NCJ Number
35904
Date Published
1974
Length
13 pages
Annotation
THE SPEAKER REPORTS THE HISTORY AND RESULTS OF A STUDY CONDUCTED IN THE COLORADO YOUTH SERVICES' DIAGNOSTIC RECEIVING CENTER WHICH SHOWS THAT A GREAT MAJORITY OF THE DELINQUENTS STUDIED SUFFERED FROM LEARNING DISABILITIES.
Abstract
THE DIAGNOSTIC RECEIVING CENTER, ESTABLISHED IN 1969, UTILIZES AN OBSERVATIONAL DIAGNOSTIC PROGRAM RATHER THAN THE STANDARDIZED TESTS TRADITIONALLY USED FOR DIAGNOSTIC EVALUATIONS. IN 1972, THE DIVISION OF YOUTH SERVICES BEGAN A COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF YOUTHS TREATED IN YOUTH SERVICES FACILITIES. THE MAJOR STUDY EXAMINED 444 YOUTHS WHO PASSED THROUGH THE CENTRAL RECEIVING CENTER FROM JULY 1, 1972 TO MAY 1, 1973. IN ADDITION TO DATA GATHERED ON SUCH BACKGROUND FACTORS AS AGE, SEX, ETHNIC ORIGIN, FAMILY INCOME, AND HOME AREA, THE STUDY ACCUMULATED DATA ON THE LEARNING DISABILITIES ENCOUNTERED IN THE YOUTH SAMPLE. LEARNING DISABILITIES WERE CLASSIFIED BY DEGREE (MILD, MODERATE, AND SEVERE), AND BY TYPE (AUDITORY, VISUAL, LANGUAGE PROCESSING, SOCIOLOGICAL, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL). THE DATA INDICATED THAT 90.4 PERCENT OF THESE 444 YOUTHS HAD LEARNING PROBLEMS WHICH WERE SEVERE ENOUGH TO WARRANT SPECIAL, INDIVIDUALIZED TREATMENT. IN ADDITION, THE DATA SHOWED THAT MANY OF THOSE DISABLED STUDENTS HAD EVIDENCED SIMILAR PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR IN SCHOOL, STARTING WITH PERSISTENT TRUANCY AND WITHDRAWAL AND PROGRESSING TO VIOLENCE AND SCHOOL FAILURE.