No screws on drywall near top plate?
My assessment: This guy drew an incorrect conclusion from one experience and has made a personal rule of it without good reason.

My suggestion: Disregard that advice. 99.9999% of all homes built with modern drywall have screws in the top plates. 99.9998% of the time it's not an issue.*

* 99.99999% of the statistics used in this post are fabricated.