To the editor:

I am responding to a recent letter by Michael Young of Massachusetts.

Regarding an article about a parent’s decision to remove her autistic daughter from South Junior High, Mr. Young asserted that autism staff throughout Lawrence “provide the absolute best level of attention that any reasonable parent or caretaker could expect.”

As a former autism paraprofessional of USD 497, I thank Mr. Young for this tribute. However, I was troubled that he implicitly characterized some parents of autistic children in Lawrence, who would expect a higher quality education for their children, as unreasonable.

I have worked with autistic children and their families for nine years. No two children with autism are the same. No two schools respond to the task of inclusion in the same way.

Lawrence is blessed with many talented and devoted autism staff. However, limited resources, and the challenges of inclusion in junior high can create extraordinary frustrations for staff, parents and students.

Is it “reasonable” for parents to expect their children to receive the same quality of education as other students in the same district? I believe so.

Is it incredibly challenging to educate students with special needs in a grossly underfunded system? Absolutely. But the answer is not to expect one group of parents to want less for their children than other parents do.

Jennifer Unruh,

Providence, R.I.