Isabelle (wolf child)

Isabelle (* around 1932 probably in Ohio ) is the name of a so-called wolf child who was discovered in Ohio in 1938. Their development has been documented by developmental psychologists and has contributed to the advancement of knowledge about hospitalism and its healing.

Isabelle and her deaf mother had been held captive in a darkened room by their grandfather. When she was discovered at the age of six, Isabelle could not speak. However, she had learned to communicate with her mother through gestures. She was physically and intellectually retarded and was hostile to men.

After starting her sponsorship, Isabelle went through the developmental steps of the first six years of life in the same order as an ordinary child. Her learning pace, however, was faster. Two months after she spoke the first word, she learned to form sentences. Another nine months later she could read and write, count to ten, and retell a story. At eight and a half years of age, she was on a par with a normal child of that age.

See also

• Genius (wolf child)
• Kaspar Hauser

Links and literature

• PJ Blumenthal . Kaspar Hauser's siblings , 2003, p. 241ff.
• David Skuse: Extreme Deprivation in Early Childhood – II. Theoretical Issues and a Comparative Review , 1983
• Dieter E. Zimmer: Wild children. (pdf, 198 kB) In: Experiments in Life. Haffmans Verlag, Zurich, 1989, pp. 21–47 .