Genie The Wild Child Analysis

A stage in development during which a person is best suited to learn a skill is known as a critical period. If these critical periods are missed it makes it difficult or even impossible for that person to learn that certain skill. For example, a young chaffinch (a bird) must hear an adult singing before it matures sexually or else it won't know how to sing the song and won't find a mate and will die with no offspring to further continue the species. Discovered on November 4,1970 in L.A. , thirteen year old Genie was “The Wild Child.” Deemed mentally ill by her father as an infant, Genie spent her entire childhood completely isolated and bound to either her potty chair or her crib. Under the dominating hand of Genie's father, Clark Wiley, Genie’s mother, Dorothy Wiley, and brother, John Wiley, were not allowed to communicate with Genie for any reason. For the

Once she was found scientists and researchers posed questions, theories, and hypotheses about how to help Genie learn to talk and act like a normal 13 year-old. The researchers who worked with Genie all generally cared about her. With the intense care that lasted four years, Genie received she was able progress like no one could believe. She even learned how to speak but sadly it was not enough. Grievously the abuse, torment and exploitation of Genie was so severe that even with the millions of dollars that the “Genie team” received they could not proceed with testing because she didn't advance mentally anymore. Genie had hit a wall. Due to the carelessness of the researchers in terms of cataloguing and reporting their findings, the “Genie team” lost their funding and Genie. Genie was returned to her mother who then sued the “Genie team” for using Genie for “profit and prestige”. A question that still haunts the researchers is: was Genie mentally impaired from birth or did she become that way because of her