In 2005, a girl named Danielle was found amid the most literal squalor and neglect. She weighed 46 pounds and was malnourished and anemic, and  was taken from the rented house where she lived with her mother, her mother’s boyfriend, and older brothers. She was first placed in a group home, and then–8 years old and non-verbal and needing a lot of care—adopted by Bernie and Diane Lierow. An extensive report by the St. Petersburg Time describes Danielle as a “feral child,” a term once used to describe children in previous centuries who may, or may not have been, …read more