Pubdate: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 Source: United Press International Copyright: 1999 United Press International Author: NEAL AUGENSTEIN DISABLED AT RISK FOR SUBSTANCE ABUSE WASHINGTON, - People with disabilities are up to three times as likely to abuse drugs or alcohol than the rest of the population. The federal government today announced new plans to treat the disproportionate number of people with disabilities who are addicted to drugs or alcohol. Nelba Chavez, administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, says the government has ``a legal and ethical obligation to ensure appropriate treatment'' for those who have had difficulty finding addiction programs tailored to their disabilities. At a Washington news conference, Chavez said, ``The barriers to treatment for those with disabilities extend far beyond the initial hurdle of deciding to seek treatment.'' She said the disabled face attitudinal, discriminatory, communications and architectural barriers to getting help. Dr. Westley Clark, director of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, said the problems of the disabled and the addicted compound each other. Clark said, ``Researchers estimate that 60 to 70 percent of people with disabilities are unemployed or underemployed, and some 30 percent live below the poverty line.'' He added, ``Alcohol or illegal drugs become their way of coping with the hand that life has dealt them.'' Hector del Valle was abusing drugs and alcohol in 1982, when he became a quadriplegic in a drunken driving accident. He was denied access to a treatment program because of his disability and continued his substance abuse. Del Valle said, ``I drove drunk and stoned for seven years after the initial crash, thinking, it couldn't happen again, could it?'' Now in his tenth year of recovery, Del Valle said he recalled feeling he couldn't find suitable treatment because he was in a wheelchair. He said, ``Nancy Reagan said just say no, my family said go to church, but no one told me how to deal with those voices in my head which said life sucks if you don't get high.'' Among the suggestions in the protocol: screen patients for disabilities that are not obvious, address employment and isolation problems often associated with disabilities, and recognize that some persons will need specialized services because of their disabilities. - --- MAP posted-by: Rich O'Grady