The Effects of Child Neglect

Dr. Perry says Diane and Bernie are helping Danielle by stimulating her senses, and giving her the love and attention she craves. "Many years ago, we were very pessimistic about the outcomes of children like this," he says. "But now, since we've started to look at this in a very developmental way and provide these kinds of replacement experiences in the sequence that the brain normally develops, we've seen that children who were essentially going to be institutionalized literally go to college."

When Dr. Armstrong first treated Danielle, she wasn't sure she would ever progress as far as she has. "It's so wonderful to see her, especially the pictures of her in the pool and moving around and showing delight when her parents are holding her," she says. "It warms my heart to see that, because I didn't know if she'd even go that far."

Diane says she's always believed that Danielle has potential. "I could see somebody in her eyes," Diane says. "There's a person in there."

See how Danielle is doing today

How you can help a traumatized child