The Talking Ape Author:Keith Laidler When Keith Laidler set out to use the latest techniques for speech training as developed for autistic childrenon the infant Cody, he faced an unusual problem. Cody was not a child but a highly individualistic orangutan, with no great interest in saying please or thank you. But after long, patient, and often hilarious effort, th... more »e first painful words were produced, remembered, and used in different, correct combinations; Keith Laidler has proved that the gift of speech is not confined to humans.
The Talking Ape is more than a report of an astonishing scientific experiment. The author says, "We lived cheek to jowl for so long that I felt I was almost part orang myself. I learned the truth of the old adage 'language is often redundant.' I could intuitively sense Cody's wants, his moods, as soon as I walked through the door into his cage. And I am convinced that he could do the same.
"I demanded much from my young pupil: growth measurements, photography, interminable testing, and the long, hard slog of learning to talk were all thrust upon him whether he liked it or not. But I like to think that Cody also gained from the experience. The continual stimulation did, I believe, greatly develop his dormant intelligence and interest. It was a good time for both of us, a joyful, angry, bewildering, frustrating. fascinating time."« less