information:filtering
Society and culture

People with intellectual disabilities are often not seen as full citizens of society. Person-centered planning and approaches are seen as methods of addressing the continued labeling and exclusion of socially devalued people, such as people with disabilities, encouraging a focus on the person as someone with capacities and gifts as well as support needs. The self-advocacy movement promotes the right of self-determination and self-direction by people with intellectual disabilities, which means allowing them to make decisions about their own lives.

Until the middle of the 20th century, people with intellectual disabilities were routinely excluded from public education, or educated away from other typically developing children. Compared to peers who were segregated in special schools, students who are mainstreamed or included in regular classrooms report similar levels of stigma and social self-conception, but more ambitious plans for employment. As adults, they may live independently, with family members, or in different types of institutions organized to support people with disabilities. About 8% currently live in an institution or a group home.

In the United States, the average lifetime cost of a person with an intellectual disability amounts to $223,000 per person, in 2003 US dollars, for direct costs such as medical and educational expenses. The indirect costs were estimated at $771,000, due to shorter lifespans and lower than average economic productivity. The total direct and indirect costs, which amount to a little more than a million dollars, are slightly more than the economic costs associated with cerebral palsy, and double that associated with serious vision or hearing impairments. Of the costs, about 14% is due to increased medical expenses (not including what is normally incurred by the typical person), and 10% is due to direct non-medical expenses, such as the excess cost of special education compared to standard schooling. The largest amount, 76%, is indirect costs accounting for reduced productivity and shortened lifespans. Some expenses, such as ongoing costs to family caregivers or the extra costs associated with living in a group home, were excluded from this calculation.