NCJ Number
93879
Date Published
1983
Length
38 pages
Annotation
Three presentations focus upon the nature of juvenile learning disabilities, the social effects of such disabilities, the importance of identifying disabilities at an early age, the juvenile justice system's responsibility to diagnose and develop special programs for such disabilities, and the role of the legal profession with respect to child learning disabilities.
Abstract
Learning disabilities occur in 10 to 20 percent of the school-age population and are found in five times as many boys as girls. Learning disabilities may include dyslexia, specific reading disability, perceptual deficits, perceptual motor deficits, attentional deficit disorder, and minimal brain dysfunction. The difficulty with many learning disabilities is that the children may have skills and intelligence in all but a few fundamental areas, and they are often misjudged to be lazy, impudent, or retarded. While the causes of learning disabilities have yet to be conclusively determined, it is important that they be identified in the early school years and the handicapped children provided with the special help they need to learn. Since many juveniles with learning disabilities develop behavioral problems, they often come in contact with the juvenile justice system. It is imperative that the juvenile justice system diagnose learning disabilities and see that the juveniles under its care receive the help needed. This is most likely to happen if the juveniles have the benefit of advocates whose responsibility it is to seek the best interests of the child. Advocates may be lawyers, community groups, or school officials concerned about identifying children with learning disabilities and developing programs appropriate for them. P.L. 94-142 mandates the provision of appropriate education programs for handicapped children, and this should mean that every school system has a procedure for identifying learning disabilities as well as program alternatives appropriate for identified needs. It is the task of lawyers to act as advocates to ensure that the law is implemented through class litigation, determine that school rules are in compliance with Federal law as regards services for handicapped children, and force the creation of a full range of necessary educational resources. An American Bar Association resolution regarding children with learning disabilities is included.