NCJ Number
122799
Journal
Academic Therapy Volume: 9 Issue: 6 Dated: (Summer 1974) Pages: 389-400
Date Published
1974
Length
12 pages
Annotation
Today's juvenile delinquents are younger and brighter and can be culturally typified, and rehabilitative treatment designs for these youth may need to include remedial education components that help them overcome specific learning disabilities.
Abstract
The average age of juvenile delinquents is 13.5 years, while the average IQ score is 95. Arrests of white juveniles outnumber arrests of black juveniles by a ratio of three to one. White juveniles, however, are arrested mainly for crimes involving property damage, while black juveniles are arrested primarily for vice, prostitution, and violent crimes. There is a relationship between school achievement and juvenile delinquency, although the strength of this relationship is not clear. Both learning disabled and juvenile delinquent youth have many behavioral similarities, and following a learning disability model is necessary when assessing, monitoring, and remediating educational deficits found in most delinquent youth. Learning disabilities and juvenile delinquency appear to have no single cause and no single cure, but research indicates that both disabled readers and delinquents lack positive personality characteristics and have poor self-concepts. Factors that promote learning in "normal" children often retard the learning process in learning disabled and delinquent children. Therefore, the teacher who works with these youth must communicate emotional and physical acceptance, expect the best, build and develop self-concept, and establish clearly defined limits. Guidelines for treating learning disabled and juvenile delinquent youth are offered. 6 references.