The Effects of Child Neglect

Officers removed Danielle from her home and took her straight to the emergency room. Dr. Rodriguez, the physician who treated her, says that although Danielle was almost 7 years old, her behavior and language skills were similar to those of a 6-month-old baby.

"She wasn't able to feed herself, but she would feed from a bottle," Dr. Rodriguez says. "Danielle was malnourished, and she was dirty and had several insect bites."

Danielle's physical appearance wasn't what shocked Dr. Rodriguez most. The most profound effect of her neglect was how she reacted to human beings. "She wouldn't make eye contact. She frequently pushed us away, kicked us away," Dr. Rodriguez says. "[She] would snarl at us, frankly. She behaved like an injured animal. We realized the safest place would be one of the caged cribs."