The experiences of professionals who care for people with intellectual disability who have substance‐related problems

Abstract

More people with intellectual disability are living independent lives. They can and do experiment with substances that the wider community try, such as alcohol and drugs (both legal and illicit). Unfortunately for some, they develop problems related to their use of these substances. Face‐to‐face, semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 13 professionals who work in Intellectual Disability Services and Alcohol & Drug Services to discover their experiences of caring for people with intellectual disabilities who hazardously use substances. Although small numbers of people presented to these services, many more people with intellectual disabilities used Intellectual Disability Services for support, rather than their local Alcohol & Drug Services. While the numbers may be relatively small, the challenges this client group pose are very perturbing in relation to their physical, emotional and social health. The professionals reported a lack of education in working with this doubly disadvantaged population. Moreover, policies were absent to guide staff to work collaboratively with this often‐ignored population. These findings are discussed in light of the innovative practices that are occurring in other parts of the UK regarding the recognition, assessment treatment and long‐term management of this population. Intellectual Disability Services and Alcohol & Drug Services need to work more closely together if the needs of this population are to be effectively met.

• Intellectual disability
• alcohol and drugs
• substance problems
• services
• integrated models

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by a research grant awarded by the Mental Health and Learning Disability Review (Northern Ireland). We are grateful to the all the community informants that took part in this study.