Good Morning World…
I must first say that reading these stories made me extremely thankful. You never know how hard people have. Also, it made me appreciate just how blessed we are to grow up in homes and environments where we can learn language.
That brings me to my second point. The importance of language in our social development cannot be overstated. The stories of Anna and Isabella show just how imperative it is for our families/guardians to teach us language. I never thought of just how fundamental language is to our development. Anna, who was raised in isolation without any investment in her language, soon died. She simply did not have anyone who invested their time in her development. She was basically left to her own. She died at ten years old with severe disabilities and cognitive abilities. Isabella on the other hand, found shortly after Anna, had a more successful development after her isolation. She had many of the same issues as Anna. The difference, a staff at a facility took it upon themselves to teach Isabella language. Since, these people did this, Isabella processed this at an extraordinary rate. She was able to learn in two years what kids usually learn their in their first six years. She actually thrived! From the last report, she was fourteen years old and had passed sixth grade. Even her social skills were exceptional. Even though these were sad cases, it was refreshing to see that at least one kid was able to blossom.
I just want to leave you with: Language is unquestionably the way we learn to be socialized into this society. It is also good to note that even when situations like this occur, there can be a silver lining. Only if people invest their time and energies into others… PEACE!!!
ofomarthethoughts 