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Impact of Communication Difficulties with Young Offenders

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Impact of Communication Difficulties with Young Offenders

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At least 60% of young people in the justice system have some form of a speech, language and communication need (SLCN).  Poor language skills are linked to poor behaviour.  Many young people who enter the youth justice system with SLCN will have developed coping strategies to mask these difficulties.  These may include a good level of surface conversation, being very quiet and seemingly compliant, use aggression to deflect hard conversation or being disruptive and have difficulties engaging.

There are many situations that a young offender with SLCN could have difficulties with whilst in the justice system:

Police interview- a young person has to retell what happened in the right order, answer questions, communicate clearly, read and sign statements.

In court- talk to court staff appropriately, retell what happened and why, understand what is happening and the language being used, understand and remember what they need to do next and understand the consequences if they don’t follow court instructions.

Referred to a Youth Offending Team- arrive at appointments on time, discuss and retell the offence, recall information accurately, read and understand their order.

The impact of these communication needs on the young person may include:

Difficulty following routine and conditions of their order, for example not turning up to   appointments on time due to difficulties with understanding time.

They are likely to misunderstand information given to them verbally which could result in them looking like they are not telling the truth.

They may not understand consequences of not following their order which could result in them going back to court.  They may also continuously break rules again and again due to not understanding consequences.

Lack of understanding can increase a young person’s anxiety and frustration; this could result in angry outbursts or disengagement.

How you can help:

Simplify the language you use, keep it short and concise.

Avoid using sarcasm; metaphors and irony e.g. pull your socks up as this can be confusing especially for young person with autism.

Use visual aids alongside verbal information e.g. drawings, photos, symbols.

Ask the young person to explain to you what you have just told them, this checks that they have been listening and also what they have understood.

Send appointment reminders- don’t use 24 hour clock

Rehearsal and role play to prepare for tricky situations.

Check the young person’s understanding of certain terminology e.g. breach, bail.

Allow time for the young person to respond.

Links for further information

https://www.rcslt.org/learning/the-box-training

https://www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/projects/youth-justice/

http://www.thecommunicationtrust.org.uk/media/13571/sentence_trouble_-_march_2010.pdf

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=sentence+trouble+film&docid=608036415204952303&mid=760C5712661702BA3793760C5712661702BA3793&view=detail&FORM=VIRE

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Living with Language Difficulties as a Teenager

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Living with Language Difficulties as a Teenager

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Click here to watch a video on the impact of language difficulties on a Secondary aged child

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Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties in Adolescence can be linked to  Language and Communication 

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Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties in Adolescence can be linked to  Language and Communication 

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More than 50% of young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties have undetected speech, language or communication needs (Cohen et al. 1998, Bryan et al, 2007). That means that over half of secondary students may have unidentified difficulties expressing themselves, understanding what you say and interacting appropriately with peers and adults.

Many studies have investigated the prevalence of undetected speech, language and communication needs in different populations, outlining the potential negative impact of this on an adolescent’s life trajectory and choices: For example, 66% of males excluded from school  (Clegg et al, 2009) and Over 50 % of youth offenders (Bryan et al, 2007) are estimated to have speech, language and communication needs.

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How Communication Difficulties may present in the Classroom

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How Communication Difficulties may present in the Classroom

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Strategies to support language difficulties in Secondary School 

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Strategies to support language difficulties in Secondary School 

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Consider seating arrangements, nearer the teacher may be better.

Use of a home-school book  or regular texts to maintain communication with parents.

Pre-teaching topic words and new vocabulary before the lesson

Use of mind-maps to support organisation information.

Use of consistent language in the classroom.

Applying consistent rules and boundaries

explain any abstract and non-literal language , idioms and technical language that are used in the class.

Good use  of visual cues and gestures when explaining.

Incorporate the use of visual and tactile approaches, practical activities  and videos in teaching.

Use of storyboards to help plan stories and essays.

The availability of a quiet space for time-out

School rules are written and explained in simple language using visual support.

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 Language Difficulties that may be seen at this age  include;                           

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 Language Difficulties that may be seen at this age  include;                           

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Difficulty understanding instructions and information

Limited vocabulary or difficulties finding words

Difficulty understanding puns, idioms, jokes, sarcasm and slang

Difficulty thinking flexibly

Difficulty remembering what has been said

Difficulty paying attention in class

Difficulty making friends and maintaining friendships

Difficulty understanding and managing emotions

Difficulty telling narratives (e.g. saying what they did during the day)

Difficulties knowing which style of language to use – for example, they may be too casual with teachers or  more formal with his classmates

Language difficulties may also impact on  behavioural difficulties such as misbehaving in class, low self-esteem, anxiety .

Young people with language difficulties may have more strengths in practical subjects such as P.E, Design & Technology and Art.

Young people with  language difficulties usually learn and understand better through visual and/or practical methods, rather than verbal methods. For example, they may understand a story better if they watched it being acted out, rather listening to it being or reading it.

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Language Development in Teenagers        

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Language Development in Teenagers        

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At this age language is crucial, the move from Primary School means different subjects being learnt, different vocabulary being used,  getting used to different teachers using different styles.  There is more self-organisation needed. Language, both spoken and written, become increasingly  abstract. There is an expectation to put together language to form reports and stories and more problem solving and verbal reasoning skills are  used. Socially interactions become more complex ,conversations become  longer and more varied language including slang is used.

This can be challenging , for all  at this age , but for those with  language difficulties it can have a can have a significant impact resulting in poor learning outcomes,  social isolation and behavioural difficulties.

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Click  on this text  to watch a video on the impact of speech and language difficulties on an older child

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Harry, a student with SLI, tells how he felt like an outcast in the classroom and wondered why he was finding things so difficult. The film tells how nurturing of Harry's strengths proved to be as important as supporting his language skills.