Palin and special needs children

While listening to Sarah Palin's acceptance speech, I was fascinated by her family, and in particular Trig, her 4-month-old "special needs child" as he was passed from sister Willow Palin to Cindy McCain to father Todd Palin and finally 6-year-old sister Piper Palin.

When Sarah proudly introduced her family to the cheering crowd, they stood and waved, and even Todd raised Trig's tiny hand and waved it too.

It was while Piper was holding her brother that the most spontaneous event of the evening occurred. She gently patted his little face, then wet her fingers with saliva and stroked his hair.

But it was when Gov. Palin pledged to be an advocate for "special needs children" that I burst into tears.

I'm the mother of a 52-year-old profoundly retarded daughter, a 48-year-old learning disabled daughter and the grandmother of a 16-year-old developmentally delayed grandson.

It took a long time to first accept that my retarded daughter would need around the clock nursing care, that my younger daughter would be placed in special education classes and finally that my grandson would never talk or be toilet trained, but now these loses have given me amazing strength.

Yes, Rudy, I dare to question whether Sarah will be able to keep her promise to parents of "special needs children" while dealing with an infant with Down syndrome, an un-wed teenage daughter's pregnancy, a 19-year-old son going to war and the duties of the vice presidency.

Mary Lou Oswalt

Arlington Heights