Making the Links
Language and Behaviour
Strategies, Support Systems and
Services
Lowri Ogwen Thomas
Speech and Language Therapist
Youth Justice Services
Introduction
Session Aims
o Background Information
o Prevalence of Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties
(SLCD) within the Youth Justice Population
o Aims of a Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) Services within
Youth Justice Services (YJS)
o Strategies to support young people identified with Speech,
Language and Communication Needs (SLCN)
o Support Services that need to be in place for children and young
people
o Question and (Possible) Answer!!!
Background
Speech, Language and Communication
Needs (SLCN)
o The ability to speak and be understood, to listen and understand are
the vital skills needed to develop and enable life skills (I CAN, 2007).
o These skills are the building blocks that help us to define who we
are, how we make friends, how we succeed at school and beyond.
o It is widely recognised that many children find developing these
skills difficult. It is estimated that there are 3 children in every
classroom who find speech and language difficult, and this can
make their life very difficult.
o Poor language skills affects a child’s confidence and their ability to
form relationships, friendships and relate to other people.
o Without language how would you express an opinion, have a joke
with a friend or tell someone what’s worrying you? How would you
connect? It would be like trying to find your way without a map. It
would be easy to get lost (I CAN, 2007).
Speech, Language and Communication
Needs (SLCN) Continued…
o This is the challenge that many young people are facing today. They
don’t have the language to express themselves, solve problems,
support each other, or learn.
o Without this ‘map’, children are at vulnerable to ‘get lost’ or to follow
the ‘wrong path’ down ASBO Street, left passed NEET Avenue (Not
in Employment or Education) straight through PRU Crescent (Pupil
Referral Unit) to HMP Central (Her Majesty's Prison) via the YOI
(Young Offenders Institution).
o It is estimated that between 60%-90% of vulnerable young people
have undetected communication difficulties.
o How can these young people progress without language skills?
(I CAN, 2007)
The Research
Language and Communication
Difficulties in
Juvenile Offenders
o It is recognised that young people who engage in criminal activity
typically have a history characterised by poor school achievement,
learning difficulties, and truancy. (Bryan et al. 2007)
o Communication difficulties are often found to be misinterpreted as
non-compliance and conduct problems in the classroom
environment. (Beitcham et al.1999)
o Adolescents with language disorders are vulnerable to problems in
developing peer and family relationships, as well as in meeting the
expectations and demands of school. (Whitmire, 2000)
o 24,000 young offenders in England and Wales have a learning
disability or difficulty which impacts on their ability to cope with the
prison regime.
o Persistent difficulty with language development has been correlated
with a greater than usual chance of developing both mental health
problems and involvement in criminal activities (Bryan et al. 2007).
o High-risk adolescents whose conduct disturbances bring them into
contact with the law are found to display difficulties in;
o understanding and using abstract language (idioms, metaphor),
o using narrative discourse to organize and convey information
o word finding difficulties, and
o grammatical immaturity relative to their non-offending peers
(Snow and Powell, 2004-2005)
o The cost to society of untreated communication disorders estimated
at £26 billion
Who Wants to be Communication
Aware ?
Speech, Language and
Communication Difficulties
How Can This Lead to Offending?
The Links – Language and
Behaviour
Language Difficulties
Social
Exclusion
Behaviour
Offending Behaviour
Making The Links –
Group Activity
o Working in Groups –
o Read the Case Study – Make the link between the young
persons language difficulty, their behaviour, social
exclusion and subsequently their offending behaviour.
o What strategies or intervention would you use to support
this young person?
o What services would the young person benefit from?
The Links – Language and
Behaviour
Language Difficulties
Social
Exclusion
Behaviour
Offending Behaviour
Role of a Speech and Language
Therapist
The Role of a Speech and
Language Therapist
Assessment
Team meetings
Screening
Collaborative working
Raising Awareness
of SLCD
1:1
Reports and
Recommendations
The Role of a
SLT
Prevention
Intervention
Training / Educating
Groups
Research and
Evaluation of
service
Indirect
YJS Staff
Parents
Police / Courts
Referring for a Speech and
Language Assessment
To Refer or Not to Refer?
Group Activity –
o Use the same case study to fill in the communication checklist.
o Would you refer or not refer?
Strategies What Can Help?
General Strategies
o Consider all your written information – what is the reading age of the
materials, are there visual icons or use of pictures to reinforce the
meaning?
o If you are running sessions, give an outline of the session at the
start – write it down as well as say it
o When giving any instructions, break them into small chunks – never
more than three instructions at a time – and check the individual has
understood
o Never consider a nod of the head means the individual has
understood
o Change can cause anxiety – give individuals information about what
and when activities or actions will happen. Let them know if this
changes.
o Have a designated person with training and understanding of
potential SLCI issues in the organisation
Understanding Spoken Language
o Slow down your rate of talking and simplify the way you present
information
o Supply a visual reminder of what is said (written text, symbols,
comic strips)
o Present the ‘big picture’ first and why the information is useful,
before going into details
o Break information into manageable chunks
o Check understanding and recall of what has been said
Use of Spoken Language
o Supply new words which are able to express the young person’s
ideas more accurately
o To promote recall of words use ‘cueing’: semantic cueing relating to
the word’s meaning, e.g. ‘what could you do with it?’ ‘Where would
you find it?’
o Encourage the young person to instruct others in how to carry out an
activity.
o Cartooning: get the young person to draw cartoons to support story
telling, reporting an event or incident
Social Rules of Language
o Explain the rules of conversation
o One person speaks at a time
o Others listen and looks at speaker
o Takes turns
o Clear guidance about style of talking appropriate for different types
of people and situations
o Re-direct the young person’s focus and stop them when they’ve
given enough information
o Make clear what behaviours you expect from the young person
Support Services What Can Help?
Levels of Support and Services
Specialist Custodial, Secure,
Inpatient Services:
Specialist Community Services:
o Pupil Referral Units
oMedium secure units
o Youth Offending Teams
o CAMHS
o Child and Adult ASD Services
Tier 4
oSpecific Hospitals
oSecure Children’s Homes
Tier 3
oYOI / Adult Prisons
o ALD Services
oIntermediary scheme
oPolice
Tier 2
Mainstream Services
capable of meeting
specific needs:
Tier 1
o Community Learning
Disability teams
oCourt System
General population,
health promotion,
prevention:
o Child Development
Centres
o Sure Start or Parenting
Classes
o Social Services family
services
o Education Awareness
Freer et al. 2011
Early Years
o There is evidence from the US that enrichment programmes in the
early years for all children can have more of an impact on long-term
life changes later remedial programmes.
o The UK however continues to invest nearly three times as much in
higher education as it does per child under five.
o In effect this is a failure to recognise the critical role that early
education plays in improving school attainment and forming an
individual’s capacity for life-long learning.
o The cost of poor communication skills to the individual, to families
and to the nation is potentially long-term and significant, but there
are ways that this can be reduced.
Yearly Years Continued…
o Sure Start and Flying Start Services - Projects in the UK aim to be
comprehensive and not just focus on the child, but on their whole
environment in order to reduce social exclusion.
o Parent Projects – National Literacy Trust Talk To Your Baby, The Basic
Skills Agency Talk To Me Project and Talkabout in Wales.
o Early Years Workers - Speech and language therapy interventions which
help early years workers improve their interaction skills with young children
have been shown to improve children’s communication development.
o Narrative interventions - in nursery have also proved effective for children
with limited language skills.
o Talking Table - which provides children with the opportunity to interact with
a responsive adult, who created opportunities for conversation in an area of
social disadvantage.
Primary Services
o Teacher Training - Providing support and training for teachers in
order to support children with SLCN within the classroom is a vital
service that is required to reduce social exclusion. Teachers would
be able to identify and work with children with SLCN if appropriate
training was provided.
o Learning Support Assistants – Providing accredited training for
LSAs who are working with and supporting children with SLCN is
essential to ensure that every child is given the best opportunity to
achieve their potential within the classroom.
o Language Programmes – It has been identified that as many as
three children in every classroom has SLCN. Having rolling
language programmes within primary school for these at risk
children would ensure specific opportunities to develop their
language and oracy skills.
Secondary
o There are limited speech and language services for secondary schools
(Lindsay et al. 2002)
o Narrative Skills – Helping young people to understand story structure and
provide answers to the questions who? Where? And what happened? When
telling a story or anecdote, have been effective in helping students develop
their ability to construct sentences and their ability understand language.
o ‘Group Talk’ - It is also possible for teachers, through the use of varied
discourse strategies, to improve the quality of dialogue or ‘group talk’ in
pupils (Sutherland, 2006. Cited in I CAN,2007).
o Practical Curriculum – Young people with SLCN often feel that the
secondary curriculum does not meet their needs which require a greater
focus on basic skills (I CAN, 2007). More opportunities to develop skills for
employment and skilled working should be considered.
What I Would Like to Achieve
o Activity Weeks:
Having Social language groups along with practical activities in order to put
the theory into practice
o Understanding Your Diagnosis:
Run information sessions for young people to understand their difficulties
and how to overcome heir difficulties by adopting strategies.
o Social Use of Language Programmes:
Working in schools with young people with behavioural difficulties who may
be at risk of exclusion. It focuses on communication skills that enables us to
deal more effectively with more challenging social situations, e.g:
o to stand up for yourself an appropriately,
o to say ‘no’ to people you like, or find intimidating,
o to understand about constructive criticism and be able to tell the
difference between helpful criticism and put-down behaviour
o to handle disagreements effectively without losing your cool
o monitor your own behaviour
o thinking styles – to be more flexible and appreciate different view-points
o Parent Information Groups:
Informing parents of young people of their difficulties and how best to
support them at home, with school work, in employment, etc.
o Communication Groups:
Targeting specific areas o communication, e.g. Developing work related
vocabulary for young people looking to go into work placements, volunteer,
etc. Narrative skills, memory, attention and listening skills.
o Educating Student Teachers / Social Workers:
It is the responsibility of all agencies working with a young person to ensure
that they are supported to achieve their potential.
A young person spends the majority of their time in education and therefore,
staff need to be aware of SLCN before entering a school / college where
they may be faced with a disruptive young person who is not understanding
their lesson.
o DVD:
Work with Young People who have SLCI and have engaged in criminal
activity to produce a DVD of how and why they engaged in offending
behaviour.
o Talk to your Baby:
Working with young people who have offended and have young babies to
develop their skills in interacting with their child. Increase the child’s skills in
order to break the cycle of offending.
o Targeting ‘At-Risk’ Young People:
Young people from underprivileged backgrounds, Looked After Children,
Children from the travelling communities and young people with SLCN are
all at-risk of participating in offending behaviour according to research.
These vulnerable young people could be targeted to work on their
communication skills and their practical skills.
o Developing a Forum for Young People:
With developments in modern technology and the majority of young people
using the internet to communicate – having a forum for young people with
communication difficulties to access for support and advice.
o Produce a Handbook / Toolkit for Staff:
‘Crossing the Communication Divide’ produced for probation and prison
services when working with offenders with communication difficulties.
Produce similar package for YOTs – guidance on different types of
communication difficulties, tips and guide to good practice, easy read
versions of forms (appointment letter, final warning letters)
Questions!
Thank You for Listening
Reference List