Genie (feral Child) - Early Adulthood

Early Adulthood

In 1975, Genie turned 18 and her mother wished to care for her, so Genie moved back in with her mother at her childhood home. Before Genie left the Riglers, they offered to assist her mother in any way they could. They signed Genie up for a summer school program, but when it ended she expressed a desire to stay at home with her mother instead of going to a summer day camp, to which her mother and the Riglers acquiesced. After a few months, Genie's mother found that taking care of Genie was both physically and financially too difficult for her to manage, and without notifying the scientists contacted the California Department of Health to find care for Genie. Genie was then transferred to the first of a succession of six foster homes, where she ended up staying for a year and a half.

When Genie first moved into her new foster home, social workers observed that the house was an extremely rigid environment, in particular noting that Genie was never allowed to play with the plastic containers she had brought with her. During her stay there, Genie experienced a severe regression because of her treatment. She again began experiencing issues with both incontinence and constipation, and quickly returned to her coping mechanism of silence. Not long after she moved in, she was beaten for vomiting and told that if she did it again she would never be allowed to see her mother, causing her to become extremely afraid of opening her mouth for fear of vomiting and facing more punishment. Even when she was hungry she could barely eat, only opening her mouth just long enough to put food in; it was later described as looking similar to a crocodile eating. Her fear also made her afraid to speak, rendering her almost completely silent; however, she still wanted to communicate with people she knew, so she began almost exclusively using the sign language she had learned while with the Riglers. Her mother, who she desperately missed, was almost never permitted to visit her, causing Genie to become extremely withdrawn. At one point while she was living there, she refused to talk for five months.

"I want live back Marilyn house."

—Genie speaking to Susan Curtiss, November 1975

Except for Curtiss, all of the scientists, including the Riglers and James Kent, were completely cut off from Genie during her stay in this foster home. Curtiss continued to meet with Genie once a week to continue her research, witnessed some of the abuse Genie received, and saw her rapid behavioral regression. On several occasions Genie told Curtiss she wanted to see her mother and wanted to move back in with the Riglers. Early on during her stay, when Curtiss first heard this, she started petitioning to have Genie removed. Curtiss said because she was only a graduate student, it took a long time to get authorities to take her seriously. Once she got in contact with the department of social services, both they and Curtiss had a very difficult time finding and contacting John Miner, who was still her legal guardian, only succeeding after repeated attempts over several months. Once they got his attention, he went to see Genie at a party; when he saw how badly she had regressed, especially how withdrawn she was and how laborious eating had become for her because of her fear of opening her mouth, he worked with David Rigler to get her taken out of the home. Upon leaving in January 1977, owing to the previous treatment, she required a two-week stay at Children's Hospital. She saw her mother and the Riglers during this time, and her condition moderately improved. In some of the subsequent homes she was physically abused and harassed, and her development further regressed. She was often forbidden from seeing her mother for long periods of time in these homes, and except for Curtiss was completely cut off from most of the scientists. Throughout 1977 Genie frequently drew pictures to express her desire to see her mother, and told Curtiss she missed her mother; many of these utterances and drawings were included in Curtiss' dissertation.