NCJ Number
195551
Journal
Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education Volume: 46 Issue: 1 Dated: Fall 2000 Pages: 14-26
Date Published
2002
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This pilot study evaluated a substance abuse prevention education program targeted toward the needs of students in special education.
Abstract
Research has demonstrated that youth with disabilities often use alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (ATOD) at the same or higher rates as their non-disabled peers. There are few appropriate education interventions for youth with disabilities and a relative lack of specific skills by teachers to address substance abuse prevention and treatment. The Prevention Works! All of us together! Learning to care! Special modifications! or PALS Program is concerned with teaching adults who deal with children with different learning styles to expand their personal definitions of prevention so they can adapt existing anti-drug and anti-violence messages for these children. During the pilot test, all special education personnel in the experimental schools attended a daylong training session provided by PALS staff. Six high schools in the Dayton, Ohio area were identified. Students in the experimental group received specific lessons from their teachers that dealt with substance abuse prevention issues. Students in the control group received no PALS-related instruction from their teacher or the PALS staff. Results indicate that the use of ATOD by special education students appears to start later than use by general education students. By the end of high school these students are using ATOD at a comparable, or in some cases, higher rate than their non-special education peers. Teachers who received the PALS training felt more equipped to do this type of adaptation, and based on the results of this study, appeared to put what they had learned to use in their classrooms. Although students in the experimental setting recognized the added emphasis their teachers were placing on ATOD-related prevention activities/materials, those improvements were not significantly greater than the changes in criterion attitudes and behaviors observed for the control subjects. One possible explanation for this is that the pilot test was undertaken over too short a period of time. Future research should attempt to reach students at younger ages. 1 figure, 4 tables, 12 references