Speech and Language Disorders and Youth's Ability to Tell Their Story in the Juvenile Justice System

Abstract

Youth who have a speech or language impairment are more likely to be misjudged and detained within the juvenile justice system. Once in the system, youth offenders with a speech or language disorder are more likely than offenders without a disorder to have difficulty participating in the judicial process, navigating the justice system environment, forming positive relationships, communicating their needs, and expressing their complex histories and stories to advocate for themselves. Residential care facilities are often used as an alternative placement to juvenile detention centers for at-risk youth, but these settings do not always provide the quality of care and attention youth need, including access to services from a speech language pathologist (SLP). This thesis seeks to understand how speech and language disorders impact a youth’s ability to communicate in order to advocate for themselves and tell their story within the justice system. The present study utilized a questionnaire administered to staff at two Central Oregon residential care facilities to gather information about staff’s experiences working with youth who have a speech or language disorder, and how this impacts the treatment of the youth. 3 The findings of this study indicate that more work is needed to advocate for these youth and promote better education and training about speech and language disorders within the context of the juvenile justice system in order to mitigate the barriers and inequalities that the youth currently face.