Texas is Doomed —2005 article about Special Ed and Crime
Grits for Breakfast: Failure to Treat Dyslexia Increases Crime
Failure to treat dyslexia increases crime
Crime is neither random nor inevitable. It always occurs in a context, in particular the context of the individual who engages in it. While some bad people will choose to commit crimes no matter what, for others, changing the context of their lives early on could prevent them from ever entering the system.
That’s the implication of a recent study that found the incidence of dyslexia in Texas prisons is triple the rate on the outside. Dyslexia is a reading disorder that causes a person to read letters on the page as though they’re out of order, in a jumble. The Comptroller’s Fiscal Notes publication says dyslexia directly contributes to hopelessness for many Texas youth and, ultimately, to their overincarceration.
[Dyslexia Research Foundation of Texas Chairman Bill] Hilgers said the incidence level is 10 percent or higher in Texas schools and about 30 percent or higher in prisons. The students either fall behind or get put in special education classes, Hilgers said.
“They drop out or get into other problems,” he said. “Some end up in the criminal justice system. It creates a psychological problem. They feel stupid because they can’t read. It’s psychologically deadening—children and parents are very affected by that.”
McCreary said it’s better if dyslexia is diagnosed early, though some students with the disorder aren’t identified until after third grade.
“Sometimes it takes a long time to find out a student is struggling to read if he or she is smart enough to find ways to compensate for the disability,” she said.
The article does a good job of highlighting an important issue for the whole nation and specifically in Texas, BUT it’s the comments that are most revealing about Texas:
JD Allen said…
Well, I am glad you cleared that up. My old house was broken into three times, and everything I had was stolen or trashed becaue the poor guys couldn’t read. I knew they couldn’t have been bad people, that there must have been a reason.
Gritsforbreakfast said…
I guess you’d prefer they remain uneducated and unemployable? That way you can be sure they’ll be back for a fourth crack at your stuff.
JD Allen said…
Nah. I’d rather just shoot them, but they stole the guns the first time. I think they moved to Austin, after they left Freeport.
Gritsforbreakfast said…
Well, the current system got your house robbed and your guns stolen, apparently with no recourse. I’m surprised you aren’t looking for a better approach.
Catonya said…
never ceases to amaze me…so many with complaints- so few willing to put forth an effort to change a broken system.
wonder if he voted in the last election?
There’s more.
from 2005, yet still pertinent.