Genie never went past this stage, and was never able to put real sentences together. She wasn't able to apply grammatical rules and use language in a meaningful way. She had far more difficulty with acquiring and utilizing grammar. By the time the scientists finished working with Genie, she had not fully mastered grammar and linguists concluded that she had not learned a first language within the critical period. Although Genie was able to learn some language, her inability to use grammar is evidence for the critical period hypothesis. Although these tests and studies may seem as if Genie was retarded at birth, I believe that Genie's delay in language development is due to her years of isolation and abuse.
After Genie was discovered in 1970, many psychologists, linguists, and other scientists paid a lot of attention to her. She had strong attachments to many of these people, including linguist Susan Curtiss. Curtiss was a twenty six year old first-year graduate student in the linguistics department when Genie first came into her life. Genie also had a strong attachment to her mother, Irene. Genie bounced around from different foster homes, and one of her foster families didn't allow Irene to visit her. They viewed her visits as a disturbance. This really affected Genie, because she had such a strong connection to her mother and needed to see her regularly. Genie was able to love other people, including her mother, her foster families, and the people who helped her, like the Riglers and James Kent. David Rigler, a therapist and psychology professor took control of Genie's case. Genie then later moved in with Rigler and his wife, Marilyn. Genie became very attached to the Riglers, and they were like her family. They took care of her and taught her many things. Genie stayed with the Riglers for four years, where she seemed to be doing very well. According to the Riglers, Genie enjoyed listening to classical music on the piano and she loved to draw.
Genie, a feral child's, case was one of the first to put the critical period theory to the test. ... Genie had a strong ability to communicate nonverbally. ... Genie hadn't said a word," (93). ... Genie had a fear of cats and dogs, and Rigler commented that he had never seen such fear in any child. ... Butler was Genie's nursery school teacher, who Genie later on lived with. ...
