An Insidious Interstice: Understanding Cognition and Language Behaviour Through the Eyes of Juvenile Justice Professionals

ABSTRACT Introduction Despite evidence suggesting language and cognition deficits are prevalent for justice involved youth, little research explores how juvenile justice personnel experience language and cognition behaviours in the youth they serve. Aims This qualitative study explored how juvenile justice personnel understand language and cognition skills and deficits in justice involved youth. Methods Twenty‐two U.S. juvenile justice professionals participated in individual, semi‐structured interviews. Questions focused on individual understanding of receptive language, expressive language, social communication, and cognition (i.e., problem‐solving, predicting consequences and impulsiveness) in juveniles served. Using a phenomenological lens, transcripts were coded identifying themes and sub‐themes of participant responses. Results Most participants experience language and cognition as elusive skills. Juvenile justice personnel understand what language and cognition mean but may not be translating that meaning into practice when assessing observable behaviours. Specifically, participants interpreted behaviours consistent with language and cognition deficits as behavioural concerns, mental health challenges, academic deficits, and as a function of external factors (adults and community). Conclusions The results of this study suggest the language and cognition skills of JIY are the absent and undertreated connection between trauma—school‐ behavioural health and juvenile justice system involvement. Speech‐language pathologists and juvenile justice personnel would benefit from mutually understanding the complexities and importance of the communication demands and language and cognition skills for justice involved youth. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS What is already known on this subject Youth in the criminal legal system with cognition and language deficits are often overlooked and underserved, making formal identification and programming that includes speech language pathologists (SLPs) necessary. What this paper adds to the existing knowledge This study demonstrates the need for interprofessional education and development for SLPs and juvenile justice personnel focusing on cognition and language. Moreover, it highlights how the cognition and language skills of system involved youth are often invisible and obscured by behaviour that is interpreted according to justice personnel's area of expertise and experience. This often results in youth behaviour being attributed to behavioural concerns, mental health challenges, academic deficits, and environmental support. This study is the first step towards generating an effective model of collaborative practice for system involved youth that includes SLPs. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Juvenile justice personnel and SLPs should be made aware of each other's scope of practice, roles and responsibilities, the values, and be given the opportunity to learn with and about one another to generate reciprocal communication and teamwork around cognition and language skills for system involved youth.