- Title: Mindshock: Feral Children
- Date: 15th December 2003
- Summary: The film examines the phenomenon of feral children, brought up by animals, and isolated from all human contact. What are they like in adulthood and what can they teach us about human development?
- Description:In 2001 reports surfaced of a young Ukrainian woman brought up by dogs. Abandoned by her parents, Oxana lived from the ages of three to eight with a pack of dogs that protected and cared for her. Remarkable footage shows her crawling on all fours, eating, drinking and even barking like a dog. Throughout history cases like this, known as "the forbidden experiments", have both fascinated and horrified, going to the very heart of what it means to be human. Wild Child , the second film in BodyShock , Channel 4's new series of extreme human science from around the world, uncovers the extraordinary lives of Oxana and three other 'feral' children brought up by animals or without human interaction. With just a handful of documented cases over the past two centuries, science knows so little about these children that rehabilitation attempts have proved consistently unsuccessful. However, startling new evidence shows how the neglect faced by these children in their formative years changes the way their brains function forever. It was Professor Itard's attempts to 'tame' a feral child in 18th-century France that led to the belief that the defining attributes of 'humanity' are empathy and language. Can a child who has lived almost exclusively without human interaction acquire either? Is it nature or nurture which shapes us? "Part of being a human is being brought up by humans," says James Law, Professor of Language and Communication at City University. "If you're not brought up by humans are you completely human?" One of the most shocking cases in recent years was discovered in 1970 in the urban heart of Los Angeles, USA. A victim of horrendous child abuse from her father, 13-year-old-Genie had been kept in total isolation all her life and could neither walk nor talk. She was the case the modern scientific world had been waiting for. Previous research suggested a critical period in early human development which allows the brain to learn language. According to the theory, if this 'window of opportunity' is missed, language can never be conceived. At first Genie seemed to defy the received wisdom and made incredible progress, learning hundreds of words. However, despite her obvious intelligence and rigorous efforts on the part of the scientists, she simply couldn't understand syntax. "Language is not just words," says linguist Susan Curtis who worked closely with Genie. "It's grammar, sentences ...how do you automatically know something is a sentence?" Genie, it seemed, had missed her 'window of opportunity'. Today, new research sheds light on Genie and other children's cases. Scientist have proved that the brain's left cortex, responsible for speech and grammar, shrinks dramatically if not stimulated. In the case of feral children exposed to extreme neglect for prolonged periods, the contraction is acute and language will never be learnt. Shockingly the number of 'wild' children is on the increase. In 1999 an abandoned four-year-old Ukrainian boy, Edik, was found living in squalid conditions with dogs. They were his sole companions for two years, and as a result Edik's behaviour was more canine than human and he was unable to speak. Professor James Law travels to the Ukraine to assess Edik's development. Having gone without human interaction for so long, it is not known if Edik's speech will ever fully develop and he displays disturbing social behaviour. The question is whether, after living wild for so long, these children can ever be fully rehabilitated? Current evidence suggests not. Despite their obvious emotional desire to 'connect' with the world Oxana and Genie remain haunted by their pasts, living in a home for the mentally ill and an adult care home respectively. "We should look at these children not with pity, but with awe," says Dr Bruce D Perry from the Child Trauma Academy in Houston. "They have this kernel of humanity that will not be crushed. You can't imagine what these kids go through... It's fascinating that you could go through something like that and you would still be willing, after what human beings have done to you... to reach out and touch a new person."
- Broadcaster:Channel 4
- Collection: Channel 4
- Genre:Documentary and Factual
- Producer:DISCOVERY NETWORKS EUROPE
- Programme Episode:1
- Transmission Date:15/12/2003
- Decade: 2000s