Auditory deprivation from birth--clarification of some issues

The study of auditory deprivation from birth represents a series of empirical animal research findings suggesting intrinsic higher level processing problems arising from this early reduction of auditory stimulation. Following comment by Bench (1979), this paper traces the relation of auditory and linguistic deprivation, particularly in the case of Genie, and some of the human implications are clarified. The problem of disturbance of internal language function due to auditory deprivation requires elaboration in audiological, psychological and linguistic terms.