Most Americans believe that their communities are good places for people with intellectual disabilities, but a new Gallup survey finds this country is not as accepting as many European nations.
In the global survey of people in 112 countries, over 80 percent of Americans said their communities were good places for those with intellectual disabilities. However, there were higher rates of perceived acceptance in 14 other countries, including Canada and several in Europe.
The Dutch were most likely to say that their communities were good places, with 91 percent of respondents in The Netherlands receptive to people with intellectual disabilities.
Meanwhile, people in the former Soviet Union and Asia were least likely to say their communities were good places for people in this group.
The findings are based on telephone and face-to-face interviews with people ages 15 and older that were conducted in 2010 by Gallup in conjunction with Special Olympics.
Levels of educational achievement did appear to play a role in whether or not people said their communities were good places for those with intellectual disabilities. Age and gender, however, did not make a big difference, according to Gallup.
First a question,then comment. How do you define acceptance?
I have visited Switzerland and Italy and did not find great acceptance unless you define it as. send them all to one school and do not let them engage with others