Purpose
This paper aims to provide an overview of the history, current status and future challenges for intellectual disability (ID) policy and practice in Switzerland.
Design/methodology/approach
Following a review of the literature, academics in the field of ID in Switzerland reflect on critical issues.
Findings
The implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has resulted in the move from institutions to more flexible and individualised, community-based support services.
Originality/value
This paper describes a Western-European country facing the challenges of deinstitutionalisation to become an inclusive society due to directions given by the CRPD.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.