Genie Wiley Case Study

Genie Wiley is a child who spent the first 13 years of her life in nealy total isolation suffering severe abuse and neglect. She was never allowed to leave her bedroom; locked in bed at night and strapped to a potty chair during the day. When Genie was discovered by investigators and social workers, she was severely underdeveloped; those who first saw her said she appeared to be six year old.In addition to this, Genie was immobilized,still in diapers, and unable to communicate. Genie Wiley’s birth had no complications; however, she was later diagnosed as having a hip dislocation at eleven months, forcing her to use a frejka splint and delaying her being able to walk. Genie’s mother was blind due to cataracts and her father was a loner; she

Genie lived in nearly complete isolation, hearing hardly any human speech. In fact, when researchers first started studying her, the only words she recognized were her name and “sorry.” According to known information about child development, even while a child is a fetus, they are absorbing and processing auditory information. During this time period, children are learning how conversations work, syntax, grammar, and words themselves. Because children can understand and process auditory information so early on, they are able to understand language long before they learn to talk. Children need to be in a positive environment where mental stimulation is supported; Genie did not have any such experiences. Additionally, the sensitive period for language ends at age 12, making it much more difficult to learn language after this time frame. Genie Wiley was able to learn hundreds of words and even string together some small phrases; however, because she had never heard conversation growing up, she did not have the capacity to process syntax and grammar,limiting her ability to learn how to speak fluently. Although Genie Wiley’s ability to communicate verbally was limited, her cognitive abilities did not appear to be deficient. Despite her horrific past, through the doctors and researchers’ nurturing and encouragement, Genie was able to learn an exponential amount of

Through the work of doctors and researchers, Genie was able to learn hundreds of words, walk, run, hold objects, as well as interact with others nonverbally. Additionally, she learned how to chew and was potty trained. This was a lot of progress for Genie, who when rescued, was immobilized, speechless, and severely malnourished. Genie’s physical development and motor skills showed the most improvement in the time period of the study; although her limbs never fully straightened, she progressed from being immobilized to being able to walk, run, hold objects, and draw in a short amount of time. Genie’s language development showed the slowest development during the time of research, although she learned hundreds of words, because of her inability to process syntax and grammar, she never learned how to effectively communicate verbally. If I were to work with Genie, I would construct activities in hich would stimulate the are of the brain associated with language processing, hoping that she might be able to grasp syntax with time and effort. Additionally, I would give Genie as many opportunities as possible to explore and interact with people and places in her environment. Obviously, while living with her biological family, none of Genie’s needs were being met;however, when Genie went to go live at the UCLA hospital, the team that worked with Genie seemed to