Feral-The discovery of feral (wild) children has been reported from time to time. These children were abandoned or lost by their parents at a very early age and then raised by animals. In the 1700's, a feral child known as "the wild boy of Aveyron" was studied by the scientists of his day (Itard 1962). This boy, who was found in the forests of France in 1798, walked on all fours and pounced on small animals, devouring them uncooked. He could not speak, and he gave no indication of feeling the cold. Other reports of feral children have claimed that on discovery, these children acted like wild animals: They could not speak; they bit, scratched, growled, and walked on all fours; they drank by lapping water, ate grass, tore ravenously at meat, and showed an insensitivity to pain and cold (Malson 1972). Isolated-We can first conclude that humans have no natural language, for isolated children are unable to speak for example Isabelle. When given an intelligence test, she scored practically zero. But after a few months of intensive language training, Isabelle was able to speak in short sentences. In about a year, she could write a few words, do simple addition, and retell stories after hearing them. Seven months later, she had a vocabulary of almost 2,000 words. It took only two years for Isabelle to reach the intellectual level that is normal for her age. She then went to school, where she was "bright, cheerful, energetic and participated in all school activities as normally as other children" (Davis 1940/2001:135). Institutionalized-Back when orphanages dotted the United States. Children reared in orphanages often had difficulty establishing close bonds with others-and they tended to have lower IQs. We can conclude that not only intelligence but also the ability to establish close bonds with others depend on early interaction. In addition, apparently there is a period prior to age 13 in which language and human bonding must occur for humans to develop high intelligence and the ability to be sociable and follow social norms.
