NCJ Number
57998
Journal
Juvenile and Family Court Journal Volume: 30 Issue: 2 Dated: (MAY 1979) Pages: 25-28
Date Published
1979
Length
4 pages
Annotation
SOCIAL SKILLS INSTRUCTION IS PROPOSED AS AN APPROACH TO REHABILITATING JUVENILE OFFENDERS WHOSE LEARNING DISABILITIES HAVE IMPAIRED THEIR SOCIAL INTEGRATION AS WELL AS THEIR ACADEMIC ADVANCEMENT.
Abstract
MANY YOUTHS WHO ENTER THE JUVENILE JUSTICE SYSTEM HAVE NOT LEARNED A REPERTOIRE OF APPROPRIATE BEHAVIORS THROUGH NORMAL ASSIMILATION OF SOCIAL EXPERIENCE. EITHER THEY HAVE NOT BEEN EXPOSED TO SOCIETY'S VALUES AND EXPECTATIONS, OR MORE LIKELY THEIR LEARNING INEFFICIENCIES HAVE KEPT THEM FROM UNDERSTANDING THE EXPERIENCES TO WHICH THEY HAVE BEEN EXPOSED. THE SAME LEARNING DISABILITIES THAT INHIBIT THE PERCEPTION AND INTEGRATION OF CUES FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES HAVE THE SAME EFFECT WITH SOCIAL CUES. YOUTHS WHO HAVE NOT LEARNED PROPER SOCIAL BEHAVIOR ARE BOUND TO FAIL IN TRADITIONAL COUNSELING PROGRAMS WHICH ASSUME THEIR CLIENTS UNDERSTAND WHAT CONSTITUTES APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR AND NEED ONLY TO RESOLVE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL CONFLICTS. A BETTER APPROACH WITH LEARNING-DISABLED YOUTHS WOULD BE A FORMAL SOCIAL-TRAINING CURRICULUM IN WHICH METHODS USED TO TEACH ACADEMIC SKILLS TO LEARNING-DISABLED CHILDREN-HIGHLY STRUCTURED MATERIALS AND EXPERIENCES, ONE-ON-ONE AND SMALL-GROUP INSTRUCTION, REPETITION FOR REINFORCEMENT, MULTISENSORY EXPOSURE--ARE USED TO TEACH THE SKILLS NEEDED TO HANDLE SOCIAL SITUATIONS. TEACHING PROPER SOCIAL BEHAVIOR WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF YOUTHS' EXPERIENCE AND CAPACITY TO LEARN COULD BE THE KEY TO REVERSING THE WASTE OF RESOURCES ASSOCIATED WITH MANY YOUTH REHABILITATION PROOGRAMS. (LKM)