There is a lack of awareness about the problems associated with substance abuse within the deaf and hard of hearing communities, and many of these individuals have not had access to educational efforts about drug abuse and addiction risks.
For those with such a disability, this presents a whole other set of challenges aside from successfully detoxing from drugs. In order to overcome such challenges, it is important to find a drug rehabilitation program that offers individualized support and treatment, to reach the same goals as non-disabled patients. One option for hearing impaired patients is to choose a drug treatment program in which they will be allowed to bring an ASL (American Sign Language) interpreter.
This is the most ideal option but is not always available. There are special programs tailored for hearing impaired patients, but they are limited in comparison to general treatment programs. Finding a program that is equipped to handle patients with a hearing disability is critical to the patient’s success and can give the person the ability to better focus on their recovery.
