People with disabilities face more issues than people without them. Especially when it comes to drug and alcohol rehab. It’s a different story, especially with communication barriers.
People with disabilities already have a higher chance of becoming addicted to drugs or alcohol. Getting the help they need is far more difficult than the average person. They have to overcome the combination issues. This can ruin their motivation to get sober.
It can be easy to overlook the disabled population when it comes to drug and alcohol rehab. This is not a good thing. They need just as much focus and care directed at their needs.
People with disabilities have substance abuse issues at two to four times the rate of average people.
Deaf people are twice as likely as the general population to develop a drug or alcohol problem.
Risk Factors
The Office on Disability’s objective is to reduce substance abuse. This is done so that it can protect the life, health, and safety of all. They made sure to make an extra note that they wanted to focus on carrying that to disabled people as well.
Risk factors for people with disabilities include:
- Physical Pain and Limited Mobility
If someone has a lot of chronic pain and can’t get around on their own, it’s easy to get depressed. It’s easy to feel isolated. This can lead to substance abuse to feel better.
- More Potential To Abuse Prescriptions
A lot of people with painful disabilities take prescription drugs. These can be to manage anything from chronic pain to seizures. These drugs are often pain medication, muscle relaxers, or stress and anxiety relief. Abusing them would be easy.
- Being Enabled By Caregivers, Friends, and Family
Obviously, no one is going out there and telling disabled people to get drunk or high. But we as a society tend to encourage the use of prescription drugs. This is because of their desire to help but can lead to overprescribing medications. Family and friends can assume they’re helping by letting the disabled person decide for themselves. At the same time, they act like using these things as a crutch is okay.
Rehab for people with disabilities is just the same as rehab for everyone. They just need more chances to communicate. They need people to pay closer attention. And they need people to recognize when they need help.