Publication details
Accessible Substance Abuse Prevention for All Children
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2012 |
| Type | Chapter of a book |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The chapter presents a research analyzing possibilities of prevention of substance abuse in children with special helth care needs. Even though moderate declines in the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) among adolescents have been seen over the years, the battle to' prevent youth from using ATOD is stili a focus for educators and researchers. The primary means ofpreventing ATOD is stili through educational settings and school-based programs. However, the effectiveness of prevention efforts is substantially enhanced, when the entire community is involved. Children with disabilities or children who have nontraditional leaming styles are stili not receiving prevention geared specifically toward their personal needs. This is despite research indicating that the presence of a physical, mental, or psychological disability places an individual at increased risk for substance abuse problems. This chapter outlines risk factors experienced by children with disabilities, community and psycho-social approaches to effective school-based intervention programs, and concludes with a discussion ofthe Prevention through Altemative Learning Styles (PALS) program that has shown much success since it was developed in 1992. |