From the age of one and a half years to age thirteen, Katie was imprisoned by her mentally deluded parents. She was locked in a room, tied and immobile, bound to a "potty-chair" where she endured years of isolated silence, punctuated by brutality. In 1970 her case came to public light and Katie, completely emaciated, was moved to a hospital in Los Angeles, where it was discovered that she had never been taught to speak. She was unable to understand any language. Katie was an anomaly ... a modern day Wild Child.
With this heartbreaking story, the world was being introduced to a fragile, beautiful teenager who behaved like an infant. Medical and psychological doctors descended on the girl in droves. Often their selfish motivations for helping Katie were financial gain and prominence in their chosen fields. Their own egos added hurt to Katie's life instead of offering a nurturing environment to make up for her nightmarish past. We follow Katie's development and the story surrounding her discovery through the eyes of a young linguistics student Sandra who became Katie's closest companion.