Wild child.

Documentary looking at feral children and the question of how to rehabilitate them. Oxana Malaya was left outside by her alcoholic parents as a toddler, so crawled into a kennel for warmth and spent more time with dogs than humans, so grew up behaving more like a dog than a child. Dramatic reconstruction illustrates the story of Victor, the first scientifically recorded case of a wild child, discovered in France in 1800. The experiments of Winthrop Kellogg and Harry Harlow, both involving the early development of monkeys, are briefly covered. The case of Jeannie Wiley is explained in detail: she was discovered as a 13-year-old in a house where she had been kept in total isolation by her parents, strapped to a potty chair by day and kept in a cage at night. She was unable to walk and was never spoken to, so was unable to speak. Child Psychologist James Kent and Professor of Linguistics Susan Curtiss talk of their work with Jeannie. In the Ukraine town of Mirny, a 4-year-old boy called Edik who grew up with stray dogs is now living with a foster family. James Law, Professor of Language and Communication, visits Edik to evaluate his prospects. Although, with help, rehabilitated feral children are gradually able to empathise and learn single words, they will not be able to learn spoken language and grammar past the age of 4 years. They will probably have social and emotional problems and difficulties in forming personal relationships. The programme ends by pointing out that we should be inspired by these children because in spite of the horrendous treatment they have had, they have a kernal of humanity that will not be crushed, and are still willing to put out a hand and touch a new person.