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Geniie Willey The Feral Child Case Study

767 Words4 Pages

Through extensive research within the field of neurolinguistics, scientist and linguists have discovered how the brain works, and how this can be stimulated through an essential element, such as social interaction, in order to develop the intricate system of verbal communication. This essay is intended to discuss the role of the human brain in the development of language as well as the connection with a critical period for its acquisition taking into consideration the case study of Genie Willey, the feral child. To start with, it is paramount to understand how the brain divides its functions, which at the same time corresponds to the physical division of the organ itself. Being divided into two hemispheres and connected by the corpus callosum, each hemisphere is specialized in the performance of specific functions. Generally speaking, while the right hemisphere is in charge of the execution of intuition, creativity, imagination, artistic awareness and holistic thought, the left side is responsible for logic, reasoning, analytic thought, science and maths, number skills and most importantly for our study, language. Lateralization of language in the left hemisphere starts in early childhood, around the second year of life, and it is …show more content…

The unfortunate story of the feral child, Genie Willey, is one of those striking events that gave scientist the opportunity to confirm some of the theories which were under the spotlight for many years. Found in the 1970s in Los Angeles, California, at the age of thirteen years old, Genie (name chosen to protect the child’s real identity), was discovered in a state of complete isolation from the outside world. Consequently, this state of isolation resulted in the child’s inability to verbally communicate, hence affecting her cognitive

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