Comment Anecdotal Evidence (Score 1) 206
How freaky is it come from home from an appointment with the neurologist and see this at the top of the Slashdot?
So, some anecdotal evidence supporting this. My wife and I are foster parents. You have no idea how bad some kids have it until you see it first hand. We have a foster child with us that has been professionally diagnosed as being 'developmentally delayed'. This means not being able to do the things that a baby of his age should be able to do. Crawl, eat soft food, roll over, mimic a caregiver, make vowel sounds, sit without falling over. A month ago when this child arrived, he could do none of them. As of today, he can do all but crawl and roll over, but he's almost doing that now too.
The neurologist today examined him and feels strongly that all of his developmental delays are due to extreme neglect. Not feeding your child properly, not playing with him, not 'conversing' with him, leaving him in a car seat all day. These are all basic examples of neglect that add up to extreme neglect.
For those that commented "Isn't this well known already?", yes, it is. The therapist see the developmental delays. They get the child checked by a geneticist and neurologist, ruling out brain issues and things like down syndrome. This process of elimination points directly at extreme neglect.
Again, anecdotal evidence, but evidence just the same.