Odd Social Development Situation

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This just popped into my mind....

But I was just thinking how I once read about this kid who had been abused (neglected) from birth and was pretty much "raised" in solitude in a room by themself with no one to even talk to (no one talked to him either)... their food was just shoved through a hole in the bottom of the door or somethin. This kid was later found at like the age of 12 I think...

This "lifestyle" left the kid with serious mental issues... Like their thought organization/communication was all haywire.

I can't really remember the details... has anyone heard of anything like this... like what the specific developmental rammifications for such a child would be? Cause I wonder if I kinda had that case file to peruse again, that it might sound suspiciously like the kid had autism/AS or whatever. I vaguely remember the article saying that the kid was very animalistic.


Just makes me wonder about how our social aspects are so important from the get-go.

There ARE a number of periods when the brain is more plastic, and it IS like a muscle. The primary amino, glutamine, is even the same!

Anyway, kids generally have to be exposed to language before 8, so goes the theory.

Locking the kid into a closet is actually worse than cutting half his brain out, and the effect will likely be more profound! BTW BOTH conditions have happened, so it isn't mere theory.

Steve

I have seen a lot of programs about this specific issue. It seems that children can recover to a point if they are found and cared for by somebody. These children will learn to speak, although their speech remains very childlike, consisting mainly of common nonus. They continue to have problems with more abstract concepts.

A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive by Dave Pelzer

"David J. Pelzer's mother, Catherine Roerva, was, he writes in this ghastly, fascinating memoir, a devoted den mother to the Cub Scouts in her care, and somewhat nurturant to her children--but not to David, whom she referred to as "an It." This book is a brief, horrifying account of the bizarre tortures she inflicted on him, told from the point of view of the author as a young boy being starved, stabbed, smashed face-first into mirrors, forced to eat the contents of his sibling's diapers and a spoonful of ammonia, and burned over a gas stove by a maniacal, alcoholic mom. Sometimes she claimed he had violated some rule--no walking on the grass at school!--but mostly it was pure sadism. Inexplicably, his father didn't protect him; only an alert schoolteacher saved David. One wants to learn more about his ordeal and its aftermath, and now he's written a sequel, The Lost Boy, detailing his life in the foster-care system."

I read a child called it and also the lost Boy. it was intense to read.

You might be thinking of Genie.

look up www.feralchildren.com. It describes all known cases of kids who've been isolated, left inthe wild etc. Ive been checking that site for the last few years its pretty fascinating.

The children in these situations could have had some indications of autism to begin with as, many parents find the behavior difficult to deal with and might be more likely to isolate the kid in the first place.Add the parents sadism to the mix and result could be very abusive.There is no doubt in my mind that my traits were exacerbated by being in an environment where I was not liked,constantly criticized and punished with little understanding (on my part) of what I had done wrong.The fact that I was adopted at an older age(5)probably influenced me as well.It is difficult to separate all the factors that go into creating us as individuals.

Krex,

5yo should be one of the BEST ages to be adopted! You were old enough to have a memory and personality and be able to communicate with them. If they adopted you at five they knew pretty much who they were adopting. Of course, the stims and meltdowns and maybe tantrums might have been surprising, but they should have been more accepting of that.

Steve

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6275623.stm

This is the latest known case of a child who lived for years without apparent human contact.

Her demeaner seems to say "OK guys, I HAVE HAD IT, AREN'T YOU GUYS DONE YET? I have better things to do, and am bored."! ODD look for someone that is supposedly ferral. I would have expected SUPRISE, FEAR, unposed, etc...

Steve