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In a radical new program designed to aid the
disabled, Israeli and U.S. researchers are training
capucine monkeys as domestic companions.
The task of the Burkes — and five other
Israeli families who adopted monkeys for
this purpose — was the first and most dif-
ficult stage in the process; what the
psychologists call the "socializing" stage.
During this period, the animals acquire
social skills. They become accustomed to
being around people, to the routine of a
home — "they build up a complete and ut-
ter trust in man so that they don't perceive
people as being potentially dangerous."
Carmella Burke recalls the intense fear
that Iza displayed when the mixer was
used soon after her arrival in her new
home: the animal was simply terrified by
the noise.
But it did not take her long to realize
that the machine did not pose a threat to
her, and Iza was soon lining up with the
other children on baking days to receive
her share of the remaining cake mix.
"They also have to learn that certain
things are out of bounds — we put stickers
on such objects and taught her not to
touch them."
After two years, the Burkes decided it
was time for Iza to "leave home." Their
eldest daughter was about to be married,
they were expecting family from Australia
to stay — "and we didn't know how they
would take to having a monkey around the
house."
Iza was placed with a new foster family,
but still retains strong emotional ties with
the Burkes, who regularly visit her and
bring her home for weekend visits.
Carmella Burke's project is, in fact,
based on a model that has been establish-
ed in the United States by Professor M. J.
Willard, of the Boston University Medical
School.
Professor Willard, a student of the emi-
nent behaviorist, B.F. Skinner, had been
running her program for about two years
when it first caught the attention of
Carmella Burke, who was attending a con-
ference in New York in 1983.
The Israeli immediately saw the poten-
tial for using capucine monkeys to help
Israel's young war wounded, particularly
quadriplegics — who need constant
attention.
The Defense Ministry, which provides
such men with 24-hour-a-day companions,
shared her enthusiasm and agreed to
underwrite the venture.
Over the years, Carmella Burke has
received the full cooperation of Professor
Willard and has videotaped every stage of
the United States program so that it could
be faithfully reproduced in Israel.
Now the years of preparation are about
to bear fruit, and Sorin Herscu, a member
of the crack Israeli commando unit which
staged the legendary Entebbe rescue mis-
sion in July 1976, is about to become the
first beneficiary of a monkey companion —
helpmate.
During the operation, Herscu, now 33,
suffered serious spinal injuries after being
shot, leaving him completely paralyzed.
Not that he is completely helpless; in-
deed, he has a surprisingly large measure
of control over his immediate environment.
With the aid of a mouth stick, he can
push buttons on a keyboard attached to
his high tech wheelchair to operate his
computer, to turn on lights, use the
telephone, open doors in his house, turn the
pages of a book.
But he does become helpless if he drops
the mouth stick, and one of his monkey's
primary functions will be to ensure that
the mouth stick is always quickly retrieved
and returned.
The monkeys are also trained to perform
other tasks to enhance the life of
quadriplegics: they are taught to bring
prepared food, place cassettes on tape
recorders and insert disks in computers.
Sorin Herscu, who has completed
courses in computer programming, is
himself deeply involved in the project,
along with Carmella Burke and veterinary
surgeon Dr. Moshe Bushmitz.
All three volunteer their time, skills and
energies, as do three Israeli students who
are involved in training the monkeys to per-
form the specific function — the vital sec-
ond stage in the process.
The Defense Ministry pays for the
monkeys, their food, cages and for the
special equipment that is necessary to in-
sure that the monkeys perform efficiently.
Meanwhile, the third and final stage of
the project — adapting the monkey to a
particular quadriplegic — is expected to
begin within a few weeks when Sorin
Herscu becomes the first Israeli to receive
that special equipment: two "optional ex-
tras" for his wheelchair.
The first is a device which he can use to
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Teamed by Dr. Mary Joan Willard, who heads a training program at the
Boston University School of Medicine, quadriplegic Sue Strong and her
capucine monkey, Henrietta, are inseparable companions. Below, Henrietta
helps Ms. Strong turn the pages of a book.
The monkeys are also trained
to perform other tasks. . .
They are taught to bring
prepared food, place
cassettes on tape recorders
and insert disks in computers.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
27