Unfortunately, very little work has been published on this topic.

• Valuing People: Moving forward together - The Government's annual report on learning disability 2004 makes no mention of alcohol or substances in the health section.

• Valuing People is the government's plan for improving the lives of people with learning disabilities and their families.

• The Valuing People Support Team have a website, which includes a section on health and a section on specialist services. There is nothing on the website concerning drugs and alcohol.

link

Drug Education Prevention Information Service (DEPIS)

• The Drug Education Prevention Information Service (DEPIS) has produced a background paper which looks at drug education materials for children and young people with Autism

www.drugscope.org.uk/uploads/ projects/documents/Autism.pdf

Further relevant information derived from academic literature search

Simpson MK (1998) Just say 'no'? Alcohol and people with learning difficulties. Disability and Society 13:541-555

·         This paper critically analysed the scant literature that exists on the role of alcohol in the lives of people with learning difficulties. Though the research evidence is largely insecure, it does seem relatively clear that people with learning difficulties drink considerably less and abstain in higher numbers than the general population. In spite of this, the literature is predominantly characterised by a focus on the potential dangers of excessive alcohol consumption. In contrast, the possibility that a great many people with learning difficulties may have their access to alcohol debarred is not considered to be a problem requiring attention. It is argued that this is based on a failure to appreciate the cultural significance of alcohol for most people, and that the discourse on learning difficulties is being underpinned by a concern with physical, but not cultural access. 

Karacostas DD, Fisher GL (1993) Chemical dependency in students with and without learning disabilities. Journal of learning disabilities. 26:491-495

·         This work aimed to determine if students with learning disabilities (LD) demonstrated a higher frequency of substance dependency than students without learning disabilities (NLD). A total of 191 adolescents with LD (101 males and 90 females) were given the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI). The sample consisted of 88 students with LD and 103 NLD students between the ages of 12 and 18. The SASSI is an objectively scored self-report inventory that accurately classifies adolescents as chemically dependent (CD) or not chemically dependent (NCD). A significantly higher proportion of students with LD than NLD students were classified as CD. Of the 30 students who were classified as CD, 70% were students with LD. Discriminant analysis (a technique designed to classify cases into the values of a categorical dependent, usually a dichotomy, i.e. absence or presence of a condition) indicated that the presence or absence of a learning disability was a better predictor of classification of CD or NCD than gender, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status, or family composition.

However, the relationship may be more complex than the above article suggests. This next study suggests that in children with specific conditions, i.e. ADHD, learning disabilities in earlier childhood do not predict later substance misuse, but that this is more closely related to high IQ and good school performance

Molina BSG, Pelham, WE (2001) Substance use, substance abuse, and LD among adolescents with a childhood history of ADHD. Journal of Learning Disabilities 34:333-334

·         This study examined a clinic-referred sample of 109 children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and followed them into adolescence in order to ascertain alcohol and other drug use and abuse. Learning disability (reading or maths) in childhood was examined as a predictor of adolescent substance use and substance use disorder for alcohol and cannabis. No statistically significant group differences for children with LD versus those without LD emerged even after using different methods to compute LD. IQ/achievement discrepancy scores were similarly not predictive of later use or abuse. However, children with ADHD who had higher IQs and higher levels of academic achievement in childhood were more likely to try cigarettes, to smoke daily, and to have their first drink of alcohol or first cigarette at an early age. Children with ADHD who had higher reading achievement scores were less likely to have later alcohol use disorder. Although these findings are necessarily preliminary, due to the small number of children interviewed, the pattern of results suggests that level of cognitive functioning-rather than discrepancy between IQ and achievement-is important for the prediction of later substance use and abuse, at least in this clinic-referred sample of children with ADHD.