The case of Genie and Anna

The cases of Genie and Anna are two of the most wellknown examples of children who were deprived of linguistic input during their critical period for language development, and the impact this had on their language acquisition and cognitive development

Genie was a young girl who was severely neglected and abused by her parents and kept in isolation for the majority of her early childhood She was discovered by social workers at the age of 13 and had not been exposed to any language during her critical period for language development After her discovery, she was placed in the care of researchers who attempted to teach her language and help her catch up on cognitive and social development However, despite intensive efforts, Genie never fully developed normal language skills and continued to exhibit cognitive and social impairments throughout her life

Anna was another young girl who was kept in isolation by her parents, and was discovered at the age of 6 Unlike Genie, Anna had some exposure to language during her early childhood, but it was severely limited and she did not receive adequate linguistic input during her critical period for language development After her discovery, Anna was placed in the care of researchers who attempted to teach her language and help her catch up on cognitive and social development With intensive intervention, Anna was able to develop some language skills, but still exhibited cognitive and social impairments throughout her life

The cases of Genie and Anna have been important for understanding the critical period for language development, and the impact that deprivation of linguistic input can have on cognitive and social development These cases demonstrate that exposure to language during the critical period is crucial for the development of normal language skills, and that prolonged deprivation of linguistic input can result in permanent cognitive and social impairments