The Vermonter Poll
CDCI Research, November 2022
Vermonters with different types of disabilities have different attitudes about disability.
Each year, the UVM Center for Rural Studies sends out a statewide poll for Vermonters. It’s called The Vermonter Poll. In 2022, CDCI, Vermont Developmental Disabilities Council, Disability Rights Vermont, and the Disability Law Project worked together on adding questions about disability to the Vermonter Poll.
This was the first time The Vermonter Poll included questions about disability.
Authors:
- Jesse C. Suter, PhD
- Justin M. H. Salisbury, University of Wisconsin
We polled 632 Vermonters to learn how much they agreed with four statements:
- People with disabilities have the same quality of life as people without disabilities.
- People with disabilities can contribute to Vermont’s labor force the same as people without disabilities.
- Students with disabilities benefit from being in the same classrooms as students without disabilities.
- Students without disabilities benefit from being in the same classrooms as students with disabilities.
Only Vermont residents over the age of 18 could participate.
Most Vermonters who completed the survey agreed:
- People with disabilities have a LOWER quality of life
- When students with and without disabilities are in class together ALL students benefit
- People with disabilities contribute EQUALLY to the labor force.
But we also found that Vermonters with different types of disabilities have different attitudes about disability.
Of the 632 Vermonters surveyed:
Most Vermonters who completed the survey agreed:
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- People with disabilities have a LOWER quality of life
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- When students with and without disabilities are in class together ALL students benefit
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- People with disabilities contribute EQUALLY to the labor force.
But we also found that Vermonters with different types of disabilities have different attitudes about disability: 65% of Vermonters with disabilities DISAGREE with the statement that people with disabilities have the same quality of life.
People taking the survey were asked: “Do you agree with the statement, ‘People with disabilities have the same quality of life as people without disabilities.’”
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- 18% of the people who agreed had no disabilities.
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- 21% of the people who agreed reported that they had sensory disabilities.
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- 9% who agreed had functional disabilities.
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- 10% who agreed had multiple disabilities.
Most people did not agree that people with disabilities have the same quality of life as people without disabilities.
But:
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Both people with functional disabilities and people with multiple disabilities agreed with this statement the least.
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People taking the survey were asked: “Do you agree with the statement, ‘People with disabilities can contribute to Vermont’s labor force the same as people without disabilities.’”
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- 74% who agreed had no disabilities.
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- 84% who agreed had sensory disabilities.
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- 39% who agreed had functional disabilities.
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- 70% who agreed had multiple disabilities.
Most people agree that people with disabilities contribute equally to the workforce. But:
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- People with sensory disabilities agreed with this statement the most and
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- People with functional disabilities agreed with this statement the least.
People taking the survey were asked: “Do you agree with the statement, ‘Students with disabilities benefit from being in the same classrooms as students without disabilities.’”
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- Of people with no disabilities, 68% agreed that students WITH disabilities benefit from being in the same classroom as students without disabilities. 74% agreed that students WITHOUT disabilities benefit from being in the same classroom as students with disabilities.
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- Of people with sensory disabilities, 72% agreed that students WITH disabilities benefit from being in the same classroom as students without disabilities. 68% agreed students WITHOUT disabilities benefit from being in the same classroom as students with disabilities.
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- Of people with functional disabilities, 79% agreed students WITH disabilities benefit from being in the same classroom as students without disabilities. 82% agreed students WITHOUT disabilities benefit from being in the same classroom as students with disabilities.
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- Of people with multiple disabilities, 55% agreed students WITH disabilities benefit from being in the same classroom as students without disabilities. 58% agreed students WITHOUT disabilities benefit from being in the same classroom as students with disabilities.
Most people agree that both students with and without disabilities benefit from being in the same classroom together. But:
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- People with functional disabilities agreed the most and
- People with multiple disabilities agreed the least.
How many people who answered this survey were people with disabilities? And how does that compare with the percentages of people with disabilities all across Vermont, and nationwide?
| Serious difficulties in: | USA | VT | POLL | Disability Types*: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hearing | 3.6% | 4.6% | 3.8% | } Sensory |
| Vision | 2.5% | 2.0% | 0.7% | |
| Cognition | 5.4% | 6.0% | 8.2% | } Functional |
| Ambulatory | 6.6% | 5.7% | 5.7% | |
| Self-Care | 2.5% | 2.2% | 1.8% | |
| Independent Living | 5.8% | 5.5% | 2.9% | } Independent Living** |
| TOTAL | 13% | 14% | 16% |
*Disability types constructed from 2021 Census data.
**Too few to include.
Why is this research important?
Stigmatizing attitudes about disability can be barriers to equity and inclusion (Gould et al., 2015, Mayerson, 1991). Learning about people’s attitudes can show where education and change are needed.
Research studies have shared findings related to attitudes about disability.
Disability stigma affects access to health care
82% of physicians in a recent survey said people with significant disabilities have a worse quality of life (Iezzoni et al., 2021). And less than half felt very confident that could provide the same quality of care for people with disabilities.
Attitudes on disability affect education access
A study in France found less support for students with intellectual disabilities to be included in school compared to students with other disabilities (Jury et al., 2021).
Attitudes toward disability affect quality of caregiving
In China, a study found caregivers of people with disabilities had more negative attitudes than people with disabilities (Zheng et al., 2016).
Author
- Jesse Suter, UVM Center on Disability & Community Inclusion (CDCI)
- Justin MH Salisbury. University of Wisconsin
Suggested Citation
Suter, J. and Salisbury, Justin MH. “The Vermonter Poll”. Poster presentation at the Association of University Centers on Disabilities 2022 Conference. Washington, DC, USA.
References
Gould, R., Harris, S. P., Caldwell, K., Fujiura, G., Jones, R., Ojok, P., & Enriquez, K. P. (2015). Beyond the law: a review of knowledge, attitudes and perceptions in ADA employment research. Disability Studies Quarterly, 35(3).
Iezzoni, L. I., Rao, S. R., Ressalam, J., Bolcic-Jankovic, D., Agaronnik, N. D., Donelan, K., … & Campbell, E. G. (2021). Physicians’ Perceptions Of People With Disability And Their Health Care: Study reports the results of a survey of physicians’ perceptions of people with disability. Health Affairs, 40(2), 297-306.
Jury, M., Khamzina, K., Perrin, A. L., Serour, N., & Guichardaz, E. (2021). What does the French public think about inclusive education?. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 46(4), 362-369.
Mayerson, A. (1991). Title I-Employment provisions of the Americans with disabilities act. Temple Law Review, 64, 499.
Zheng, Q., Tian, Q., Hao, C. et al. (2016). Comparison of attitudes toward disability and people with disability among caregivers, the public, and people with disability: Findings from a cross-sectional survey. BMC Public Health 16, 1024 https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3670-0