MAKERERE
UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL
SCIENCES
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
COURSE CODE:2205
COURSE NAME: DRUGS AND ADDICTION
STUDENTS NUMBER:2100706856
REGISTRATION NUMBER:21/06856/PS
NAME: MAYEKU EMMANUEL SHADRACK
COURSE FACILITATOR: JUSTUS
Qn. discuss the forms of disability that are commonly
associated with substance abuse among social work
clients.
Disability can be defined as the physical or mental
condition that limits a person’s movements, senses or
activities these among others can include severe disorders,
dysfunction, impairment, afflictions, ailment,
disablement, incapacity infirmity, intellectual disability
learning difficulties among others.
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse refers to the
use of drugs or a drug in amounts as well as methods that
are rather harmful to the individual or others. Substance
abuse can be categorized under substance-related
disorder.
Substance abuse however is sometimes termed as
substance use disorder, substance misuse disorder among
othrs.it belongs to the psychiatry specialty and the
complications are drug overdose with a frequency of over
27milllion people falling a victim and over 307,400
deaths caused according to the 2015 statistics.
Drugs that are comm0nly associated with substance abuse
include alcohol, amphetamines, cannabis, cocaine among
others.
Social work profession refers to a helping profession that
fundamentally and radically aims to assist individuals,
groups, and communities in coping with their complex
socio-economic and psychological problems by enabling
themselves to solve their problems by helping themselves.
Client therefore in this case is identified and defined as a
person, family, or group of persons , incorporated body,
association or community on whose behalf a social
worker provides or agree to provide a service or to whom
the social worker is legally obligated to provide a service.
Prader-Willi syndrome which is a rare genetic condition
that affects a child’s metabolism and can also affect one’s
body and behavior. This causes the client to have a strong
appetite and not feel full after a meal.
Autism is developmental disability that is caused by
differences in the brain function. Commonly termed as
ASD ,clients with this have problems with social
communication and interaction, restricted or repetitive
behaviors or interests.
Blindness characterized by vision loss may refer to a loss
of sight that cannot be corrected with glasses or contact
lenses. and this among clients may cause partial blindness
as a result of drug misuse.
Parkinson’s disease is a disability of the nervous system
which results from a client misusing drug thereby
resulting into damage to the nerve cells that produce
dopamine, a chemical that is vital for the smooth control
of muscles and movement.
Hepatitis is also common among the common disability
among clients that result from drug or substance abuse.
The liver inflammation also known as hepatitis, leads to
liver failure due to over load activity in breaking down the
amount of drugs taken in by a client caused by substance
misuse.
Down syndrome among substance abuse clients refers to a
condition in which a person has an extra chromosome. Of
which chromosomes being small fragments of genes in
the body. Among pregnant clients therefore it may lead to
down-syndrome-born off springs.
Amputation is also common among substance abuse
clients which involves surgery to remove all or part of a
limb or extremity. This may result from undergoing
severe injury or infection caused after the impact of drug
intoxication for example a marijuana smoker. Thus,
becoming a disorder.
Arthritis which refers to the client’s swelling and
tenderness of one or more joints caused by over use of a
certain drug for a given period of time an example in case
is cannabis causing joint pain stiffness that worsen with
age due to osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.
Lung damage is also another disorder that can result from
the continuous use and abuse of drugs by a client. This
can be due to prolonged marijuana use and heroin in
particular.
Dwarfism which is another disorder caused by substance
abuse among pregnant clients causes premature births and
in the same vein, results into dwarfism. This is the adult
defined height of 4 feet 10 inches or less. The adult
average height among people with dwarfism is 4feet.
To sum up, the different disabilities as discussed above
and many more are resultant from severe substance abuse
among the social work clients .
References;
1.The Australian National University, Canberra
TEQSA provide ID: PRV12002 (Australian university)
www.services.anu.edu.au.
2.SWEduCareBD
By, Md Mohinuddin
August 22, 2017
www.sweducarebd.com
3. IN THIS TOGETHER PARKINSON’S AUSTRALIA
www.parkinsons.org.au
4.Cleveland clinic
Prader Willi Syndrome
www.my.clevelandclinic.org