Pledge best pursued by first lady, not VP

While it is admirable to see the concern that Sarah Palin has for special-needs children and their parents, that in no way outweighs her lack of experience for the vice presidency. Advocating for special-needs children is the type of job pursued by a first lady, not a vice president.

If one is truly concerned about families, those with as well as those without special-needs children, one should vote for the party that shares these concerns all the time, not just during the campaign season.

Vote for Barack Obama, Joe Biden and their fellow Democrats.

-- Mike Anderson, Madison

Palin will understand the need for help

I don't know what Sarah Palin will be able to accomplish in Washington, but I know that we need help. If anyone understands a working mother trying to provide for her family that includes a special-needs child, that person is Palin.

I have a child on the autism spectrum. He has fallen though the cracks of every type of government aid. Originally considered a behavior problem, he was later diagnosed with ADHD. By the time I learned about Asperger Syndrome he was nearing his eighth birthday.

Wisconsin will not provide intensive autism services if the child is diagnosed after the eighth birthday. I applied for services from my county and learned that the wait list for services was estimated to be three years.

This year, when we would have made it to the top of the list, the state restructured their criteria for who gets services, and we no longer qualify. My child may never get assistance.

We need someone who cares in Washington.

-- Connie Vlasak, Richland Center

Cause best served if Palin not the VP

Gov. Palin's pledge to speak for special-needs parents is admirable. But it also seems like she is using her little boy to get elected.

There are many questions about her qualifications for running our country if something were to happen to McCain, so it's wrong to vote for her solely because of her son.

Plus, she would have more time to devote to the cause if she were not elected VP.

-- Genie Ogden, Madison

Go step further and fully fund Medicaid

Sarah Palin's signing of a bill that will "triple per-pupil funding over three years for special-needs children with high-cost requirements" is commendable.

But we need a comprehensive, fully-funded Medicaid package for everyone. Those in the middle class and lower are one catastrophic illness away from bankruptcy.

Instead of a bailout for Wall Street, we need a comprehensive Medicaid package for all. And health care should not be for profit.

-- R. C. Uppena, Montfort

Don't overlook dad's role in Palin home

Regarding the columns in the Forum section's "Palin's Promise," as a single parent, one issue continues to get my attention.

In response to the critics who question her time commitment to this special child and her decision to seek the vice presidency, it's overlooked that she is not the prime caretaking parent of this child. Her husband has chosen that role.

Both columnists took the more traditional avenue where the mother became the primary caretaker, but this is not the case in the Palin household.

I applaud the Palins' joint commitment to give baby Trig the best of the world, with two loving parents, and a father who stepped up to assume the primary caretaker position.

-- Tina Mandeville, Madison

Inconsistencies in views are disturbing

As an independent voter, I have serious concerns about campaign 2008. For the record, I am pro-life. Sarah Palin, decidedly a savvy, charismatic politician, shares a similar view.

Solid respect is due her because she has followed through in giving birth to a child afflicted by Down syndrome. Yet I am troubled by inconsistencies in her stance.

Thousands of United States servicemen and women and our allies have died or sustained horrific physical and psychological afflictions in this unjust, ill-planned and senselessly executed war, not to mention countless innocent Iraqis. Are these lives any less sacred than those of the unborn?

A further concern is her depth of education and experience to face a complex world in need of sophisticated diplomacy. And whoever wins on Nov. 4 cannot ignore the $3 trillion incinerated in Iraq so far. Meanwhile, McCain echoes his battle cry: "We will fight! We will fight!" To what end?

-- Joey Wojtusik, Three Lakes

What will be done if McCain says no?

I adopted a child who required special programs. I found plenty of sympathetic advocates over the years, but very few programs. There is just no funding. If I did not have great health care insurance through my employer, I could not even afford to have my child tested.

While Gov. Palin committed to be an advocate for special-needs children, Sen. McCain already promised during the presidential debate to deny any spending programs. So what can Palin really commit to do? Has she created special needs programs across Alaska?

The reality of today's economic crisis means no government funding for the many specialized programs needed for different kinds of disabilities, each requiring their own one-on-one therapies. We also need funding to train so many different specialists.

Her time would benefit us more if she were a full-time fund-raiser, not the vice president.

I lost three siblings from preventable causes because the health care we could afford was so inadequate. I know the neighborhoods where Sen. Obama was a community organizer, far poorer and more deprived than mine. Obama understands the needs of those at the bottom and middle of the economic range.

God bless all special education teachers, therapists and special needs parents.

-- Lynda Pratscher, Middleton

We ignore adults with special needs

I am a parent/guardian of an adult daughter with special needs born in Wisconsin and residing in Minnesota.

The Sunday Forum columns remind me of my journey in the 1970s as a mother of a daughter with cerebral palsy. What an overbearing advocate I became -- forcing school districts to implement the federal mandate to obtain health care.

Through all the years of advocating, attending planning meetings, reviewing educational and employment areas, housing availability, recreational availability, transportation, religious experiences, I know I will still have to do this until I no longer am able and another guardian will be appointed to continue these efforts.

My years of involvement have taught me that society is more interested if the people with special needs are young. Once beyond school age, which is 21 years, society loses interest. Where do they find housing like at that at home, where do they jobs that pay more than 42 cents an hour, where do they recreate with personal needs income of less than $70 per month?

That is the challenge Palin and the columnists have to address. Mandates are there for the young, but not the older person.

The future for our people with special needs is restrictions and limitations, facing "not my neighborhood," "not my workplace," "not my tax money." Good luck -- it's hard work.

-- Virginia L. Lochner, Prairie du Chien

As son's needs grow, so will commitment

As an "ability mom," a special needs advocate and provider of special needs services, I fall somewhere between Fourm columnists Lisa Pugh and Terri Mauro.

I don't believe most of the campaign promises offered, and I don't think Sarah Palin's presence in the White House would be a slam dunk for special needs funding.

I do, however, think cautious optimism is reasonable because of the way special-needs children require us to re-examine our values, re-adjust our thinking and re-arrange our lives. It is something most of us did not sign up for.

To her credit, Palin knew she was carrying a baby with Down syndrome, and she chose to sign up. That is advocacy and it counts, but it is just the beginning of a long journey.

Right now Trig Palin is an adorable infant who is pretty easy to care for. He will grow and change, and challenges will become more evident. That's when Palin may realize what she signed up for.

That's when she may start re-examining, re-adjusting and re-arranging, as all the other "ability moms and dads" have done. That's when her feelings about special needs funding will most likely be stirred.

And if she proves to be another passionate and powerful advocate, like Pugh or Mauro, I will not be surprised.

-- Pam Stoika, Sun Prairie