Private Care for the Retarded

In your editorial you have failed to address the more important issue that needs attention. That is the matter of integration versus segregation for the disabled. Most people in our society prefer to keep the disabled out of their world. Many people, in their ignorance, simply do not know how to emotionally handle being confronted by a physically or mentally challenged individual. As a result of this, efforts to segregate the handicapped away from mainstream life seem all too acceptable. The Los Angeles Unified School District keeps the vast majority of their special education students in large schools separated from the rest of society.

Your editorial complains about the high cost of community living and the cutting of corners by care providers to make do with the funds available. I would make the point that more money needs to be spent on community care and that would attract better qualified people into the field. The institutional settings are now relatively under-populated and overstaffed, a condition that would change drastically if people had to move into them in large numbers.

School districts say there isn’t enough money to integrate the schools. I disagree. The world is made up of all kinds, and the road to a kinder and gentler world must include, by its very nature, the experience of sharing the world with those that are different from us.

BEN ADAMS

Beverly Hills