Jean-Marc Perreault publicly asked me: > A student of mine reported watching a recent documentary last > week-end during which they were discussing famous cases of "wild" > children, including the case of Genie. I was under the impression that > nobody really knew where she had ended up, but the documentary supposedly > showed footage of the woman. She was not talking. The person being i> nterviewed said Genie could pronounce words, but had no sense of grammar.
> Do you have any more specific info as to what has happened with Genie? > I'll try to find out which documentary the student saw... Hi Jean-Marc: That's easy. All I have to do is recyle a message I posted on that other list back in 2004. As it happens, the most recent information in it comes from another student of mine, Shannon Gadbois, who resourcefully asked Susan Curtiss and received an informative reply, which she posted on TIPS. As we haven't heard from Shannon for a long time on TIPS, I assume she's no longer with us. Bummer. The only update I can offer is to check out that often-maligned source, Wikipedia (search using "Genie (feral child)" ). It's a pretty good account, although I wouldn't be so hard on Jean Butler and much harder on the research team, especially David Rigler. I'd also mention the sensational lawsuit launched by Genie's mother. Unfortunately, there's no source given for the information under "Present Condition", so accept it with caution. Stephen ------- Forwarded message follows ------- From: Stephen Black <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Society for Teaching of Psychology Discussion List <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Genie, the wild child Date sent: Sat, 21 Aug 2004 11:37:39 -0500 On 17 Aug 2004, Kristin Larson wrote: > Every semester a student will ask me what has happened > to "Genie" now that she is an adult. I am aware that she lived in a group > home, but I have not been able to find out any information about her > development. Any suggestions? Under the slogan, better late than never, I contribute the following. Little information is available. As Mark Walter noted in an earlier post, Russ Rymer, who wrote the definitive account of the whole sad story (Genie: an Abused Child's Flight From Silence (1993), aka "Genie: A Scientific Tragedy"), provided a brief update. According to Rymer (in his 1992 account in _The New Yorker_ magazine), Dr. Jay Shurley, one of the group who had studied her, showed Rymer two disturbing photographs of "a large, bumbling woman with a facial expression of cowlike incomprehension". Of the second photograph, Shurley said: "Her twenty-seventh birthday party...I was there, and then I saw her again when she was twenty-nine, and she still looked miserable. She looked to me like a chronically institutionalized person. It was heartbreaking...She looks demented". On the other hand, David Rigler, the chief psychologist at the hospital where Genie was treated, and Genie's temporary foster parent, said in a 1993 letter to the New York Times (his sole comment, as far as I know, against charges that he exploited Genie): "As I write this, Genie is again living in a board-and-care home, this time under happier circumstances. Genie visits her mother regularly. My wife and I were invited to visit her in the company of her mother. Although we had not seen her for more than 15 years, we all of us cried as she greeted us by name". Finally, my former student Dr. Shannon Gadbois, now professor of psychology at Brandon University, wrote to ask Susan Curtiss the same question, and she posted Curtiss's reply on that other list for psychology teachers (that unmoderated, uncensored, anything-goes, Wild West one) in 2001. Shannon reported that Dr. Curtiss said: 1. Genie is in an adult care facility that Dr. Curtiss described as "atypical" in that it offers exceptional exposure to events and activities. Each year Genie travels with her group to Las Vegas to play slot machines and explore. They also go on regular outings and have "social functions" at the care home. 2. Dr. Curtiss said that, unfortunately, Genie's language skills have deteriorated as has her ability to sign (she really has no one with whom she can "practice" signing). Despite these setbacks, Dr. Curtiss said that Genie is still "a powerhouse of zest for life". 3. Dr. Curtiss also said that not one member of the "team" that worked with Genie has been permitted to see her. Her mother, as of last year, was still the legal guardian, and had forbidden the team members to see Genie. Dr. Curtiss receives all of her information through Genie's social worker". I've also had students tell me they were told by another (always unidentified) instructor that Genie had died of cancer. As far as I know, this rumour is false. Possibly it originated with confusion with the death of Jean Butler Ruch, Genie's sometimes teacher and adversary of Curtiss and Rigler. She died of stroke in 1989. A colleague suggested it was Genie's mother, Irene, who had died of cancer, but I haven't been able to verify that either. ___________________________________________________ Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) Department of Psychology Bishop's University Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Dept web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy TIPS discussion list for psychology teachers at http://faculty.frostburg.edu/psyc/southerly/tips/index.htm _______________________________________________ --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
