Mowgli Syndrome - Feral Child

[Bella Fortuna]

Horrifying...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstop ... a-pet.html

'Feral' child barks and hisses after being raised as a pet
A "feral" five-year-old girl who hisses and barks after being forced by her family to live as one of their many pets has been rescued from a home in far eastern Russia.

By Adrian Blomfield in Moscow
Last Updated: 12:57PM BST 27 May 2009

According to police, the child, who has only been identified as "Natasha", was so neglected that she had barely developed a human vocabulary, communicating instead through animal noises.

Although she lived with her father, grandparents and other relatives, Natasha was essentially treated like one of a large number of dogs and cats that shared a small flat in the isolated city of Chita.

Like the other pets, she lapped at her food from a bowl on the floor and had never learned how to use cutlery.

Welfare officers, who were led to the flat by concerned neighbours, have placed Natasha in an orphanage. Although malnourished and small for her age, she appeared to be relatively healthy considering her ordeal, a police spokesman was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency.

He said the police were looking for the girl's parents, who are believed to be divorced.

Welfare organisations say that child abuse in Russia is worsening, particularly in the Far East where traditional problems such as alcoholism and unemployment are magnified.

Last week a woman was sentenced to three-years probation by a court in Chita after her baby died of alcohol poisoning. Yelena Sinitsyna admitted to drinking a pint of pure ethanol before breast feeding her four-month-old son.

The consumption of ethanol and alcoholic byproducts such as boot polish, collectively known as "samogon" in Russia, remains common in many parts of the country. Alcohol dependence is believed to be the main cause of low male life expectancy in Russia, which, at just 58, is among the lowest in the world outside Africa.

Activists say they are concerned that domestic abuse could become an even more serious problem as a growing number of Russians lose their jobs.

In the midst of Russia's worst economic crisis in a decade, unemployment has soared above 10 per cent, according to figures released this week which show that over 11 million people are now out of work.

Other links to the story:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/2 ... 08166.html
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/ ... public_rss

[AshtonBlack]

So sad....

[Existentialist1844]

This population interests me. That is, working with children that have experienced trauma, maltreatment and neglect. The most important thing is that this child receives early intervention ASAP. Severe neglect can have damaging effects on the brain. Brain scans have shown that children that have experienced neglect have undersized brains compared to those children who have come from loving families. I surmise that this child is going have a host of cognitive, social and emotional delays. Good thing she is only 5 years old. The brain is still malleable, and many of the deficits can be overcome with the proper intervention-her brain still has the chance to overcome such a harsh environment. Unfortunately, some feral children are not discovered until 10 or 12 years of age, and the possibility of future success becomes less and less.

A good article:

http://teacher.scholastic.com/professio ... onding.htm

[Bella Fortuna]

The whole idea has always been oddly fascinating to me as well - how some children can adapt and learn and change, and others never recover. One wonders what the tipping point (or points) is.

In looking into this story I discovered a website on the phenomenon that gives stories and progress for similar happenings - interesting in a rather morbid way.

[Existentialist1844]

The whole idea has always been oddly fascinating to me as well - how some children can adapt and learn and change, and others never recover. One wonders what the tipping point (or points) is.

In looking into this story I discovered a website on the phenomenon that gives stories and progress for similar happenings - interesting in a rather morbid way.

Well, there are a variety of reasons:

1) when the child is discovered
2) when early intervention begins
3) what type of early intervention is implemented, and is it HIGH quality intervention.

Lastly, I would think genetics have something to do with it. Some children can adapt and learn faster than others, despite being neglected. Dr. Bruce Perry, a leading expert on childhood trauma has claimed that highly intelligent children can get away with being neglected more than average or below intelligent children. The reason is that highly intelligent children only need to be shown something a few times, and their brains can make connections right away. The average or below average child will need repeated stimulation-if that stimulation is not repeated, deficits can occur. Thus, a highly intelligent child can be shown something once or a only a few times, and be left alone for a greater period of time without experiencing deficits.