Optometric intervention in the control of juvenile delinquents

We are losing the battle against crime and delinquency and we have to continue to lose so long as we keep developing juvenile delinquents. In order to prevent crime, we have to prevent juvenile delinquency for criminals are not born, they develop from juvenile delinquents. Research studies in Chattanooga, Tennessee, show that the youngsters brought before the juvenile court have many different kinds of problems, but one problem that almost all have, other than the drug scene kid, is that they cannot read adequately. Many high school students are reading at first, second and third grade level; 91 percent to 94 percent of our juvenile delinquents are having reading and learning difficulties in the classroom. Consequently, they are all socially promoted and are facing the sting of failure which leads to truancy and conflict with school authorities. These children go from frustration to frustration and become behavior problems in the classroom. The teachers of the first, second, and third grades know which children are having difficulty with reading and will have possible behavioral problems, possibly becoming juvenile delinquents. This writer believes there are five essential preconditions which contribute to one's becoming a juvenile delinquent. Robert had them all: 1. Lack of proper supervision by the parents is the first precondition which contributes to juvenile delinquency. The family is the first and basic institution for the development of the child's emotional intellectual, moral, spiritual, physical and social behavior. 2. Improper discipline is the second factor. Experience teaches us that permissiveness should be controlled at an early age, and too much discipline is just as bad as too little discipline.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)