Survey Results Reveal Top Concerns for Developmental Disabilities Community

Thank you to everyone who participated in our community survey to help us better understand how you are connected to us, and what is important to you.  About 15% of our online community responded, which exceeded survey response benchmarks. The survey was available in Spanish and English. Your responses revealed a lot about our community, including the issues of most concern, the part or the United States you are from, what media you use most to get information, and your household.

Here are some of the key takeaways:

    • 46.6% (almost half) of respondents were family members or primary caregivers of a person with a developmental disability. 16% are individuals with disabilities, or self-advocates.  
    • 81% of the individuals with disabilities receiving services and supports are over 18 years old, and the majority are between the ages of 25-44.  
    • While the majority of respondents live in California, there are people connected to us in almost every state, Canada and the U.K.
    • 49% live in a two-parent household, and 15% are in a single-parent home.  This remains in alignment with previous national survey statistics. 

The top 5 most important topics of interest to the respondents were as follows: 

      1. Support for Parents / Caregivers 41.21%
      2. Employment for People with Disabilities – 40.76%
      3. Affordable and Accessible Housing – 36.30%
      4. Direct Support Professional Wages /  Staffing Shortages -31.75%
      5. State Legislative Updates / Policy Changes / Budget

While we are still filtering through thousands of responses, one of the most common sentiments shared was related to Caregiver Support and Burnout. “Insufficient support, respite care, and resources for caregivers can impact the well-being and ability to provide long-term care for individuals with developmental disabilities,” one respondent wrote.

To incentivize response, we offered $100 gift cards to 10 people who completed the survey.  The winners were selected by a raffle drawing and will be notified this week.  If we don’t hear back from a winner, another winner will be selected from the raffle.  

Thank you again for spending time to complete this survey.  Your input will help us continue to advocate on behalf of you, your organization and family. 

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