When a 'wild child' was found in the woods in 19th century France, doctors and scientists thought he presented the perfect opportunity to test whether nature or nurture was responsible for human development.
A Paris-based doctor Jean Marc Itard took on the boy, who he called 'Victor', with the claim that he could 'civilise the savage'.
Jill Dawson has used this as the starting point for her new novel 'The Wild Boy' and was inspired to write about 'Victor', history's first documented autistic child, after her son was diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome, an autistic spectrum disorder. The Wild Boy by Jill Dawson, published by Sceptre; ISBN: 0340822961
