Isabel Quaresma, the Chicken Girl of Portugal

Confined to a hen coop

Isabel Quaresma was born in 1970 in Tabua, Portugal, to a mentally deficient mother, Idalina Quaresma Dos Santos. Isabel was the only one of three children not fathered by a family member. When she was found in January 1980 at the age of nine, she had spent the last eight years shut in a hen-coop.

Isabel Quaresma: rescued but returned

Neighbours had been aware of the situation, but as in the case of the men in their thirties living in sub-human conditions found in Lameiras, Portugal, in 1989, no one had deemed it necessary to interfere in what was seen as a family matter. It appears Isabel Quaresma was eventually taken at the insistence of Maria João Bichão to various hospitals, where she underwent some tests, but was subsequently returned to live with her mother and the man with whom she co-habited.

Unable to speak

Isabel Quaresma's growth was seriously stunted, she was not toilet-trained, and of course she couldn't talk. She held her arms in the position of hens' wings, and the palms of her hands were calloused. She had been fed on scraps; the same food as the hens received. One eye was affected by a cataract and there was some speculation whether that had been caused by a hen scratch.

Isabel makes very little progress

Eventually she was taken to an institution for handicapped children. 18 years later, Isabel had not grown much and made little progress generally. She could understand simple orders, but if asked to fetch two items, would only understand one request and return with one item. Her mental age was estimated at about two. However, some progress had been made as regards socialisation. She could interpret the expressions of others, and understand if they were happy or sad. Physically, she had learnt to walk, but still suffered a delicate stomach. Not surprisingly, she still couldn't talk.