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Feral Children Featured on Oprah Winfrey, Study in Humanity

by Tina Kells | March 4, 2009 at 03:02 pm

6131 views | 37 Recommendations | 5 comments

Self appointed champion of all that is right, Oprah Winfrey, took on an uncommon yet disturbing topic in an Oprah show exclusive on feral children Wednesday.

Featuring a story from 2005 of a then 6-year old girl named Danielle who was found living like a feral animal in Plant City, Oprah was hoping to raise public awareness of homeless children.

Winfrey's cameras visited the Plant City home in which Danielle was found in 2005 with the officer who discovered her, describing how animal feces lined the walls, how her mattress was moldy and falling apart, and the child herself was covered in insect bites, fleas and mites, wearing only a soiled diaper

Footage from Tampa Bay area cable newschannel Bay News 9's 2008 interview with Danielle's biological mother, Michelle Crockett, was shown during the episode, with Crockett's face blurred out. Winfrey never mentioned Crockett by name, quizzing Times reporter Lane DeGregory on the mother's mental state; DeGregory appeared from the Times newsroom via the video conferencing service Skype.

"She seemed very much in denial," DeGregory said of Crockett. "She felt very much like a victim . . . Her only regret was moving (to Florida)." Winfrey noted that the show attempted to get a statement from Crockett through her attorney, who did not return their calls.

Homelessness is an issue that is frequently talked about but the idea that there are children left alone to live on the streets is rarely exposed.

While most people assume that abandoned children end up in foster care there are some cases, like Danielle's, of homeless children who are left alone to raise themselves.

Oprah's focus on Danielle's story is timely as the world plunges into another Depression and more and more families are finding themselves homeless.

The episode shows how Danielle, who is now a member of the Lierow family, has both struggled and thrived during her transition from feral child to cared for child.

Showing pictures and videos of Danielle taken over the past 4 years Oprah discussed the developmental delays with which the girl still struggles.

Known as The Girl in the Window, Danielle is now doing well but developmentally speaking the 10-year old functions more like a 3-year old. Danielle had been left to fend for herself by an unapologetic biological mother who moved to Florida leaving her child behind to fend for herself.

Photographer Melissa Lyttle's intimate, revealing photographs were added to footage gathered by Winfrey's producers and other sources to show Danielle's integration into her adoptive family, including parents Diane and Bernie Lierow.

Clips of Danielle spending time with the Lierows revealed what Danielle looks like during frequent fits and while she was learning new ways to eat, walk and use the bathroom. The Lierows appeared in Winfrey's studio for the story, but Danielle remained off camera in the show's "green room" for guests, seen there only in a brief video clip of the host meeting with the family backstage.

Though physically Danielle is 10 years old, developmentally her abilities are more like a 3-year-old; clips showed Danielle diving into the family pool, playing with the family dog and displaying a rare smile.

"I could see somebody in her eyes; there's a person in there," Diane Lierow told Winfrey.

The Oprah exclusive shows heart wrenching photos and videos of little Danielle then and now, and includes interviews with the police officer who found her, a photo journalist who documented her journey back to civilization, and a child psychologist who is an expert in cases of extreme child abuse and neglect.

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Barry Artiste

at 17:12 on March 4th, 2009

Who would have thought Oprah and Maury Povich were separated at Birth?

Roy C

at 20:20 on March 4th, 2009

One of my great-aunts, sister of my paternal grandmother, raised a number of children who were not her own.

I was visitng her in Phoenix and I saw pictures on the wall of some kids. She said she had raised them. They had been abandoned by their parents who were passing through Phoenix on wagon trains.

This is just before World War I.

When we hear or read of such a story as this one, we are tempted to blame it on the modern world, but I am afraid that is a problem that the modern world has inherited that it cannot readily cure.

Xola Mabija (not verified)

at 01:58 on March 5th, 2009

What kind of a mother is that woman to the child? How can she give birth, feel the pains and than reject her own suffering? What ever happened to the values of humanity?

My prayers to the child and Blessings of God shower upon the person who found the poor child. As for Mama O, you continue touching lives as it is the gift God has Blessed you with.

All children deserve to be loved and protected.