A new survey of Georgia residents suggests that many Americans don’t interact with and are generally unaware of the issues facing people with developmental disabilities.
In a survey of nearly 400 Georgia residents, just one third said they encounter people with developmental disabilities in their daily lives. And many expressed doubts about the abilities of those in this group.
Only a quarter of Georgians said they thought those with developmental disabilities were likely to have jobs with advancement opportunities. Meanwhile, more than half of those surveyed said kids with disabilities gain more from being in segregated school environments over mainstream ones.
The findings indicate that stigma is still very real, according to Eric Jacobson, executive director of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities, which commissioned the survey to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on Monday.
“Persons with developmental disabilities and their issues are still somewhat invisible to everyday society,” Jacobson said. “There is still a lot of education to be done among the general public and the best way for that to happen is to create a society that better integrates persons with disabilities in our schools, workforce and community.”
Invisible? You bet they are.
I started college in 75, which was when PL 94-142 was passed. I worked with people with disabilities since then and am now a public school teacher in NC. There was a period of warm fuzzies, concerning “those” folks with disabilities, that lasted until No Child Left Alone…I mean Behind, came along and created a widespread “blood bath” over funds. My class and the other three “Self-Contained” classrooms have not had any funding for three years….in that we have had no supplies of materials, activities, interactive tools, books, etc…..pencils and folders, ok. The gloves are off and the “Special” kids are being cheated.
Then there is the invisibility….I could write a book….I am, that’s right. JoAnn, Durham, NC
We commissioned a similar survey when I was exec of the NJ DD Council in 1991 with similar results. It also included extensive interviews with state legislators who were equally misinformed.
That ignorance is an unintended consequence of the success of the DD community in getting special treatment and preferential funding by portraying people with DD as less able than others with similarly disabling conditions. That has led to institutionalization and the overuse of group homes that has unnecessarily segregated many people with DD who would otherwise be visible, contributing members of their communities. While I have no objection to public education on general principles, I’ve found that such efforts are ineffective unless we also raise the expectations that families and providers have of people with DD.