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The author makes the point that there were two aims for considering cultural and social aspects with respect to the extant research on inellectual disabilities. The first is to compare how different societies perceive the value of life for people with intellectual disabilities and to recognize the presence of basic societal traditional values. The second is to raise the awareness and perception of the differences evident in various societies’ policies toward their populations of persons with intellectual disabilities and to focus on the reality of daily life for people with intellectual disabilities. These two facets, cultural diversity and national social aspects, were foundational to the structure of the 2005 Asia‐Pacific IASSID conference program, both by how these themes were integrated into the keynote addresses and focal presentations, and how they were promoted through the social program and delegate activities. Within this context, the author describes how these themes, addressed at the conference, could be used to help develop a better understanding of how cultural differences affect research.