Link Between Undiagnosed Learning Diabilities and Juvenile Crime
The most innocent amongst us are not so innocent anymore. According to the Schwab Company who maintains a website www.schwablearning.org, that devotes itself to aiding children with learning disabilities states “previously undetected learning disabilities have been found in 50% of juvenile delinquents”. It further states, “30% of adolescents with learning disabilities will be arrested three to five years out of high school.” What is more shocking than those statistics is according to Schwab once services are provided for the disability the percentage of juveniles who relapse into their previous life of crime is reduced to a mere 2%. The Center for Disease Control in 2002 reported 4.9 million children between the ages of 3 and 17 had learning disabilities. That number is expected to steadily climb as it has for years. In 1993 the Justice Department studied the link between juvenile delinquency and learning disabilities and declared, “We are sitting on a teenage time bomb.”
A quick look at headlines across the nation on any given day will likely find a crime committed by a teenager. The vast majority of which will be excessively violent. One such story recently was that of a man beat to death by a group of teenagers because he dropped his pants and “mooned” them. In Lexington, Kentucky an elderly man was severely beaten after asking a gang of teens to stop tearing down decorations in a hotel. Murder at school has become an option for kids left on the fringes of the teen world. The least popular kids in school are claiming popularity by killing those they even or taunt them.
What can we do to stem this tide of teens and violence? The remedy is not new it’s simply not done. Our technological world allows us to access our teens in various ways but even more it provides numerous barriers between parents and kids. Kids lock themselves away playing video and/or computer games. Dinner has become hurried as we dart from one activity to another all for the sake of entertaining our children. A good parent is no longer defined by someone who cares enough for their child to punish unacceptable behavior but rather, one who is overly involved in their child’s activities. On the surface all is well. What lies beneath tells a different story.
We’re constantly exposed to the erroneous thought that indulging our children’s every whim is equivalent to good parenting. If a parent looks among their teen’s personal items for signs of drugs, cigarettes, alcohol or other illegal and self-destructive activates, it’s considered a blatant violation and invasion of the child’s privacy. Of course it’s an invasion of privacy, that’s the entire point. We can’t be with our children every minute of every day. It’s our job as parents to know what their doing when they leave the house. It is far better for your teen to be angry with you over an invasion of privacy issue than it is to know that you’re child will never be angry with you again because they’ve died from a drug overdose. Parents avoid snooping for two reasons. They don’t really want to know what’s going on because then they’ll be forced to deal with it. It’s much easier to let unpleasant things pass than it is to confront them often numerous times. Parents are often lulled into a false security. They may have a close relationship with their child and feel as though there’s nothing their child wouldn’t confide in them. It’s wonderful to have a close relationship where you can talk but we need to remember outside our doors is a world we know nothing about. It’s called peer pressure and what happens there can turn sweet little Maggie into a drug addict.
We must redefine our parental roles. Parenting today is more difficult that it has ever been. We’re faced with situations no one could even imagine when we were young. Regardless of how old fashion is sounds we must come back to the dinner table as a family. There’s a reason violent teen acts were unheard of 50 years ago. Parents knew where their children were and they bonded with them over the evening meal making them feel as though they matter. No cries for attention were needed because they got it every night. We must slow our pace and take the time to get personal with our children. It’s imperative that parents not only know their teen’s friends but the parents of that friend as well. We must understand that teens may crave a negative response from you and never acknowledge it to you or themselves. For example, when I was 16 I was invited by my boyfriend to go camping with some of his friends. There was two adults there but they acted more childish than me so I knew they’d be pretty much useless. My mother didn’t know that and I didn’t offer up that information. I called her at work to ask her permission. I really wanted to go on the trip because it sounded like fun. However, considering I would be the only female, other than one of the adults, I thought it was inappropriate. Even at 16 I knew. All the while I dialed I hoped my mom would say no. I felt if she said no that would demonstrate her love for me. If she said yes that would show she didn’t care where I went or with whom. She said yes and I was heart broke. Had she said no I would’ve begged and pleaded in full drama mode. I’m not sure why I didn’t just tell my mom I wanted her to say no. Or tell my boyfriend I couldn’t go. The fact is I kept it to myself with no one the wiser.
We only see the outside of people. We can’t see what churns on the inside. Your child may be sending you signals the way he or she knows how and your missing them. Kids have more on their plates than ever before. Sometimes medication and rehabilitation is the only way to save our children from themselves. Other times good parenting skills will prevent them from needing to be saved.
Overindulgent children are as much at risk for crime as the under privilege. Parents that refuse to set limits for their children are not doing anyone any favors least of all their children. Children today need the same things they’ve needed from the beginning of time; love, guidance, forgiveness, appropriate punishment and involvement in their hearts before their sports. It is the only balance that works. We must employ these weapons if we truly desire to win the emotional battle of the teen years and diffuse the bomb set before us least it explode in our face.
