Up to 70% in overcrowded prisons have a learning disability!

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http://tinyurl.com/25z5tc

According to this report, up to 70% of people in U.S. prisons have a learning disability. Quite a few of those may actually be on the autistic spectrum as well.. I wish there could be more studies on this. And guess what!! More than 1 out of 100 adults in the U.S. population are in prison!

http://www.kansascity.com/news/nation/story/510837.html

Just in the news the past week, information was released that the U.S. has a higher percentage of it's population in prison that in any other "civilized" country. China is a very distant second. For the first time in American history, the percentage has exceeded to more than 1 out of every 100 adult citizens being currently held in prisons. One out of every nine black men between the ages of 20-34 is behind bars!! ! Most of the offenses are for drug possession/drug addiction (an illness that needs to be medically treated in my opinion). They are just now planning to release some crack cocaine addicts -- one such case was a woman that had a new boyfriend and she didn't know he was a crack cocaine dealer.. She was with him when he was caught and had a small amount of the drug on her possession.. She was sentenced to FIFTEEN YEARS in U.S. prison. Hopefully, she will get an early release from prison soon.. Many people are in prison for simple marijuana possession as well...

I really hope that psychological testing could be provided and when people are found to be nonviolent and have a learning disability or are on the autistic spectrum, they should be transferred out of the prison system and helped somehow... I wonder if there are any lobbying efforts or advocacy groups that are trying to get that accomplished?? If so, I'd like to know about it. Thank you.

I wonder what people in other countries think of these statistics?? Do they have programs to keep those with learning disabilities and autism (who are nonviolent) out of the prisons or in some other therapeutic environment?? Thanks.

I agree. Prisons should be for people who are dangerous to society. Prisons have a high recidivism rate and cost a fortune to build. Overcrowded prisons are dangerous both to inmates as well as staff. I can't understand why people simply can't grasp this simple reality: When you throw
people into a jungle you don't get rehabilitated offenders you get more animals.

Drug Addiction should be treated for what it is: A medical problem that requires professional intervention.

A LOT of people outside of jail have learning disabilities also.

Reports like this I find very biased.

Really - a lot of people who are labelled with learning disabilities simply had a poor education and reacted accordingly. Those that slipped through the system so to speak, and are likely pretty bitter about it as well.

70 percent? Most unlikely. An educated guess would say it's closer to half that.

My reason for posting this is to try and find out if there has been much work done to determine the percentages of inmates in the overcrowded U.S. prisons who may be on the Autistic Spectrum.

There needs to be more studies on that as well. By providing psychological testing in prisons, it could be determined who is on the autistic spectrum or who has learning disabilities in general. At least one disorder that is referred to as a "learning disability" is considered to be on the autistic spectrum (Nonverbal Learning disability) On Page 8 of this report, it speaks of a study that was conducted.. and that is how they concluded that as many as 70% of inmates may have a learning disability.. I WISH there were more studies out there to be able to read on this subject.. If the numbers are as high as it seems, something could hopefully be done to transfer the nonviolent prisoners with these disabilities to other more therapeutic facilities...

1% is a lot of people...

I'd say more like 100% since you'd have to be to commit some of the crimes they do.

im not suprised, since it seems thats what happens to mentally ill people now. throw them in jail, i think its terrible for someone who is either severly disabled, or mentally ill spending one day n prison. and yes even if they killed one of my family members i would still think its unfair

Where in that article does it say that "up to 70% of people in U.S. prisons have a learning disability."

I googled and I got this:

" They discovered that 70 percent of inmates in Israeli prisons have a learning disability, as opposed to 10 to 15 percent in the general population. In countries like Sweden, the United States, Britain and Australia, 30 to 76 percent of the prison population has a learning disability. " Haaretz

Frankly, I just think it has to do with the educational system more than anything. The schools that I used to go to were not in the greatest communities and the people there just didn't know better. No one was pushing them except those with negative influences. I doubt the many of them were autistic or anything else.

Besides, if any of these people were to go to prison, I'd like them to remain there.

On Page 8 of the report. The study was conducted in 1994 in the United States... Since they don't automatically do psych tests or literacy tests for that matter in all of the prisons, this was a rare study that tested a smaller sample of people. One of the reasons for my post is that I'm looking to see if there are any other studies that have been done. I think all prisoners should be given neuropsych tests to determine if they are learning disabled or on the autistic spectrum. They may have other issues as well..

Scroll down to Page 8:

http://tinyurl.com/25z5tc


I'm asking if anyone out there knows of any other information or studies that have been done on prison populations to determine what percentage may be on the autistic spectrum or learning disabled. If so, or if you run into this information in the future, Please post it because I'd like to read it. Also, Thanks for mentioning that Haaretz report.. I'll try to locate that and read it too.

Thanks Oscuria. That link you provided that discusses the report you were talking about, actually in a way substantiates the other study in the U.S.. The range is within the 70% that the other report came up with also. That's interesting about Israel as well.. It is good that they spent the money on a study like that... I would like to see more testing done and hopefully get some of the non-violent prisoners transferred out of the over-crowded prisons in the USA.

If there could be ideally more testing done for children entering the school system, then their academic future might be able to be more tailored to help them the most. If kids with autistic spectrum disorders and learning disabilities were better-understood early on, they wouldn't be so far behind in their studies or feel so angry, hurt and bitter... They may be better able to be employed and not have to resort to crime.. or might not have the anger, authority-figure hatred that could land them in jail if they were treated with better understanding early on also... Cost-wise, the price per year to support the many prisoners in the USA is probably far higher than to provide early-intervention neuropsych testing for all kids...

Someone else mentioned the concept that the American prison system is basically like a huge money-making machine, subsisting on the strong backs of inmates, something akin to slave-labor.. They are there often because of simple drug possession and addiction as opposed to violence.. The prisons depend on the prisoners to come back soon after they are released, to keep a steady flow of inmates that provide free labor... The corrupt bureaucracy at it's worst.. Something needs to be done about that.. More than one percent of a population incarcerated and providing slave-labor... 1 out of every 9 young black males..??! !?? The learning disabled and autistic deprived of early intervention and understanding forced into slave-labor for decades... because of mistakes that could have been prevented had someone intervened earlier in their lives... Are there any lobbying efforts or organizations fighting this?

The numbers of people arrested for marijuana in the States is staggering; In Canada, possession of under 7 grams of Cannabis is legal. It's mainly dealers and large-scale grow-ops that get busted, not the average person who happens to have some.

If you're trying to distribute, that's illegal. But under 7 grams, for personal use, is not considered illegal in most jurisdictions. A court ruling has made it technically legal, though it's still considered illegal, which has been argued as unconstitutional, but Police are still treating it the same. To be honest, marijuana use in Canada is largely accepted. We even have political parties dedicated to it's legalization, to make it as acceptable as alcohol.