PRESENTATION OUTLINE
It's 1970 in California and there was an unusual discovery.
A 13-year old girl known as "Genie" spent all 13 years of her life locked in a room and no contact of the outside world.
Her parents had tied her to a potty chair and she had very little movement of her hands and feet. At night time her parents put her in a straight jacket and forced her into a wire cage.
Her parents also refused to communicate with her and they demanded that her siblings avoid any communication with her as well.
Genie was found by the social services and the police, when they found her she had no bladder control, she couldn't chew solid foods, she had poor posture and she couldn't understand or speak.
After nursing her back to health, Genie's caregivers called in psychologists to help evaluate her mental and emotional conditions, as well as teaching her to communicate.
After she was placed in a hospital she was given tests that were designed to measure her social maturity and also her school-level placement.
After 7 months passed, she began to develop spoken use of one-word phrases similar to what toddlers use.
Even though she learned so much language, she still couldn't fully understand grammar and the use of pronouns and she was unable to control the pitch of her voice.
After 7 years passed, she acquired as much language skill as a normal child learns in 2-3 years.
