A new survey of Georgia residents suggests that many Americans don’t interact with and are generally unaware of the issues facing people with developmental disabilities.

In a survey of nearly 400 Georgia residents, just one third said they encounter people with developmental disabilities in their daily lives. And many expressed doubts about the abilities of those in this group.

Only a quarter of Georgians said they thought those with developmental disabilities were likely to have jobs with advancement opportunities. Meanwhile, more than half of those surveyed said kids with disabilities gain more from being in segregated school environments over mainstream ones.

The findings indicate that stigma is still very real, according to Eric Jacobson, executive director of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities, which commissioned the survey to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act on Monday.

“Persons with developmental disabilities and their issues are still somewhat invisible to everyday society,” Jacobson said. “There is still a lot of education to be done among the general public and the best way for that to happen is to create a society that better integrates persons with disabilities in our schools, workforce and community.”

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