hangama:

Behavioral scientists dream of discovering such a patient as “Genie,” the wild child of Los Angeles. Found in 1970, the 13-year-old girl was raised in complete isolation, producing a case of severe social retardation. Genie was kept in a room, tied to a potty chair for most of her life. She never learned to talk and still wore diapers. When social workers uncovered her, they discovered a rare opportunity to explore the human capacity for language. Could she learn to communicate at such a late stage and would she be able to function normally? Genie became a favorite among social workers who were captivated by her innocence and complete lack of pretense. Nova: Secret of the Wild Child accompanies doctors and analysts as they begin the long process of teaching what it means to be human. ~ Sarah Ing, Rovi

When I was fourteen or so I watched a documentary about feral children and got really fascinated and for a period of a few months read and saw everything I could about them. Genie was the most publicized case of feral children (which is kind of an awful term), they got her to speak basic word and sentences and they were doing well with her, but because there was a debate over where she would live and the funding for her case stopped, she lost all of the progress.