NCJ Number
86438
Journal
International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology Volume: 26 Issue: 2 Dated: (1982) Pages: 145-151
Date Published
1982
Length
7 pages
Annotation
This paper reviews the relationship between learning disorders and delinquent and criminal behavior and recommends that research relate types of disorders to types of offenses so as to facilitate crime prevention and rehabilitation.
Abstract
The term 'learning disabilities' has been used to describe children who display inordinate difficulty in learning despite average intelligence and sensory skills and whose problems do not arise primarily from environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage. The term thus encompasses a large group of children who have also been referred to as having perceptual handicaps, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, etc. The initial taxonomic division of learning disability has been into attention disorders or hyperactivity and specific processing disorders in an academic subject, usually reading. While there is evidence that some learning problems are found in juvenile delinquent samples, more specific learning and behavior parameters must be considered in future research efforts. Not only must the nature of the learning difficulty be qualified but so must the deviant acts; for example, it would be important to note if there is a differential association between a particular type of learning disorder and offenses against persons or property. Because of the inadequacies in previous research, it is premature to weigh the many theories relating to learning disabilities and deviant behavior. Still, learning disorders should be considered in both preventive and treatment approaches. Behavior therapy approaches with some offenders may have to be altered when presented with evidence that hyperactive persons respond uniquely to reinforcement and punishment. Stimulant drugs and alterations in diet are other potential treatments that may assist the offender who shows signs of an attention deficit disorder. For offenders with specific processing disorders, remedial education in their area of academic weakness may significantly increase their ability to cope in society. Forty references are listed.