The study aims to uncover social workers understandings of substance use (SU) among people with intellectual disabilities (ID) and ways in which social work with this group should be carried out.  Previous research has asserted that people with ID use drugs to a lesser extent, and therefore experience less drug related issues in general compared to the general popuation. However, people with ID experience more severe consequences from SU than others. Evidence for specific methods for working with this group is scarce.  The theoretical framework for this thesis is first based in the social model of disability. This enables the use of Goffmans symbolic interactionism with an emphesis on his theories of social roles. The last piece to the theoretical framework is cooperation theory which assists in analysing the themes of issues in cooperation that professionals express.  The thesis is carried out through semi-structured interviews with 6 interviewees, chosen through a combination of strategic- and snowball selection methods. The results are analysed thematically. Three main themes emerge from the empirical data: social factors, matters of cooperation between professionals and their organizations and communication styles between professionals and people with ID.  The main findings of the thesis is first: that Swedish research on the topic is practically non-exictent. Second: that effective methods are developed by professionals such as writing and drawing to enhance communication and that this knowledge is not transferred and expanded upon. Third: that professionals view SU among people with ID as caused by a need for social inclusion which they get from SU. / Undersökningen syftar till att ådagalägga socialarbetares förståelse av drogbruk bland personer med intellektuellt funktionshinder (IF) och hur socialt arbete med denna målgrupp bör utföras.  Tidigare forskning har visat att personer med IF använder droger i lägre grad, och därför erfar mindre drogrelaterade problem än befolkningen i övrigt. Personer med IF erfar dock allvarligare konsekvenser av sitt drogbruk än andra. Forskningsunderlaget för behandlingsmetoder är tunnsått.  Uppsatsens teoretiska utgångspunkter börjar i det sociala funktionshinderbegreppet som möjliggör användandet av Goffmans symboliska interaktionism med fokus på hans teori om sociala roller och masker. Slutligen används samverkansteori för att analysera samverkansrelaterade problem som framkommer i socialarbetares utsagor.  Undersökningen utförs som semistrukturerade intervjuer med 6 intervjupersoner som valts i kombinerad strategisk urvalsprocess och snöbollsurval. Empirin analyseras sedan tematiskt.  Tre huvudsakliga teman framkommer i empirin: sociala faktorer, samverkan mellan organisationer och professionella och kommunikation mellan professionella och personer med IF. Uppsatsen kommer fram till tre slutsatser. 1: Att svesnk forskning på ämnet saknas. 2: Att effektiva metoder för att arbeta med målgruppen så som att ritprata utvecklas i verksamheter men att denna kunskap inte förs vidare i organisationer över tid eller mellan organisationer och att denna kunskap behöver tas till vara och vidareutvecklas till arbetsmetoder. 3: Att socialarbetare ser drogbruk bland personer med IF som en konsekevens av ett behov av social tillhörighet.

Population-based administrative data (2009-2012) from several sources were used to compare the health status and access to health services between a cohort of children in care with developmental disabilities (DD) (n=1,212) and a matched comparison group of children in care without DD (n=2,424). The two study groups were compared on a number of measures, including total respiratory morbidity, prevalence of diabetes, mood and anxiety disorders, continuity of care, injury-related hospitalizations, hospital-based dental care, and total number of ambulatory physician visits. Children in care with DD were significantly more likely to have a history of mood and anxiety disorders, respiratory illnesses, diabetes, hospital-based dental care, and injury-related hospitalizations compared to the matched comparison group. Children in care with DD also had significantly higher number of physician visits than children in the matched comparison group. No significant difference between the two study groups was found for continuity of care. / October 2015