However, many people believe that all children can benefit from being in integrated settings where they can learn from and about one another. There is a growing trend toward the integration of children with a mental handicap into regular classrooms in many communities in Canada. Because of their disability, people with a mental handicap are often not valued and respected by others. While attitudes towards people with disabilities are changing, people with a mental handicap are often both poor and socially isolated. Any abuse or neglect which occurs where people live or when they are in the care of others is considered family violence.
Caregivers can include attendants, homemakers, counsellors, doctors, nurses, or group home workers.
Family violence includes violence in typical family settings, as well as in alternative situations like group homes, foster homes, institutions or service settings. It involves a violation of trust and an abuse of power. In spite of changing attitudes towards people who are disabled, people who have a mental handicap continue to be vulnerable to various forms of violence. Many people think that people who have a mental handicap will not report abuse, or that if they do, they will not be believed. This can make people with a mental handicap more likely targets of violence.