Attitudes Toward Patients with Intellectual Disability

Lewis, S., & Stenfert-Kroese, B. (2010). An investigation of nursing staff attitudes and emotional reactions towards patients with intellectual disability in a general hospital setting. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, 23(4), 355-365.

            Professionals that work with disabilities treat their clients differently based on their attitudes. Negative impacts resulting from negative attitudes toward individuals with disabilities can cause exclusion, stigmatization, and prejudice toward these individuals, which will in turn decrease the quality of their lives (Lewis & Stenfert-Kroese, 2009). Negative perceptions of disabilities arise from stigmas created by cultural or social standards. There are negative perceptions of disabilities in India as well that arise from castes, cultures, religions, etc.  Identifying negative perceptions and planning instruction, curriculum, and assessment in consideration of them will yield the most success.