A new website www.sentencetrouble.info has been launched to help staff working in the youth justice system understand and communicate with children and young people. At least 60% of young people in the youth justice system have communication needs and struggle to understand written or spoken language. The website was created by The Communication Trust in partnership with the Autism Education Trust and the Dyslexia SpLD Trust to support the Sentence Trouble booklet launched in November 2009.
Sentence Trouble was written for everyone that works or volunteers in Youth Offending Teams, Secure Children’s Homes, Secure Training Centres and Young Offenders Institutions, but is also a useful reference for anyone that works in and around the youth justice system. The website features information about what speech, language and communication needs are, provides examples of what these might look like, gives advice to staff in these situations and offers a selection of resources. The website also features a forum where the youth justice workforce can network, share ideas and share best practice related to communication needs.
Visit the site at www.sentencetrouble.info
Resources listed on the Sentence Trouble website include information on autism for criminal justice professionals written by the NAS at www.autism.org.uk/cjp and the opportunity to download a PDF of Autism: A guide for Criminal Justice Professionals.