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Abstract: The general public''s responses to people with intellectual disabilities influence the likely success or failure of policies aimed at increasing their social inclusion. The present paper provides a review of general population based research into awareness, attitudes and beliefs regarding intellectual disability published in English between 1990 and mid-2011. An electronic search using PsycINFO and Web of Science plus a hand search of the literature was completed. Most of the 75 studies identified consisted of descriptive surveys of attitudes. They tend to conclude that age, educational attainment and prior contact with someone with an intellectual disability predict attitudes, while the effect of gender is inconsistent. Eight studies examined lay knowledge about intellectual disability and beliefs about its causation in a range of cultural contexts. The impact of interventions designed to improve attitudes or awareness was examined by 12 studies. The evidence is limited by the fact that it is mostly based on relatively small unrepresentative samples and cross-sectional designs. It is concluded that overall, high quality research into general population attitudes to intellectual disability is limited. Public knowledge of intellectual disability and causal beliefs are particularly under-researched areas. There is a notable absence of well designed evaluations of efforts to reduce misconceptions about intellectual disability and tackle negative attitudes. Areas for future research are noted, including the need for well designed studies that consider awareness, attitudes and beliefs in relation to stigma theory. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study investigated certified rehabilitation counselors' (CRCs) attitudes, knowledge, and comfort in addressing disability and sexuality issues. One hundred ninety-nine CRCs completed a modified version of the Knowledge, Comfort, Approach and Attitudes toward Sexuality Scale to determine the effect of knowledge and attitudes on level of comfort in addressing sexuality issues with consumers. Counseling and education-type comfort and comfort with sexual solicitations or discovering consumers in sexual situations (approach) were assessed separately. Participants demonstrated low discomfort on the education and counseling-related comfort scale (M = 1.84, SD = .82) and medium discomfort on the approach-related comfort scale (M = 2.78, SD = .96), positive attitudes (M = 1.53, SD = .74), and average knowledge (M = 2.40, SD = .842). Results of regression analyses indicated that 17% (R2 = .172) of the variance on comfort and 19% (R2 = .189) of the variance on approach could be accounted for by CRCs' knowledge and attitude, indicating that these were contributing to CRC comfort levels in addressing sexuality with consumers. Implications include the need for continued research concerning factors affecting CRC comfort in addressing sexuality-related issues with consumers, and the need for increased CRC education and training in sexuality and disability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Little is known about the way people with aphasia perceive their social participation and its influencing factors. Aims: To explore how people with aphasia perceive participation in society and to investigate influencing factors. Methods & Procedures: In this qualitative study thirteen persons with aphasia and twelve central caregivers kept a pre-structured diary over two weeks, followed by a semi-structured interview. Diaries and interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed by two researchers independently using codes, categories and central themes inductively. Plausibility of the analyses was discussed several times with a third independent senior-researcher. In a focus group interview, the results were discussed with the participants. Outcomes & Results: The number of social activities and the character of these activities are not as important as the perceived engagement in the social activities for the participants. People with aphasia feel isolated but want to feel engaged. They feel burdensome to others and wish to function in an ordinary way. Extracting information from conversations is difficult but they want to know what is going on. Often they are not able to work and they wish to contribute to the community in other ways. Although they often feel stigmatized, they wish to be respected. Often they do not reach that goal. Perceived factors influencing engagement in social participation can be divided into personal, social and environmental factors. The following personal factors are reported: motivation, physical and psychological condition and communication skills. The social factors are: the role of the central caregiver and the characteristics of the communication partner(s), namely willingness, skills and knowledge. The environmental factors refer to quietness and familiarity of the place in which the person with aphasia live. Conclusions: Social participation is a theoretical concept that people with aphasia do not use. Instead, people speak in terms of engagement, involvement, having a feeling of belonging. People with aphasia describe the degree of engagement in activities in social life domains (i.e. the quality of activities) as more important than the quantity of performing activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the nature of kindergarten children's understanding about and attitudes toward disabilities. Interviews with 77 Canadian children enrolled in inclusive classrooms showed that kindergarten children (a) conceptualize disabilities chiefly according to physical appearances and (b) possess a fairly accurate understanding of some aspects of disabilities. Kindergarten children also hold generally positive attitudes toward persons with disabilities. These attitudes, however, do not reflect their reported friendships with persons with disabilities. Only half of the nondisabled children reported having friends who have disabilities. Possibilities for future research and the need to further enhance the social inclusion of children with disabilities are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]