This article absolutely blew me away.  The fact that a mother can be so negligent is disgusting.  Obviously, she has some type of mental retardation or illness herself because any sane and logical person would neglect their child so severely.

I have never heard of the term ‘feral child’ before this article, but I understand what it means based on the examples.  It’s a crazy concept that a six year old child has not yet spoken and may not ever.  I wasn’t aware of the fragility of speech, and that it had to be learned so early or it may never be.

I like the way the author of the article interviews all sides for the story: the social service workers involved, speech therapists, Diane and Bernie, and her mother. It answers all the necessary questions.

I found a link to an article that talks about Dani’s progress three years later, if anyone is interested.

http://www.tampabay.com/features/humaninterest/article1186860.ece