The screening works. The gap is what happens next.
A young person is screened, a need is found, and a referral is made. Then they wait, while every interview, review and report carries on in language they cannot process under pressure. That waiting period is the only thing DysPhilter claims to fill.
1. Screen
The AssetPlus speech, language, communication and neuro-disability tool flags a need.
2. Refer
The worker refers to speech and language therapy. This is the right thing to do.
3. Wait
The assessment waits in a queue. Months is normal, not exceptional.
4. Nothing changes
Interviews, reviews, reports and order requirements carry on in language the young person cannot process under pressure.
Every figure used with a service is listed with its source and its limits, so that nobody is caught quoting something the source does not support.
66–90% of young people in the study had below average language skills
Bryan, Freer & Furlong (2007), Language and communication difficulties in juvenile offenders, International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders 42(5): 505–52058 young people aged 15–17, in one establishment. The range is across subtests, not a single figure. It is one study, not a national statistic.
Over 60% of young people in justice settings have speech, language and communication needs
Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists, speech and language therapy in the justice systemThe safer figure to quote in a room. It is also the one a service manager is most likely to already recognise.
90% of the young people in that study had stopped attending school before they turned 16
Same 2007 study, same sampleThis is the line that connects youth justice to alternative provision. Most of these young people were already outside school before they reached a youth offending team.
62% of the sample had not achieved Level 1 in literacy
Same 2007 study, same sampleWritten communication fails these young people at the same rate as spoken.
AssetPlus screens and refers out; the specialist SLCN assessment is excluded from it
Youth Justice Board, AssetPlus Model Document v1.1 (October 2014)The document lists the RCSLT screen as included and the specialist assessment as deliberately excluded. Use it for architecture and intent only, never as current operating guidance.
The screening tool is a locally adopted early-practice change, not a national mandate
Youth Justice Board on GOV.UK, published 29 May 2014, supporting guidance revised November 2014 and still the current published versionIn the YJB's own words, each youth offending team could decide locally whether to implement it. So a local decision-maker exists, which is good news for adoption, but never claim every young person is screened.
The figure that circulates as "60 to 90 percent" is a drift away from the 2007 study's 66 to 90 percent. It is worth quoting accurately and citing the sample size, because an inflated number is the fastest way to lose a room.
Built to the One Standard
Everything a young person uses here follows the same standard as every other door in the Canopy: settings follow the person, the engine drafts the words and the person holds the pen, and nothing a young person depends on disappears when they walk into another service.
Read the One Standard