Re “A promise unkept” by Mandy McLaren (Page A1, June 22): Why have the needs of students with disabilities gone unmet for so long? Why are our lawmakers and school districts not enforcing the laws that are in place? Maybe our state bird should be the ostrich — no, ostriches don’t really bury their heads in the sand as frequently as myth would suggest, but they do run away when confronted with a problem.
One issue is that many people in positions of power don’t believe, or they simply don’t find it convenient to accept, that children with complex cognitive, physical, social-emotional, and behavioral profiles have the same human needs as typically developing children. They want to learn, play, have friends, and have fun. They play board games and video games, love Taylor Swift and the Red Sox. They have special interests and talents and feel a range of emotions. Same as every other kid.
We need to insist that our lawmakers and schools do their jobs. We need to work with them to come up with creative, humane, sustainable solutions. Twelve-year-old Dante Fowler and countless other young people like him are no less deserving than any other child.
Naomi Angoff Chedd
Brookline
The writer is a licensed mental health counselor and board–certified behavior analyst.
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