If a child experiences extreme deprivation of human contact they can become feral, with no experience of human care and attention as well as being unable to communicate using human language. There was once a case of young girl named Genie, who from the age of twenty months to thirteen years was held in solitary confinement and was deprived of the normal amount of human contact that a child would normally encounter. When her mother escaped with her and she was admitted to hospital she was functioning as a one year old child. However Genie did respond to the developmental treatment that she was given, using small words as well as gestures. (Smith, Cowie and Blades, 2003:557-558). Genie’s development is a good example which is illustrative of the theory that in order for a child to develop and become accepted into society, primary socialisation and nurturing from their significant others is imperative.