[Attitudes toward handicapped children--a study comparing parents of handicapped children and others, in the case of Down syndrome].

The physically handicapped have received increasing attention in recent years. Since 1981, the International Year of Handicapped Persons, a number of administrative measures have been passed and the rights of handicapped have been recognized. However some problems still remain. In this study, conducted in 1990, the knowledge people have about congenital defects and their thinking regarding the social system for the handicapped were examined. A similar survey of parents of children with congenital defects was conducted to understand problems they encountered in the medical care and education of their child. Eighty-four parents of Down Syndrome children (DS) and 118 controls including housewives, female office workers, and students were surveyed. Results showed that 44% of mothers of DS wanted their husbands to participate more intensively in the medical care and education of their child. A slight gap in knowledge between the parents and the controls was seen. Of the controls, 12% asserted that the relationship of the handicapped and the non-handicapped should be equal. However, some of controls expressed that if they had a child with congenital defects, they had no confidence that they could bring up the child in this society.