Post by paulette on Jan 17, 2012 12:16:51 GMT -6
I just saw an incredible documentary on Passionate Eye last night (TV) which may be retrievable somehow.
A father brought his son - at the age of 16 or 17, to a dolphin center where people bring damaged children to swim with the dolphins. They never said where but the father was Muslim (the mother swathed in traditional black robes) and the family lived somewhere close to a sea and had a huge horse ranch.
The father said he had sold land and horses to allow his son and him to be at the center. There was also a European psychiatrist who specialized in trauma involved in the case.
The documentary spanned 5 years. At first the father was camped on the beach with his son. Later his son moved into accomodations there. His son had been beaten by some local young men and afterwards did not speak at all. (I missed the first moments so if there was further info. I didn't get it). He was hospitalized and ended up blank and autistic looking. The father and the doctor (realistically in my opinion) said that he had lost all trust in humans and was lost to humans now.
Initially he wouldn't even look at the dolphins. It took 4 weeks for him to touch them and then get into the water with them. They appeared to love him. I mean, love him. He didn't have food to bait them in - they came and gently bumped his chest and presented themselves to be touched like a cat does. The people running the show were amazed at their involvement with him.
Then he started free diving with them. He dove incredibly deep and held his breath seemingly effortlessly - like a dolphin. By then he was answering yes and no questions and relating to the humans a bit.
A woman there fell in love with him and his father allowed him to live with her. (I really liked the father). She seemed to be French as were some of the folks running the center. The doctor sounded Swiss. Anyway...
He stayed there for 5 years and returned to near normality. The doctor at the end put a magnetic device on his head that supposedly stimulated different parts of his brain - and his memories unlocked (he had no recollection of his life prior to being about 18 and swimming with the dolphins who he called his family.) He was then able to cry and then he decided it was time to go home. He had refused to visit with his mother over the years although she came and watched him. His love affair was over but he thanked her in the documentary for loving him back to health.
When he finally went home, he and his parents held each other and cried. There was no recrimination that he should have seen him Mom and sister. They were just glad to get him back. He was finally able to testify against the three men who had beaten him (and they were shown jeering at the father earlier) and they were imprisioned.
I cried through a lot of this show. I thought about how his Dad trusted the process (and was able to fund it over a period of 5 years). The doctor continued to be available for him at no cost and he revisited the dolphin center and his dolphin family frequently. But he was able to be human again. I thought about the Mom who went and watched but did not force herself on him.
As I said to my husband while watching - and these acts of dolphin compassion were done by sentient beings who were prisoners - they did have a very large enclosure. But they were definitely locked in with floating net cages. Other incidences of swimming with wild and captured dolphins for autistic children have been documented. They seem to zero in on persons locked within and make more contact with them than with persons who are competant.
If you find this on line - watch it.
A father brought his son - at the age of 16 or 17, to a dolphin center where people bring damaged children to swim with the dolphins. They never said where but the father was Muslim (the mother swathed in traditional black robes) and the family lived somewhere close to a sea and had a huge horse ranch.
The father said he had sold land and horses to allow his son and him to be at the center. There was also a European psychiatrist who specialized in trauma involved in the case.
The documentary spanned 5 years. At first the father was camped on the beach with his son. Later his son moved into accomodations there. His son had been beaten by some local young men and afterwards did not speak at all. (I missed the first moments so if there was further info. I didn't get it). He was hospitalized and ended up blank and autistic looking. The father and the doctor (realistically in my opinion) said that he had lost all trust in humans and was lost to humans now.
Initially he wouldn't even look at the dolphins. It took 4 weeks for him to touch them and then get into the water with them. They appeared to love him. I mean, love him. He didn't have food to bait them in - they came and gently bumped his chest and presented themselves to be touched like a cat does. The people running the show were amazed at their involvement with him.
Then he started free diving with them. He dove incredibly deep and held his breath seemingly effortlessly - like a dolphin. By then he was answering yes and no questions and relating to the humans a bit.
A woman there fell in love with him and his father allowed him to live with her. (I really liked the father). She seemed to be French as were some of the folks running the center. The doctor sounded Swiss. Anyway...
He stayed there for 5 years and returned to near normality. The doctor at the end put a magnetic device on his head that supposedly stimulated different parts of his brain - and his memories unlocked (he had no recollection of his life prior to being about 18 and swimming with the dolphins who he called his family.) He was then able to cry and then he decided it was time to go home. He had refused to visit with his mother over the years although she came and watched him. His love affair was over but he thanked her in the documentary for loving him back to health.
When he finally went home, he and his parents held each other and cried. There was no recrimination that he should have seen him Mom and sister. They were just glad to get him back. He was finally able to testify against the three men who had beaten him (and they were shown jeering at the father earlier) and they were imprisioned.
I cried through a lot of this show. I thought about how his Dad trusted the process (and was able to fund it over a period of 5 years). The doctor continued to be available for him at no cost and he revisited the dolphin center and his dolphin family frequently. But he was able to be human again. I thought about the Mom who went and watched but did not force herself on him.
As I said to my husband while watching - and these acts of dolphin compassion were done by sentient beings who were prisoners - they did have a very large enclosure. But they were definitely locked in with floating net cages. Other incidences of swimming with wild and captured dolphins for autistic children have been documented. They seem to zero in on persons locked within and make more contact with them than with persons who are competant.
If you find this on line - watch it.