London, Aug. 28: A nine-year-old boy in Britain was neglected so badly by his mother that it shunted his growth, leaving him a dwarf.
The boy, who was not named, developed a condition called “psychosocial dwarfism,” in which body stops producing a growth hormone due to extreme stress. This left him significantly shorter than his six-year-old brother.
The incident came to light when some social workers called in to work with the 28-year-old mother and discovered that the boy was not being given breakfast, was riddled with lice and could not remember the last time he saw a doctor, a court heard.
His teeth were decaying as mother had never taught him how to brush his teeth, The Daily Mail reported.
Mr Daniel Sawyer, prosecutor, said, “In 2008 police had searched her home regarding an unrelated matter and discovered the three bedroom house was untidy and grubby.”
Social workers had interviewed the boy in his school.