonym of an American feral child thought to have been born in 1957. She is often referred to in linguistic studies and abnormal psychology studies. When Genie was around 20-months-old, her father began keeping her in a locked room strapped to a child's toilet or bound to her bed. She was usually immobilised and had no stimulation or interaction. If Genie made any noise her father beat her, he would also bark and bare his teeth at her to scare her into silence. She was fed as little as possible and only given soft food and liquids resulting in her to becoming malnourished and underweight. Genie did not have any contact with other humans and consequently did not learn to speak as a child. Her abuse was discovered in November 1970 when she was 13 years old and taken out of her family home. Genie's case gained a great deal of interest due to the fact she had not been exposed to language or socialisation; she was heavily studied after being rescued. Genie's cognitive abilities shortly after she was freed were though to be at the level of a 13-month-old but she surprised doctors by being curious and interested in objects and people. While Genie became excellent and communicating nonverbally and learnt some social skills, she continued to exhibit many unsocialised characteristics and remained unable to fully speak in in language. In January 1978, Genie's birth mother forbade all observations and testing of her daughter resulting in little knowledge of her since then. What happened to Genie remains a mystery and little is known of how much of her upbringing caused permanent damage.
