Accessible Addiction Treatment for People with Disabilities

Addiction can affect anyone — regardless of age, background, or physical ability. Living with a disability should never mean facing barriers to getting the help you deserve. At Serenity at Summit, we believe everyone has the right to high-quality, respectful, and accessible addiction treatment.

We provide tailored programs and accommodations for individuals with disabilities, ensuring that every client can fully participate in their recovery journey. Whether you experience mobility challenges, are deaf or hard of hearing, are blind or have low vision, or have another accessibility need, our team is here to support you at every stage of care.

Accessible Addiction Care at Every Stage of Recovery

Medical Detox & Withdrawal Support

Our medical detox programs are designed to safely guide you through withdrawal with round-the-clock medical supervision. We offer adaptive equipment, accessible treatment spaces, and communication support to ensure comfort and safety during this first step toward sobriety.

Inpatient & Residential Programs

For those who benefit from immersive care, our inpatient and residential programs provide 24/7 support in accessible, inclusive facilities. You’ll have access to individualized therapy, group counseling, and wellness activities — all in an environment designed to meet your mobility, sensory, and communication needs.

Outpatient Treatment Options

If you require more flexibility, outpatient programs offer structured treatment while allowing you to live at home. We can coordinate transportation assistance, accessible meeting spaces, and virtual therapy options as needed.

Therapy & Counseling Tailored to You

Therapy is most effective when it’s accessible and inclusive. We work with licensed clinicians who understand how disability may intersect with substance use, mental health, and life challenges. Our approach includes:

• Individual Therapy – Personalized sessions that address your unique experiences and needs.
• Group Counseling – Peer support groups with accommodations for hearing, vision, or mobility needs.
• Family Therapy – Helping loved ones learn to support recovery in healthy, non-enabling ways.

Removing Barriers to Recovery

We believe accessibility goes beyond ramps and interpreters — it’s about respect, dignity, and equal opportunity for healing. We work closely with each client to provide:

• ASL interpretation or CART captioning for those who are deaf or hard of hearing
• Materials in accessible formats for blind or low-vision clients
• Wheelchair-accessible spaces and adaptive equipment
• Transportation coordination if needed

The most significant minority in the United States are individuals who have disabilities. These disabilities can take shape in mental or physical forms. For people experiencing limitations, the process of recovering from addiction is complicated by barriers that do not exist for others. Attempts to recover from an addiction to a substance can be significantly hindered by issues associated with physical or mental disabilities. 

It is estimated that 54 million people experience a form of disability. 4.7 million of these individuals have both a substance use disorder and a coexisting disability. With a steady rise in housing insecurity and insufficient means to receive help, those who have disabilities may wonder how they can receive treatment if they are in the grips of a drug or alcohol addiction.

It’s difficult to pinpoint the rates of substance abuse since the population of people with physical disabilities people is much smaller than the general population, and these individuals take prescription medication that is used at a higher rate due to pain or mental health issues. 

When someone requires these medications to function at a reasonable rate, it will look different than a non-disabled person who is using the drugs. There are varying points because of the disability involved. Some people have low mobility, which results in complete isolation, where others can get around but rely on opioids to cope with their pain.

All of this factors into the difficulty and barriers individuals will have in their way for treatment. A significant barrier, however, is a lack of information available to them. Unhoused people do not have access to smartphones or computers which makes accessing information or answering questions about treatment impossible. Many people with disabilities see their primary care physician frequently. This allows them to ask questions and provides them with awareness of the signs of substance abuse so they can implement preventative measures.

Substance Use Among Specific Populations With Disabilities

There are particular risk factors that people with physical disabilities will face. It can increase their chances of drug abuse and addiction. Some of these include:

• Increased risk of mental illness
• Chronic medical problems
• Unemployment
• Poverty
• Risk of physical or sexual abuse
• Social isolation
• Enabling by caregivers
• Lack of access to education

The most commonly used substances among those with ailments are ones that reduce pain. With the opioid crisis having such a profound impact on our nation, it’s no wonder that those with chronic pain that disables them use OxyContin, Percocet, Norco, alcohol, heroin, and marijuana.

Prescriptions for pain relievers are written each year because they achieve their desired effect — they kill the pain. Drugs like Norco and Percocet are highly effective at eliminating pain, but sometimes the benefits do not outweigh the risks. Opioid medications are highly addictive and cause health problems over time. Other substances are typically used to self-medicate when people with physical disabilities lack the resources necessary to obtain their prescription. Marijuana is highly sought out to help the pain, but heroin has become more common because of its low cost and potent effects.

Health Concerns

There are general concerns about substance abuse for those with physical disabilities as well as concerns that relate to their disability. Those who are managing both issues will deal with some problems listed below.

• Difficulty accessing medical treatment: People with disabilities have a difficult time getting around. Ongoing substance abuse makes it challenging to get to a doctor, and decreases the chances of following medical advice such as taking smaller doses of medication or going to physical therapy to manage pain.
• Increased health problems: Having a physical disability makes someone prone to health problems, more susceptible to infection or inflammation that can be worsened by the use of certain substances. Intoxication can also reduce coordination and cause injury.
• Interaction with prescription medications: Using prescription drugs in conjunction with alcohol or illegal substances runs a significant risk of damage to their body. It can include dangerous interactions or even an overdose that can result in death.
• Unstable employment: An unintended consequence of substance abuse is that it can negatively affect social and occupational engagements. Drug abuse makes employment much harder to obtain and can push away friends or family who disapprove of the lifestyle.

How Do I Get Help if I Have a Disability?

Barriers to treatment are common and come in many shapes and forms. Unfortunately, those with disabilities may find themselves at odds if they want to address their substance use disorder. When mobility is an issue, getting to a doctor or a treatment center can be a daunting task. 

A large percentage of treatment centers that treat substance abuse and addiction are not equipped for accessibility. A study released by the American Association on Health and Disability states that half of the medical professionals approached could not offer services to the people who were physically disabled because of physical barriers. 

Another thing to take into consideration is that not all physical disabilities are visible. Those with arthritis may be able to walk into a doctor’s office without complications, but they are dealing with chronic pain in parts of their body that keep them from living an active lifestyle. Many medical professionals have likely treated someone who is disabled without knowing, and those with hidden disabilities also need consideration for treatment including substance abuse problems.

The most effective means to treat someone with a disability is to educate the general population, including doctors. It will help people to understand that individuals with physical disabilities are just as capable of recovering from a substance use disorder as someone who is not disabled. Treatment must be tailored to the person’s unique health and medical needs, including those which surround their disability.

Residential treatment programs offer stability, peer support, and access to counseling and therapy, which benefits someone who has a disability. Someone requiring access to medical, social, or legal services will benefit from vocational rehabilitation and enhanced life training skills. The services will equip the individual how to manage their disability within a newly sober life better.