Language Intervention After Thirty Years Of Isolation: A Case Study Of A Feral Child

• Published in: Education and training in mental retardation and developmental disabilities Vol. 33; no. 1; pp. 13 - 23
• Main Authors: Kenneally, Shannon M., Bruck, Gina E., Frank, Elaine M., Nalty, Lily
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: The Council for Exceptional Children, Division on Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities 01-03-1998
• Subjects: Adults; Case Studies; Child neglect; Children; Communication Disorders; Communication Skills; Communication systems; Early Intervention; Gestures; Instructional Effectiveness; Intellectual disability; Language; Language Acquisition; Language development; Language Impairments; Nonverbal Communication; Social Isolation; Special education; Symbolic communication; Training; Training devices
• ISSN: 1079-3917

A case study was conducted to learn more about the speech and language development of children who received limited stimulation in early development. The subject was a 38 year old "feral child" whose limited speech and language development was further confounded by 30 years of social isolation and neglect. After rescue, the level of communicative function was assessed and a training program was implemented to increase verbal and nonverbal communication. Results indicated an increase in communicative attempts and nonverbal communication acts but limited increases in verbalizations.