openly talked about severe beatings. Medical examinations were carried out when they were first taken into care, and they showed that there were many fractures and breaks that had healed, yet there are no records of them ever being hospitalized for anything, or of ever having seen a doctor.’
‘They were born in the City Maternity Hospital ten years ago, Shane,’ Bríd said. ‘I’ve checked the records. But that is the last time they were seen outside that house. The neighbours did not even know they existed. Why were there no checks from the public health nurse? Why did no one pick up on the fact that they never attended school? We don’t know. What we have told you is
all
we know. These are two children who seem to have popped into existence from nowhere.’
‘So what we have,’ I said, ‘are two deeply traumatized children, displaying hugely erratic and challenging behaviour. We only have very sketchy background information, though, and we’re faced with a fairly sizeable communication barrier, in that they either won’t speak, or speak a language of their own which we can just about understand.’
‘That’s pretty much it,’ Olwyn said.
‘What do you want from me?’ I asked, a sense of panic, I realized, coming through in my voice.
‘A miracle,’ Karena smiled, suddenly looking exhausted.
I shook my head. There wasn’t really anything to say to that.
‘We’ve been unsuccessful in forming relationships with either of them,’ Bríd said. ‘The girls have tried very hard, but this is new to all of us, even those of us with experience to fall back on. Benjamin tells me that you have something of an interest in cases like this.’
‘I’ve written a couple of research papers on feral children. As a sociologist, the idea of an individual who is completely unsocialized – who has not been conditioned by human society – is hugely attractive. It’s kind of like looking at a person as a blank slate, before language, etiquette and all the rest of the baggage we have has taken hold. i‘m fascinated by the phenomenon. I’ve never actually met a child who
really is
feral, though. I once interviewed a woman who worked with one of the Irish cases, but that’s as close as I’ve got. I think that Ben may have slightly overstated the facts!’
‘So you can’t help us?’ Olwyn said, her voice cracking with emotion.
‘Hold on now, I didn’t say that,’ I said, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. ‘What I said was that, while I certainly have an interest and, perhaps, some skills in this field, it’s quite new to me too. Now, there are some things we
can
do; some things maybe you haven’t thought to try yet. What you need to remember is that flexibility is the key in these situations. If one approach isn’t working, there’s no shame in trying something else. And besides, even though the children are twins, don’t forget that they are still individuals, each with a different psychological make-up. What Larry may respond to, Francey may not.’
‘They certainly behave as if they’re two parts of the same person,’ Karena said. ‘It’s hard to see them as individuals.’
‘It’s like they have a pack mentality or something,’ Olwyn said, nodding.
‘It may appear that way, but it really isn’t the case at all. What we need to try and do is unlock that individuality. I don’t want to separate them. The bond between twins is remarkably strong, but what we could try to do is have specific times when they
are
separated – perhaps when they have some special time with their key-workers, one-on-one.’
‘We never leave a worker alone with them at the moment,’ Bríd said. ‘They’re too difficult to manage. It’s always two workers minimum.’
‘Maybe I could help there,’ I said. We can look at scheduling some sessions later,’
‘Well, thank you very much, Shane,’ Bríd said, almost smiling. ‘I’m sure that you’ll be a great help.’
She stood. I stood
‘They were born in the City Maternity Hospital ten years ago, Shane,’ Bríd said. ‘I’ve checked the records. But that is the last time they were seen outside that house. The neighbours did not even know they existed. Why were there no checks from the public health nurse? Why did no one pick up on the fact that they never attended school? We don’t know. What we have told you is
all
we know. These are two children who seem to have popped into existence from nowhere.’
‘So what we have,’ I said, ‘are two deeply traumatized children, displaying hugely erratic and challenging behaviour. We only have very sketchy background information, though, and we’re faced with a fairly sizeable communication barrier, in that they either won’t speak, or speak a language of their own which we can just about understand.’
‘That’s pretty much it,’ Olwyn said.
‘What do you want from me?’ I asked, a sense of panic, I realized, coming through in my voice.
‘A miracle,’ Karena smiled, suddenly looking exhausted.
I shook my head. There wasn’t really anything to say to that.
‘We’ve been unsuccessful in forming relationships with either of them,’ Bríd said. ‘The girls have tried very hard, but this is new to all of us, even those of us with experience to fall back on. Benjamin tells me that you have something of an interest in cases like this.’
‘I’ve written a couple of research papers on feral children. As a sociologist, the idea of an individual who is completely unsocialized – who has not been conditioned by human society – is hugely attractive. It’s kind of like looking at a person as a blank slate, before language, etiquette and all the rest of the baggage we have has taken hold. i‘m fascinated by the phenomenon. I’ve never actually met a child who
really is
feral, though. I once interviewed a woman who worked with one of the Irish cases, but that’s as close as I’ve got. I think that Ben may have slightly overstated the facts!’
‘So you can’t help us?’ Olwyn said, her voice cracking with emotion.
‘Hold on now, I didn’t say that,’ I said, reaching out and placing a hand on her shoulder. ‘What I said was that, while I certainly have an interest and, perhaps, some skills in this field, it’s quite new to me too. Now, there are some things we
can
do; some things maybe you haven’t thought to try yet. What you need to remember is that flexibility is the key in these situations. If one approach isn’t working, there’s no shame in trying something else. And besides, even though the children are twins, don’t forget that they are still individuals, each with a different psychological make-up. What Larry may respond to, Francey may not.’
‘They certainly behave as if they’re two parts of the same person,’ Karena said. ‘It’s hard to see them as individuals.’
‘It’s like they have a pack mentality or something,’ Olwyn said, nodding.
‘It may appear that way, but it really isn’t the case at all. What we need to try and do is unlock that individuality. I don’t want to separate them. The bond between twins is remarkably strong, but what we could try to do is have specific times when they
are
separated – perhaps when they have some special time with their key-workers, one-on-one.’
‘We never leave a worker alone with them at the moment,’ Bríd said. ‘They’re too difficult to manage. It’s always two workers minimum.’
‘Maybe I could help there,’ I said. We can look at scheduling some sessions later,’
‘Well, thank you very much, Shane,’ Bríd said, almost smiling. ‘I’m sure that you’ll be a great help.’
She stood. I stood
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